Prof. Kirtley Criticizes Spokesman Who Equates News Reporting with Lobbying

Professor Jane Kirtley was quoted in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article entitled, "Hospital association official accuses reporters of lobbying." The story reported that a lobbyist for the Missouri Hospital Association had accused journalists of acting as unregistered lobbyists themselves when they asked questions of Missouri legislators, threatening to report them to the state ethics commission. Kirtley said, "It will be a very bad day for the people of Missouri if a journalist asking questions is construed as lobbying." A spokesman for the hospital association subsequently repudiated the memo, stating, "We do believe the Post-Dispatch has every right to ask legislators questions."