In early October 2022, residents of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District gathered outside a gated-off facility in the city’s industrial south end. Inside, members of the media were invited to tour what would become an expanded shelter and service space for the county’s swelling homeless population.
Chinese elders and other community members held signs protesting plans for the complex, accusing local elected leaders of ignoring their concerns over public safety and pushing the expansion through without the neighborhood’s input.
Also outside the gates was Jonathan Choe, a former local TV reporter working as a senior fellow for the journalism arm of a local think tank.
As members of the media were escorted behind the gates to begin their walkthrough, private security guards and staffers for King County Executive Dow Constantine physically blocked Choe from entering.
“You’re not a member of the media, Jonathan,” said Chase Gallagher, a one-time press staffer for Governor Jay Inslee who now works as communications director for Constantine.
“Jonathan don’t be defensive about this, don’t make a scene.”
Choe was indignant. His coverage of the planned homeless complex was the reason other media outlets were interested in the story in the first place. He’d spent an extended amount of time covering concerns in the Chinatown community before any of the legacy newsrooms paid attention.
“I’m trying to go in and cover for the community what this is about,” Choe said, standing near the gate.
“Well, the media is here. You’re not a member of the media,” Gallagher replied. “That’s the facts.”
Independent journalists have long been an accepted part of Seattle’s media landscape – today more than ever. With the continued downsizing of legacy newsrooms, these journalists help fill the gap, offering important viewpoints and niche coverage of issues that would otherwise be overlooked.
Only recently, more options have emerged to offer a critical counterpoint to Washington state’s prevailing progressive narrative. The success of those outlets depends, in part, on the willingness of public officials and elected leaders to recognize them as part of the media ecosystem.
Therein lies the problem.
Some of the state’s top Democratic officials and their staff have actively sought to blacklist these dissenting voices – changing internal policies around who can access press conferences, whose email inquiries are answered, and who is deemed to be a “real journalist.”
Over the past several months, unDivided reviewed hundreds of documents, emails, and text messages obtained through public disclosure requests. Taken together, they paint a troubling narrative of how some Democratic leaders are seeking to crush independent media dissent through rules that seem nearly impossible to apply consistently.
“I think we need to nail down a policy for how we respond to WPC, and others like Choe or Kruse or Center Square,” read an August 22 email from Mike Faulk, the deputy communications director for Washington Governor Jay Inslee. Faulk wrote the email to Jaime Smith, Inslee’s executive communications director.
His email was in response to a request from Elizabeth Hovde, who writes about healthcare and labor for the Washington Policy Center, a center-right think tank that advocates for free-market solutions.
Hovde was seeking clarity on some confusion in how a state labor union was interpreting Governor Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate.
“I’ve been ignoring WPC’s inquiries because I don’t think they’re legitimate or coming in good faith,” Faulk told Smith. “I see you respond occasionally – and I’m sure that’s why Hovde reached out to you – so I just want to be consistent.”
Faulk’s email was particularly telling. Despite dozens of independent journalists and outlets in the state, many of which have a political agenda or outside funding, he specifically listed those known to offer less favorable coverage of Democrats: The Washington Policy Center, Center Square, Jonathan Choe, and yours truly.
Why?
The answer may seem obvious – but understanding the selectivity at play is far more complicated.
When I left my job in TV news in November of 2021 to launch the unDivided Podcast, I worried what it might mean for my access to elected leaders. At the same time, I was one of the longest-serving journalists in the market. I’d spent 13 years building trust, connections, and respect as one of the state’s only full-time political reporters.
For those reasons, I enjoyed a relatively soft landing in the world of independent media.
Jonathan Choe didn’t have the same luxury.
Choe began as a reporter in Seattle in April 2020, just after the onset of the pandemic. Much of his first two years with KOMO-TV were spent trying to cover issues virtually – a difficult way to build relationships.
In March 2022, Choe was fired by KOMO after publishing a video on social media that highlighted a Proud Boys’ rally outside the state capitol. The city’s alt-Left social media mob, which already disliked Choe for his coverage of Seattle’s drug epidemic, called his video propaganda for the far right. It didn’t take KOMO long to relent.
