NEW YORK — As America celebrated its independence Saturday, journalists covering presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton found theirs restricted by rope-clutching campaign aides.
The Clinton campaign corralled journalists at the Fourth of July parade in Gorham, New Hampshire, keeping the Fourth Estate away from the candidate and mostly out of earshot from exchanges with voters. Photos of cordoned-off journalists quickly went viral.
The heavy-handed treatment of journalists Saturday is likely to only exacerbate the Clinton campaign’s long-running tensions with the press.
Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, avoided interviews during her first two months as a candidate. Campaign events are carefully stage managed, with reporters getting few opportunities to question the candidate. And she has yet to do a lengthy national media interview.
Journalists privately met last month to discuss grievances over access on the campaign trail — from not receiving timely logistical information to being kept too far from the candidate at public events or kept completely out of fundraisers. Representatives from the Clinton press corps brought their concerns to top communications officials the following week.
But just days after the attempted détente. , the Clinton campaign denied access to the press corps’ designated pool reporter at an event. In a joint statement, fourteen news organizations condemned the campaign’s decision as “unacceptable.”
The press wrangling at the July 4 parade Saturday only brought more scrutiny on the campaign’s handling of the media.