No, this is not the onion.
Earlier in the week we witnessed a Time photojournalist getting choke slammed by a secret service agent at a Donald Trump rally, and the following day during a Senate Appropriations Hearing in the Pennsylvania capitol complex, Republican Senator John Eichelberger pressed the secretary from Department of General Services on journalists use of the capitol newsroom.
To use the newsroom, journalists must be a part of the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association and their employers pay dues to use the space which is well below market share. The Department of General Services maintain the upkeep of all state buildings in Pennsylvania.
This did not get coverage until State Senator Vincent Hughes (D-Phila) was speaking at a budget summit. He told the crowd:
One of my colleagues asked one of the secretaries. Do we charge for use of space in the capitol building? Do we charge for use of space in the capitol building? And the response was “no.”
And the next was, you know, we have the newsroom. Some of you know where I’m going with this. We have the newsroom. For those of you who don’t know, there is a room at the top of the rotunda steps that leads into a dark alley. For real, alright. And the little bit of light – I’m talking about physical light. The little bit of light that shimmers from out of there is the offices of the various members of the capitol press corp. And it is a space that clearly, it is the space that time has forgotten. What I mean by that is not the work that is being done there because there is light that – that real light – that illuminates from the office. The light of accountability, the light of information, the light of sharing with folks of whats going on. That light is far brighter. That light from those individuals in the press corp is far brighter than the candles and what have you they have lit back there is to illuminate their work.