Issue One joins broad coalition urging House leadership to give C-SPAN independent control of cameras on the House floor

Issue One today joined a broad coalition of 43 media outlets, press freedom organizations, and government accountability nonprofits urging Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to allow C-SPAN to independently control and broadcast House floor proceedings, just as they did during the recent debate over the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“Americans of all political stripes enjoyed and benefited from the vastly improved coverage of events on the House floor during the speakership negotiations,” the letter states. “Up-close views of impassioned discussions among representatives from across our country have bolstered our civic life by making our government more transparent. They have enabled the public to better engage with and understand the debates that animate the House of Representatives and enabled the press to better report on the conduct of our elected officials.”

The letter continues: “The footage humanizes those in power. It fosters greater understanding of their motives and of the interplay that is the give-and-take of democracy. It affords journalists and the public a more complete and accurate picture of what goes on in Congress. It makes it easier for the members striving to be understood by the public to make their case. Even lawmakers agree.”

“Not everyone can travel to Washington to observe their elected officials at work,” the letter goes on to say. “There is no reason for those Americans, from voters to journalists to school children, to be subject to an inferior perspective where so much more is possible.”

The letter further emphasizes how allowing for C-SPAN to independently control these cameras is vital to maintaining freedom of the press and a free chamber for all Americans.

Read the full letter.

The full list of signatories is as follows:

Advocacy for Principled Action in Government

Arizona Press Club

ARTICLE 19

Center for Public Integrity

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

Committee to Protect Journalists

Common Cause

Data Foundation

Defending Rights & Dissent

Demand Progress Education Fund

Electronic Frontier Foundation

First Amendment Coalition

Fix the Court

Free Government Information (FGI)

Free Press Action

Freedom of the Press Foundation

Friends of the Earth U.S.

Government Information Watch

GovTrack.us

Issue One

Lincoln Network

Modified Limited Hangout (Blog)

Ms. Magazine

National Press Club

National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)

National Security Counselors

Online News Association

Open The Government

PEN America

People For the American Way

Project On Government Oversight (POGO)

Protect The 1st Foundation

Radio Television News Directors Association

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Surveillance Technology Oversight Project

TechFreedom

The Authors Guild

The Center for Investigative Reporting (d/b/a Reveal)

The Digital Democracy Project

Tucson Sentinel

Tully Center for Free Speech

Votebeat

Woodhull Freedom Foundation