April 29, 2021
In a letter submitted to Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on April 29, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press expressed concern about the governor’s recent decision to bar a local news outlet from attending his press briefings.
Ricketts denied North Omaha Information Support Everyone, or NOISE, access to press briefings because his administration considered the news outlet to be “an advocacy organization funded by liberal donors.” The Reporters Committee’s letter, joined by 12 news organizations and one journalism professor, disputes that characterization, noting that NOISE is a nonprofit news group and part of the Institute for Nonprofit News, which requires that its members “do not advocate or operate in a way that promotes any legislation, policies, government action or outcomes.”