Accessibility and Access: Reporters Have Complaints About the DNC

There are only about 15% of the assigned press seats for print news publications this year than there were at the last Democratic National Convention.

Reporters raise their hands to ask questions
Reporters raise their hands to ask questions during a news conference at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP

CHICAGO — Outside the United Center on Monday, reporters from The Washington Post and The New York Times wandered around, lost, trying to find the places Democratic organizers had given them as workspace — like a practice gym for the Bulls that was converted into a filing center and is separated from the main arena by a parking lot.

Complaints about the media logistics of the Democratic National Convention — who gets what seats, how many, what’s the access like, how long does it take to get in, is there power and Wi-Fi — are not exactly swaying many votes. But as Kamala Harris faces new scrutiny about her reluctance to sit for traditional interviews or answer questions at a press conference, the media access choices organizers made with the DNC are carrying new weight, especially with the journalists on the ground.

One of the biggest objections has been about the dedicated seats the DNC provided for print reporters. While there are 12,000 credentialed reporters at this historic convention, hardly any of them have an assigned seat with a power outlet inside the bowl of the United Center, where the speeches are given and the delegates sit during prime-time hours.