Undeterred, Choe went to work for FixHomelessness.org, the journalism arm of Discovery Institute – a conservative think tank. Choe said he was clear with his new bosses upfront: he wanted full autonomy to do in-depth reporting on homelessness.
While government offices initially responded to his email requests and included him on lists for press releases, those communications quickly faded.
“Brandi, do you get the emails for Mayor Harrell’s press conferences?” Choe sent me in a text on August 31, 2022.
“Yes,” I responded.
“You’re not going to believe this, but the mayor’s media team has iced me out. So has Dow Constantine,” he wrote. “Could you please let me know moving forward when the mayor’s next physical press conference will be?”
Indeed, internal emails from that time show Choe’s inquiries going unanswered. Sometimes, Mayor Bruce Harrell’s communications director would simply forward the emails to other members of the team as an "FYI" but offer no response.
At the same time, when Choe did manage to find out about an in-person event, Mayor Harrell happily took his questions.
“He’ll see me, and he takes the time and does his best to answer my questions, so I don’t know what’s going on with the mayor’s press team – whether they’ve been given any guidance from the mayor not to invite me to these events.”
Choe said he did attend an in-person mayoral press conference toward the end of 2022 without an RSVP and was not turned away – although he was not directly notified of the event either.
“As of now, I’ve not been technically blocked form any of the mayor’s press conferences or events,” he said.
The same is not true for King County Executive Dow Constantine.
Before the infamous incident outside the homelessness complex near Chinatown, tensions between Choe and the executive’s office were high.
In September, Constantine refused to answer questions from Choe at a press availability. Choe, not one to be ignored, followed Constantine out of the room (camera in hand) and continued his line of questioning.
“You’re not actually a journalist, you were fired for promoting the Proud Boys,” Constantine told him. “So, we talk with reporters like those in the room.”
With that, Constantine disappeared into a private elevator.
A member of Constantine’s staff tried to appease Choe, telling him to direct questions to relevant departments.
“Your office is not responding to me, that’s the problem,” he said.
“You are not with a media outlet that is our focus,” the staffer responded.
What media outlets are their “focus”?
Behind the scenes, Executive Constantine’s office had been responding to Choe’s requests with various versions of the same line: “We decline to participate in your project.”
Communications Director Chase Gallagher also encouraged other county departments not to treat Choe as a member of the press.
“Since the Discovery Institute is not a media organization (it is an agenda driven think tank) we do not need to treat these inquires as media requests,” Gallagher wrote in a June 23rd email to spokespeople for other county departments.
At the same time, those departments would prepare themselves for other media requests on the same topics – noting that Choe’s coverage was sure to bring additional attention to the issues (which is what good journalism does).
The office of Washington Governor Jay Inslee has taken a slightly different approach to requests from Choe, but one that raises questions about whether their rules for media outlets can be applied consistently.
As far as the governor’s office is concerned, Choe’s employment by a think tank disqualifies him from attending press availabilities at the governor’s office.
“We’ve had think tanks in the past – conservative and liberal – that have requested the opportunity to ask questions at these media avails for their platforms and we have declined all of those requests to participate,” Deputy Communications Director Mike Faulk told Choe in a July 19 email. Choe had attempted to RSVP for a media availability with the governor on his efforts to clear encampments on state property.
unDivided has asked the governor’s office to provide examples of other think tanks who have been denied access to media briefings. This story will be updated accordingly.
In a similar email exchange on September 8, Choe pressed Faulk on how the office was adjusting its requirements to adapt to the changing media landscape.
“A highly ideological think tank is not a news organization,” Faulk replied. “Even if they have an arm they say is a news organization.”
In several emails, both Faulk and Jaime Smith agreed that they would still try to respond to factual inquires for information from Choe and anyone else.
The governor’s office said it made decisions about access based, in part, on guidelines set forth by the Capitol Correspondents Association. Those guidelines detail what organizations or journalists can be credentialed to cover events at the statehouse.
Certainly, the credentialing requirements also frown upon journalists who are affiliated with lobbying, political campaigns, or who are employed by a non-news organization.
