Fear and loathing in the Kansas Statehouse: Explaining the GOP's new press restrictions

Opinion

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins has repeatedly lied about the news media.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that after he barred reporters from their traditional spot in the House, he and assorted allies spent most of last week obfuscating their actions.

I use the word “lie” for a reason here. It means to mislead with deceptive intent. GOP leaders have spread pernicious prevarications against those who seek to inform the public. It makes their protestations last week fall as flat as a pancake dropped by the Ad Astra statue atop the Statehouse dome. That is, very flat indeed.

Let me explain what happened and then break down some of the responses that Kansas Reflector reporting received.

Journalists reporting from the Kansas House traditionally used a space in the chamber for their work. The press box had been there for decades, and reporters could use it to observe the legislative process and write their stories. This excerpt from House rules sent out for the 2024 session gives the lay of the land:

Read more at: https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/20/fear-and-loathing-in-the-kansas-statehouse-explaining-the-gops-new-press-restrictions/