An unfortunate event occurred on Thursday night when Emerald reporters attempted to attend a news briefing for local media at McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. Our student journalists were discriminated against because of their casual appearance and lack of paperwork.
After it was confirmed that Emeritus Physics Professor Bernd Crasemann and his assistant opened an envelope with a granular substance and feared they may have been exposed to anthrax, an unidentified University employee checked himself into the hospital. The employee was scared that he had come into contact with the biological agent while handling the suspicious letter.
The magnitude of this incident prompted the Emerald to send reporters and photographers to the hospital for a media briefing to discuss the situation. Many other local news reporters were present to hear what hospital spokespeople had to say. However, Emerald reporters were not immediately allowed into the conference because they apparently didn’t look like “real” journalists and did not have “press passes.”
Hospital workers and security team members further complicated the situation by shuffling our news team back and forth between hospital entrances four times. They were told to go to the different entrances for the briefing, and wasted more than 30 minutes searching for a viable entrance.
Finally, after the conference was virtually over and other members of the press (notably television news crews) were leaving to prepare their stories, security let the Emerald reporters inside. After more than half an hour of cutting through red tape, our reporters were able to question Tom Hambly, McKenzie-Willamette’s manager of emergency services. Luckily, Hambly realized the importance of getting news to University students and granted us an interview.
Getting accurate, thorough and balanced news to students is the Emerald’s primary concern, especially when an event such as this happens on campus.
But more importantly, the incident raises serious questions: Who determines what a “legitimate” reporter looks like or what a “legitimate” news organization is? Who issues press passes? If those who issue the passes don’t like the way a news organization covers a story, can they revoke the passes?
These issues are being discussed by the Eugene Police Department, which has formed a committee to look into media access issues. Right now, the committee is seeking input on an identification policy that would require members of the media to provide credentials to gain access to events.
Credentials or not, members of the media need access to sources in order to inform the public. The Emerald reporters were trying to do just this, and they showed identification and told the security guards the name of the hospital’s spokesperson, who they had been instructed to ask for when they arrived. The hospital should apologize for the embarrassing incident.