Washington Gov. Ferguson limits press access, breaking precedent
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Since taking office, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has held more Seahawks flag-raising ceremonies than press conferences dedicated to taking wide-ranging questions from reporters.
Why it matters: Ferguson has departed from his predecessors' practice of holding regular, open-ended press availabilities — limiting public scrutiny of his administration.
- His office also imposed new media approval rules that have slowed agency responses to the press and frustrated state workers, as Axios first reported last week.
Zoom in: Ferguson has taken questions at events tied to legislative milestones and at topic-specific press conferences. But he has held no standing, unscripted availabilities of the kind his predecessors conducted.
- Jay Inslee, Ferguson's immediate predecessor, held a freewheeling press conference the day after his inauguration, and continued holding regular open Q&As with the press corps throughout his tenure, according to TVW archives.
- Ferguson has yet to hold a single one in 16 months.
What they're saying: "He seems reluctant to cede control of the situation in the way that kind of open-ended news conference does," said Paul Queary, a former Associated Press correspondent in Olympia who now publishes the Washington Observer.
- Queary said former governors Gary Locke and Chris Gregoire also had regular open press availabilities — a free-form format that he said makes it harder to evade pointed or confrontational questions.
- "I don't remember any previous governors having this bizarre combination — what appears to be an obsession with media coverage, and a real disinclination to interact with the press," Queary said of Ferguson.
State of play: Ferguson instead holds frequent media events on specific topics — including one last week about state health inspectors' inability to access an immigration detention center in Tacoma.
- These events typically feature multiple speakers and center on announcements from the governor or other officials.
- Reporters can ask broader questions, but time is limited and the focus generally stays on the news at hand.
The big picture: The governor's lack of regular sit-downs with the media reflects a broader pattern, said Bill Lucia, editor of the Washington State Standard.
- "There's been a lack of access and transparency in making him available and letting people know what he's up to," Lucia told Axios.
- Lucia started a weekly "Where's the governor?" column last year to track the governor's whereabouts, after months of Ferguson's office not sharing the governor's schedule of public appearances in a timely manner.
The other side: Brionna Aho, Ferguson's spokesperson, did not answer Axios' questions about why Ferguson has dispensed with the media practices of past governors.
- "The governor takes questions on other topics at most press conferences, and almost always takes extra time after the formal event to talk with reporters who attend," Aho wrote in an email to Axios.
- She added that the governor "speaks at many public events where he is almost always available for questions."
What we're watching: Whether Ferguson will open himself up to more regular, unscripted interactions with the press — or continue to limit media access through his term.
Go deeper: Governor sign-off rule snarls flow of information in Washington