A shrinking local press is making it easier for public officials to restrict access

Reporters across the country say they’re being denied credentials, shut out of government spaces and stonewalled by public officials

As CNN, Politico and MS NOW challenge their White House ban in court, a similar press access battle is playing out in Utah — one that dates back to the beginning of last year.

There, Bryan Schott, a longtime political journalist and founder of Utah Political Watch, has been fighting to get press credentials to the Utah State Legislature. Over the summer, a panel of federal judges revived Schott’s lawsuit, sending it back to a lower court to determine whether the legislature had discriminated against him based on his viewpoint, which would violate the First Amendment.