Anderson Alerts statement on Capitol Press Corps membership denial

It’s been a week since the last newsletter, as I’ve been on the road for a story I hope to share with you soon. I’ll return to your feed tomorrow with a campaign finance story.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a personal statement on a matter that’s been privately discussed over the past month and was resolved earlier today:

Anderson Alerts Statement:

Today, a small group within the North Carolina Capitol Press Corps denied my request for membership through my Anderson Alerts Substack newsletter. As I don’t wish for this to be a subject of public or private controversy, I wanted to provide a statement to set the record straight:

Between 2016 and 2022, I had been a member of the Capitol Press Corps at various times through three different news organizations, once as an intern, once as a temporary, grant-funded employee and once as a full-time reporter.

In 2023, overly broad (and likely unlawful) non-compete provisions that a former employer placed on me greatly restricted my physical ability to cover­ North Carolina politics in Raleigh. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, I was no longer subject to any restrictions.

With the legislative short session approaching on April 24, I requested permanent membership into the Capitol Press Corps. I was informed last month that my request was denied over concerns of setting a precedent of credentialing nontraditional media.

I swiftly appealed that decision, citing a number of comparable news startups that are credentialed and how I didn’t fall into any of the five membership exclusion categories in the press corps by-laws: 1. A lobbyist; 2. A person who works for an organization that’s primary focus is the promotion of public policy; 3. A person who works for a trade organization whose primary purpose is to advance the cause of that trade organization before state government; 4. A current or former member of the General Assembly; or 5. A person who works for a political party or candidate.

Today, a select group of unnamed individuals within the Capitol Press Corps met privately and upheld the decision to deny my membership request. There was no cited reasoning, no shared list of attendees and no disclosed vote count. When I was informed of the decision, I was told without explanation that the group internally decided to keep the attendance and voting information private.

While I thank the group involved for considering my request and can respect a difference of opinion as to what constitutes a news organization in today’s increasingly decentralized news ecosystem, I cannot in good conscience endorse a process I know my colleagues would oppose if state lawmakers did the same.

As I’ve long maintained, it is hypocritical for news organizations that publicly espouse values of free speech and transparency to not also embrace those principles from within. I thank those who have privately voiced their support of me and my continued reporting in North Carolina. And I ask that everyone please also respect every member of the Capitol Press Corps, including the handful of those who don’t consider me a colleague of theirs.

I encourage the North Carolina Capitol Press Corps to seriously rethink its processes. Until they do, I will have nothing further to publicly say about this matter, as I wish to report the news and not be a subject of news. I look forward to continuing to cover the North Carolina General Assembly through visitor passes this short session and hope to find a good permanent reporting home in time for the 2025 regular session, which would make my credentialing request a non-issue.

Best,

Bryan Anderson