The Republican-controlled Utah Legislature revised their media credential policy late last year to exclude “independent” journalists. One GOP senator says the change was targeted at a specific journalist to show “who’s the boss.”
In December, the Utah Legislature quietly changed their media credential rules to exclude "blogs, independent media outlets or freelance media" — then denied Utah Political Watch's application. A newly public recording suggests the policy was changed to specifically target UPW.
On Jan. 21, 2025, Republican Sen. Todd Weiler was speaking to a group of charter school students at the Capitol when the subject of the news media came up.
“They (the media) don’t like it that we get together and talk, and they can’t listen to us, so they write horrible things about our secret meetings in here,” Weiler told the students.
A student then asked, “Why are independent journalists not part of the media in Utah anymore?” an apparent reference to the decision denying a credential to UPW.
Weiler’s response was blunt: “There’s only one independent journalist that wasn’t given credentials this year, and he has kind of burned some bridges with some of the House and Senate leadership. They don’t feel like he’s particularly honest.”
“I think the legislative leadership is showing who’s the boss.”
Weiler never mentioned UPW or its publisher Bryan Schott by name in the recording, but it’s clear that’s who meant in his answer. UPW was the only outlet denied a press credential for the 2025 Legislature.
“He likes to kind of poke people in the eyes. And if you do that long enough, sometimes it comes back at you. In my opinion, that’s what happened,” Weiler admitted to the students.
Weiler confirmed making the remarks heard in the recording.
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The day after the recording was made, UPW and Schott filed suit in federal court, alleging legislative staffers violated their First Amendment rights. The recording — which appears to confirm retaliatory intent — was made public on Monday in a new filing as part of that lawsuit.
Last week, the Society for Professional Journalists named the Utah State Legislature as a recipient of their 2025 Black Hole Award, which is awarded to “government institutions that exhibit blatant disregard for the public’s right to know.”
