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Rutherford imposes “no recording” rule on press
Reporters invited to meet with Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford are doing so under an unusual stipulation — they will not be allowed to audio- or video-record the meeting, nor take photographs.
The highly unusual stipulation, which includes the selected members of the television and radio press, was made in advance of an offer to meet with Rutherford on Tuesday morning to discuss a topic which Gov. Larry Hogan has made a key point off his young administration.
Erin Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the lieutenant governor, called the meeting “a pen-and-pad sit-down roundtable discussion” with Rutherford.
“No recording devices allowed–only pen and paper,” Montgomery wrote in the email invite.
Because of an embargo agreement, the media including The Daily Record is barred from disclosing the topic.
Rutherford is expected to meet with the press 11 a.m. Tuesday. All statements made at the meeting are on the record and can be used by reporters once the agreed-upon embargo has passed.
This is the first time such a stipulation has been imposed, according to an informal discussion with members of the State House press corps. The edict is contradictory to Hogan’s call for more openness and transparency in government.
When asked to justify the highly unusual rule, Montgomery explained in an email that the event “is a briefing not a press conference.”
Montgomery did not respond to a request for her to explain the difference.
