Gov. Cooper’s COVID-19 press conferences often leave out conservative media

Gov. Roy Cooper is one of the only governors in the region who doesn’t allow journalists to attend his COVID-19 press conferences in person — a policy that some conservative-leaning news outlets say shuts them out from asking questions.

Cooper, like governors across the country, has been hosting frequent televised news conferences since March to provide updates on the state’s COVID-19 response and to answer questions from the press.

Journalists sign up to ask a question over the phone, and a Cooper staffer selects and calls on reporters from the list. The Cooper administration does not require reporters to submit their questions in advance.

It’s a big contrast from the in-person press conferences Cooper held before the pandemic, in which any credentialed media could attend and shout out a question.

And it’s a contrast with governors in most neighboring states. Reporters in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland and Tennessee attend their governor’s COVID-19 news briefings in person to ask questions. Delaware Gov. John Carney, a Democrat, answers a mix of questions submitted in advance and questions from journalists in the room.

West Virginia is the nearest state that uses a model similar to Cooper’s. Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, uses an all-virtual press conference format in which his administration officials and journalists all attend remotely through video conferencing.

Cooper spokeswoman Dory MacMillan said the press conference format here is designed to minimize the risk of COVID-19 for the people involved.

“Although dial-in media briefings have been an adjustment for everyone, this setup has allowed smaller outlets and those outside of Raleigh to be able to ask questions regularly to keep their audiences and readers informed,” she said in a news release.

Media outlets located elsewhere in the state previously had to attend Cooper press conferences in person to ask questions. “As this virus continues circulating without a reliable treatment or vaccine, the briefings are held this way for the safety of staff, leadership, and the press corps,” MacMillan said.

Conservative news outlets get few questions

But records of Cooper’s August news conferences, released in response to a public records request from the NC Insider, show that large Raleigh-based news outlets get to ask questions at nearly every event, while conservative media is rarely called on.

Carolina Journal, a publication of the conservative John Locke Foundation, says it has a reporter sign up for nearly every news conference, but that person rarely gets to ask a question. Editor-in-Chief Rick Henderson said that’s a change from when Carolina Journal reporters attended Cooper’s in-person events and were regularly called on. Writers for Carolina Journal have frequently criticized Cooper’s COVID-19 restrictions on business as too draconian.

“It would be helpful and responsible (and transparent) if the governor allowed credentialed reporters to attend the briefings,” Henderson said in an email. “We can wear masks, go through screening, sit far apart. ... You could have much more interaction and have a better opportunity to follow up if a question or answer wasn’t clear.”

Also snubbed during the news conferences: the newspaper North State Journal and Charlotte talk radio station WBT. North State Journal was founded by Neal Robbins, who served in Republican Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration, and its reporter on many of the press conferences is Matt Mercer, a former campaign manager for Court of Appeals Judge Phil Berger Jr.

WBT has been a major player in Charlotte media for nearly a century; it currently hosts Rush Limbaugh’s radio show and one hosted by McCrory.

“I was told by a recording that I was the FIRST person on the call to ask @NC_Governor a question and was never called upon to do so,” WBT reporter Brett Jensen tweeted. “I haven’t been called on in 7 press conferences, yet the same names and media outlets do.” North State Journal has also complained that it’s left out.

Asked about the lack of questions from the conservative outlets, MacMillan said the governor’s office doesn’t have a formal policy for prioritizing the callers during news conferences.

But “reporters are called on to try and give different media markets and types of outlet (TV, radio, print, wire) an opportunity to ask a question. Roughly 25-30 reporters dial in to a typical briefing with generally about half raising their hand for questions, and there is normally time for 8-10 questions.”

A review of call logs from three news conferences in August show the bulk of the questions went to TV stations, particularly those serving the Triangle. Of the organizations that had reporters seeking questions at all three, The News & Observer, WRAL-TV and WNCN-TV were called on during each news conference; while WFMY-TV, WTVD-TV, the nonprofit news website Carolina Public Press, WBTV-TV, Winston-Salem Journal and WJZY-TV were called on during two events.

Meanwhile, North State Journal, Carolina Journal and the nonprofit news website NC Health News did not get a single question during the three press conferences, although they signed up nearly every time. Health News has, however, asked questions on other press conferences during the pandemic.

Cooper has also received complaints that follow-up questions weren’t allowed during the first months of the pandemic — reporters’ lines were cut after they finished their question.

Since August, reporters now have the option to request one follow-up question, which MacMillan said was the result of a request from the Capital Press Corps. Some reporters have used that option to ask unrelated questions, and fewer reporters overall are called on during the news conferences.

Republican press conferences

Republican legislative leaders have taken a different approach to news conferences during the pandemic.

Legislative press conferences have been moved from the small Legislative Building press conference room to the larger auditorium, with seats blocked off for social distancing.

House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger also continued to take questions from small groups of reporters in the chamber following recent sessions. Both typically did not wear masks, or they removed a mask before speaking.

Republicans have occasionally criticized Cooper’s approach to press conferences.

Cooper’s GOP opponent, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, tweeted in July that “speaking of not showing up, why haven’t you had a real press conference since this crisis began?” Forest was responding to criticism that he is often absent from meetings.

Some reporters, however, say they like that the current press conference format limits their potential exposure to COVID-19. WRAL reporter Laura Leslie said on Twitter recently that because she routinely visits her elderly parents, she “appreciates not being crowded into a small room to ask questions I could just as easily ask virtually.”

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This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 2:24 PM.