Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany’s campaign barred two Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters from a campaign roundtable in Milwaukee on Thursday, Sept. 24, a move the newspaper said deprived Wisconsin voters of information about a major-party candidate. Wisconsin Examiner identified the journalists as Mary Spicuzza and David Clarey; the Washington Sun independently reported the confrontation and the campaign’s explanation.
Video posted by CBS 58 political reporter A.J. Bayatpour showed a campaign staffer standing in a doorway while Spicuzza questioned why she could not enter. In the recording, the staffer told her the campaign wanted the race covered fairly. The event was a roundtable with military veterans. A Journal Sentinel photojournalist was allowed inside, and the campaign said WISN, CBS 58 and other outlets also attended.
The campaign said Spicuzza had been notified Wednesday that she would not be admitted. In a public statement, it labeled her a “liberal activist,” argued that her headlines had treated Tiffany more negatively than Democratic nominee David Crowley, and said it welcomed “balanced journalists,” including another Journal Sentinel reporter. That account establishes the exclusion as a campaign decision tied to its view of individual coverage, rather than a general capacity or security restriction.
Journal Sentinel Executive Editor Greg Borowski rejected the campaign’s rationale. “When our reporters cover campaigns and attend political events, they are there on behalf of the public,” he said in the newspaper’s original report. Borowski said the newsroom would continue pursuing fair coverage despite what he called unnecessary hurdles. His response framed the dispute as one about voters’ access to independently gathered information, not simply a private disagreement between a candidate and a publication.
The denial also contrasted with Tiffany’s comments two days earlier at the Wisconsin Counties Association conference. Asked about press access, Tiffany said he believed in an open and free press and did not plan to block reporters, even while criticizing coverage he considered slanted. At Thursday’s event, he told reporters he would need to speak with his communications team about Spicuzza’s access, according to the state report.
The practical question now is whether the campaign will apply the same restriction at future appearances. The campaign’s statement singled out one reporter but Thursday’s exclusion ultimately covered two. It also left open access for a photographer and selected Journal Sentinel personnel. That makes the policy narrower than a newsroom-wide ban, but more consequential than a one-time logistical dispute: campaign staff asserted authority to decide which individual political reporters could enter based on their prior work.
For Wisconsin voters, the immediate consequence is a smaller independent record of what occurred inside a candidate’s veterans roundtable. The campaign remains able to challenge coverage publicly, while news organizations remain responsible for accuracy and fairness. The access decision adds a separate test—whether critical reporting will be answered in public or used as grounds to limit who may observe the campaign directly.
