The Star Herald last week was pleased to be invited by Congressman Brad Finstad’s office to join him at the local John Deere dealership for a tour and visit with local people.
“Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01) will be visiting C&B Operations in Luverne on Friday, April 25, at 1:30 p.m. CT,” the email message read. “Press is welcome to attend. Please reply … if you plan to join.”
We replied that we would attend. We welcome visits by our representatives in Washington, D.C.
It’s a chance to document our elected leaders interacting with their constituents in person — with real conversations about real issues that affect us here in Rock County.
The journalist-politician relationship is as old as the institutions themselves. They are elected to represent the public, and we report on their activity on behalf of the public.
On Friday, however, for the first time in decades of Star Herald news, the process was different.
We were allowed to photograph Congressman Finstad touring the dealership, but we were not allowed to cover his conversation with constituents.
The press (the Rock County Star Herald and Worthington Globe) was explicitly told to remain outside the boardroom while C&B folks, visiting farmers (who showed up uninvited) and others were ushered into the room.
The news folks looked at each other, looked around the C&B lobby and wondered why the press had been invited to an event that the press wasn’t allowed to participate in.
We had been promised time with the congressman for interviews after the meeting, but our news instincts told us the story was happening in the boardroom.
These conversations between constituents and legislators reflect the political processes of a democracy, and we weren’t able to share that exchange with our readers and our communities.
Nearly an hour later the congressman availed himself for press interviews (see the story on Page 2), during which he praised the current White House “transparency.”
But after the press had just been excluded from his conversation with constituents, we couldn’t help but see the irony in the remarks.
Several weeks ago a social media campaign criticized Finstad and other GOP officials for ghosting their constituents amid chaotic White House budget cuts.
“Have You Seen Our Congressman?” they demanded to know.
Well, we’re happy to report we saw him, but it wasn’t the interaction we were hoping for.
We hope the Star Herald’s next invitation to a legislator’s visit allows us to report on the conversation in the true spirit of transparency for local constituents and readers.
