Members of the news media who regularly cover the Missouri Senate will soon be doing so from another location.
The Senate voted 26-4 Thursday to bar members of the press from the floor of the Senate, including use of a table that has been reserved for reporters for decades. The new rule takes effect March 29.
The move is the result of an incident last year, when at least one reporter sitting at the press table overheard a conversation between two senators and then posted portions of that conversation on Twitter. The post was then re-tweeted by a few other reporters.
President Pro-tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, sponsored the resolution and admitted during floor debate and afterward to reporters that he was still angry over the incident, calling it a violation of the media's code of ethics.
Reporters assigned seats at the press table will be moved upstairs to the 4th floor gallery. St. Louis Public Radio's Marshall Griffin is among those being moved from the current Senate press table.
In addition, the press table will be turned over to staff members who assist senators with bills and amendments.
Photographers, however, will still be allowed on the Senate floor, and Richard said that accommodations will be made for reporters with physical disabilities.
The brief debate and vote can be heard below:
Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport
