Klas told CPJ that she had asked the governor’s office to find an alternate way of holding press conferences that would allow for social distancing, so reporters would not be forced to gather in close quarters against guidance from public health experts.
“I asked for social distancing. I didn’t ask to be excluded,” Klas told the Times.
“Authorities in Florida and throughout the United States must show they are taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, and should accommodate requests from journalists to follow guidance by public health experts,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna, in New York. “Now is the time for the government to increase its transparency and access for the press, not limit it. Governor DeSantis should let Mary Ellen Klas and all other reporters cover his government freely.”
In a video Klas posted to Twitter, a state spokesperson, Meredith Beatrice, told Klas that she could watch the press conference via Florida Channel, a state-funded public affairs programming service.
Klas told CPJ that watching the briefings on TV was inadequate because she could not ask officials any questions.
She said that the governor’s office had previously suggested submitting the questions in writing, but said those questions were never addressed during the briefings, spurring Klas to try to attend the March 28 briefing and ask in-person.
CPJ emailed DeSantis’ office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
In a press conference today, DeSantis was asked about Klas’ claim that she was barred from entering the March 28 briefing, and said that reporters should ask his communications staffers about the issue, according to a tweet from Miami Herald reporter David Smiley.