On Friday, an organization called Turning Point Action is holding a rally in the Youngstown area for U.S. Senate Candidate J.D. Vance with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Vance is locked in a competitive race with Tim Ryan, the congressman who currently represents the area from Youngstown to Akron.
The campaign appearance is drawing national attention due to the unusual nature of its media policy governing how the press may cover the event. Specifically, the organizers are requesting access to all footage, and they are limiting access to what and who can be covered.
- Turning Point Action and its contracted vendors reserve the right to have access to footage for archival and promotional purposes, upon request, and to know in what manner the footage will be utilized.
- No video or audio recording is allowed of the footage or media shown on the screens during the event.
- If attendees, speakers, staff, or other talent and/or crew requests that you not film them, please adhere to this request or your media credentials will be revoked and you and your crew will be required to leave the premises.
- The privilege to receive media credentials and cover the Event does not extend to all venue areas and/or panels and events. A list of approved venue areas, panels, and/or events will be made available the day prior to the event. Turning Point Action reserves the right to grant additional access on a case-by-case and outlet-by-outlet basis.
News 5 will not be covering this event because we do not, normally, cover non-presidential campaign stops. But the aforementioned guidelines did inspire much newsroom discussion that resulted in what can only be described as a physically perilous volume of eye-rolling among staff.
Joe Donatelli is the Digital Director at News 5. He publishes "What Happened Now?", a daily email roundup of the biggest and most interesting stories in Northeast Ohio.
