Parsing through this: There’s no meaningful doubt that Hurst and Iverson-Long are reporters: They’re doing that work. They produce news reports, by any reasonable definition. They’re covering the legislature. At the Statehouse. Their reports are disseminated to the public at large. The issue is in the section referring to “an organization that exists to advocate, lobby or otherwise influence legislative, executive or judicial decisions.” CCA President Betsy Russell seemed to confirm that in saying, “It is simply a matter of what constitutes a news organization, and under our bylaws, an advocacy organization is not a news organization.” That’s not so simple as it sounds, though. /Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. More here.

Question: Randy Stapilus is the political reporter emeritus of the Idaho Statehouse press corps. What do you make of his thoughts re: the rejection by the Capital Correspondents Association of Idaho Reporter's membership application?