Update (Thursday, Feb. 6): Judge Robert J. Shelby has denied independent reporter Bryan Schott’s demand for a temporary restraining order against Utah Legislature staffers, who declined to give Schott a press credential to cover this year’s legislative session. Shelby issued the oral denial after a hearing Wednesday.
Original story:
Senior staffers of the Utah Legislature are defending their denial of press credentials to an independent reporter, arguing in a court filing that doing so doesn’t violate the reporter’s First Amendment right to cover lawmakers.
They responded, in a filing late Friday night, to a lawsuit reporter Bryan Schott and the company he started, Utah Political Watch, filed in U.S. District Court for Utah on Jan. 22 — the second day of the 2025 legislative session.
In his lawsuit, Schott demands state officials issue him a credential to cover this year’s Legislature — and that they no longer prohibit other journalists who write outside of “established” news outlets from receiving those same credentials. Schott argues he was denied a credential because of his reporting, to which the Legislature’s Republican leadership objected.
The defendants named in the suit are Alexa Musselman, the House communications director; Aundrea Peterson, deputy chief of staff of the Utah Senate; and their bosses, Abby Osborne and Mark Thomas, chiefs of staff for the House and Senate, respectively.
The suit asks for a temporary restraining order against the staffers to keep them from denying credentials to reporters for independent news outlets. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, before Judge Robert J. Shelby.
No credentials for bloggers
In the complaint, Schott and his company say he was denied a press credential for this year’s legislative session — and was told Dec. 17 that a policy updated in November holds that “blogs, independent media outlets or freelance media do not qualify for credentials.” Previously, the policy stated bloggers with independent news outlets could get credentials “under limited, rare circumstances.”
Schott argues the policy does not include definitions of what is considered “independent media” or a “reputable news organization or publication.” The policy, the complaint says, “is intentionally vague so that Defendants can deny those they dislike and admit those whose reporting they prefer.”
In their response, the staffers say the Legislature first formalized its media credential policy in 2018 — trying to make a distinction between “established” news organizations, with editorial oversight and ethics policies, and outlets that may be “lobbyist organizations, political parties, or flash-in-the-pan charlatans with blog sites.”
That policy has been tweaked since, the response says, and the current policy to deny credentials to bloggers has been in place “for the last two years.” The Legislature revised the policy in November, removing the “limited, rare circumstances” phrase, “to eliminate any discretion of its staff and to implement clearer, more definite standards,” the staffers write.
Schott, in his complaint, said he appealed his denial, and House and Senate clerks answered on Dec. 26 that Schott was not “a professional member of the media associated with an established, reputable news organization or publication.”
The policy, the complaint argues, violates Schott’s First Amendment rights, because “the government does not get to decide which media are reputable … nor can government punish a media organization for not being affiliated with larger media organizations.” The complaint also argues the November policy revision was “likely intended to target Schott.”
According to the response, a change in Schott’s employment status — he left The Salt Lake Tribune in August and launched Utah Political Watch in October — prompted the denial of his credentials.
“Staff concluded that Schott is not responsible to an editor and is the final arbiter and executioner of his stories,” the response says. “Staff also concluded that the three-month-old [Utah Political Watch] did not have any institutional framework or a sufficiently established track record.”
Charles Miller, a senior attorney for the Institute for Free Speech and one of the lawyers representing Schott pro bono, said in a statement, “Bryan Schott is a leading reporter covering the state house and Utah politics. He has been for decades. He should still be a credentialed member of the press corps. The fact that he is now self-edited changes nothing.”
Schott’s complaint says he has been unable to attend pre-session news conferences with Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Mike Schultz or Gov. Spencer Cox — as well as meetings with Senate leadership, media availability with Schultz, Rules Committee meetings, impromptu news conferences and other events that media outlets typically have access to attend.
Staff, in their response, “do not dispute that Schott generally engages in protected First Amendment activity when he gathers news, but their denial of Schott’s media credential does not limit any protected First Amendment activity.”
The news conferences Schott’s complaint mentions were live-streamed — and recordings of Adams’ and Schultz’ in-office media briefings, as well as news releases, are available online. Also, the staffers noted in their denial letter to Schott, anyone can attend legislative committee hearings and floor time.
The staffers’ response, in defending limiting credentials, cites the recent shakeup in the White House briefing room, after President Donald Trump returned to office. Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, announced on Jan. 28 that the administration would open up seats in the briefing room to so-called “new media,” including podcasters, The New York Times reported. Newsweek reported the White House received some 7,400 requests from “new media” outlets.
“Surely the First Amendment does not mandate conferring credentials on all 7,400 individuals,” the Utah legislative staffers wrote in their filing.
Schott’s complaint notes he has covered Utah politics and government for more than 25 years, including stints at radio stations KSL and KUER, and for the newsletter UtahPolicy.com. He had worked at The Tribune for four years before leaving in August.
The complaint seeks court costs, attorney’s fees, and nominal damages of $17.91. Miller said the figure is symbolic, representing the year the Bill of Rights — including the First Amendment — was ratified.
The reporter’s work
Schott’s complaint cites an article he wrote on Dec. 12, in which he reported that the nonprofit watchdog group Alliance for a Better Utah accused Adams of skirting campaign-finance disclosure laws. In a post on X that day, Adams called the accusation “not just inaccurate but a blatant falsehood.”
Adams called Schott a “former media member,” and wrote that the article “part of a troubling pattern of neglectful journalism that undermines the profession’s integrity.”
In the complaint, Schott says he had a text exchange the same day with Peterson, the media liaison for the Utah Senate and one of the defendants named in Schott’s complaint, where she said Schott had a “lack of journalistic ethics.”
In their response, the staffers include a full printout of this exchange. In it, Peterson complains repeatedly that Schott posted his article without giving Adams time to make a comment in response, which she wrote was “not only irresponsible but also reflects a disregard for accurate reporting and ethical standards.”
The staffers’ response notes that Schott published that article a month after the Legislature rewrote its rule on bloggers, “so it could not have motivated the policy revision.”