One could reasonably argue that separating think tanks or lobbyists from the ranks of media members is sound policy – but that line is increasingly blurred as news agencies look to outside funding sources to compensate for dwindling revenue.
For example, The Seattle Times’ Project Homelessness is funded by outside entities, some of which are clearly ideologically driven. The Times discloses the funding at the top of each story put out under the Project Homelessness banner and notes that they maintain editorial control.
Should that funding keep The Times from attending press conferences at the Governor’s office?
How about The Center Square?
The Center Square covers politics in states across the country, including Washington, with a focus on economic issues. While some argue its coverage is conservative, it’s no more to the right than most mainstream publications are to the left. Readers can donate to support the work, but it is funded through the Franklin News Foundation with a goal of delivering statehouse coverage where legacy newsrooms are falling short.
For any discerning person, The Center Square’s stories are well reported, timely, and informational. Yet, you’ll recall that August 22 email from Mike Faulk:
Should one of the only outlets providing balanced and consistent coverage of the statehouse be denied access to the governor because of their funding source? Even as other outlets downsize?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t address the fact that I, too, was listed on Faulk’s email.
Just last week, Governor Inslee did a lengthy interview with me in my capacity as a fill-in host on KIRO Radio. Yet, in my full-time job hosting the unDivided Podcast, technically I would run afoul of their standards.
While the majority of unDivided’s revenue comes from listeners who pay $5 per month to support the show, we also (like nearly every media outlet) rely on ad revenue. Each Monday, we run a branded segment as part of a partnership with Future 42 – an arm of Project 42, which is a non-profit that advocates for personal liberty and free-market solutions in Washington state. Project 42 operates based on donations and does not contribute to political campaigns or committees.
Like The Times’ Project Homelessness, I maintain editorial control over the content in these segments.
See how quickly these rules can get confusing?
If Choe’s employment by a think tank was the only thing keeping him from gubernatorial press conferences, reasonable people could disagree. But then came this bizarre email admonishing Choe for his behavior on social media.
“…your online conduct does not reflect the same level of respect and decorum we experience from the credentialed reporters who attend events hosted by the governor and Legislature.”
How does the governor’s office plan to police social media behavior as a condition of access?
After all, Erica Barnett, a local blogger who Smith accused Choe of attacking online, is herself is one of the wort offenders of social media misconduct. She has personally attacked my Twitter followers, calling them “troglodytes” and other condescending names. In 2020, she called for me to be fired, claiming I made up a story about a rioter firing a stolen police rifle, even going as far as to tag my employer in a Tweet. Barnett was later forced to back away from her claim when video surfaced showing that the incident had, in fact, occurred as reported.
So, would Barnett be banned from the governor’s press conferences because of her online behavior?
The governor’s office put out its own guidelines around credentialing in October 2022, with a section on professional conduct.
It seems reasonable, but I would also point out that a member of the governor’s press team seems to run afoul of their own rules on social media behavior.
Faulk, the deputy communications director, has sent several tweets attacking members of the media.
In another Tweet, he told Missouri’s Republican governor to “eat shit.”
At the very least, the tweets from Faulk raise serious questions about his ability to treat members of the media fairly.
Conservative radio host Ari Hoffman on 570 KVI provided me with an email exchange between he and Faulk.
In it, tensions are so high that Faulk demanded to speak to Hoffman’s boss. Without listing specifics, he said Hoffman had “repeatedly, knowingly spread lies in your ‘coverage’ of what the state is doing. You have no professional ethics. Goodbye.”
Can Faulk, who is a public employee, be trusted to decide who the journalists are? Can anyone in government?
I asked Choe how he believes elected leaders should navigate this brave new media world.
“There aren't enough bodies left to cover these press conferences," he said. "Work with men and women who do journalism full time, regardless of differences in opinion or any perceived bias. Examine their entire body of work before making a decision about access. And just know, independent journalists like me are on the rise. So, if you are going to block me from press conferences because of my connection to a think tank, you better reevaluate how every other journalist is being funded.”
