VOL Denied Media Credentials to Upcoming General Convention

This is the first time I have been denied credentialed press access to General Convention. I have covered seven Episcopal General Conventions — 1982 in New Orleans on site for the Hammond Vindicator; 1991 in Phoenix on site for the Episcopal Synod of America; 2009 in Anaheim (Mickey Mouseland) on site for VOL; 2012 in Indianapolis, 2015 in Salt Lake City, 2018 in Austin, and 2022 in Baltimore online virtually for VirtueOnline.

But this time I have been denied even virtual online accreditation for the 2024 General Convention. I had hoped to cover the event offsite via the Internet with needed access to vital media connections.

“You may, however, wish to tune in to the public feeds of both houses, worship, and the press conferences on our General Convention media hub,” Ms. Skofstaf suggested.

Without proper media credentials a reporter cannot be an active part of a news conference, just quietly monitor it. They have no access to zoom links which allows them to actively participate in the pressers. The reporter’s voice and questions are silenced.

Without media credentials the offsite reporter has no access to vital resources and information needed to write their stories. Nor are they looped into the daily media updates that the Office of Public Affairs puts out. As a result non-credentialed journalists are hampered and hamstrung in their ability to effectively cover the General Convention.

Well, just what “criteria” is Ms. Skofstaf referring to?

“Credentials are intended for professional journalists and communications staff from dioceses, churches, and other Episcopal organizations,” the Office of Public Affairs fleshes out.

I have been a professional journalist since 1968. My first story was covering a college basketball game for the Winter Haven Daily News-Chief. Since then, I have worked at daily and weekly newspapers as well as in television and radio news in several states including Florida, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Montana, Georgia and Louisiana. I have worked as reporter, photographer, layout artist, and eventually an award-winning weekly newspaper editor. In 2008 I hooked up with Virtue Online and have been with David Virtue since. I consider working with VOL the pinnacle of my 50+ year journalistic career.

Apparently the only “criteria” that really counts is being employed by a sanctioned Episcopal news agency. VirtueOnline is an Anglican-based Internet news organization, not an Episcopal Church, Episcopal diocese, Episcopal parish or any other Episcopal entity news organization.

VOL covers all things Anglican including The Episcopal Church, and the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem in the Middle East, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church in Sudan, and the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church.

VirtueOnline also covers the Church of England, the Church of Uganda, the Church of Nigeria, the Church of Pakistan, as well as ACNA, GSFA, GAFCON, Forward in Faith, the Global South, the Anglican Continuum, and even the Anglican Ordinariates.

David has travelled the globe covering Anglican news including Lambeth Conferences. I have travelled around the United States covering Episcopal news including General Conventions.

Both David Virtue and I are professional journalists, meaning we have worked for mainstream newspapers and religious news publications throughout our long careers. Together we have more than 100 years of journalistic experience between us, much of it in religion news research and reporting.

But there is a wealth of Episcopal news-making organizations which might have their own inhouse reporters on the ground including: Forward Movement, the Episcopal News Service, Bishops United Against Gun Violence, the Union of Black Episcopalians, the Episcopal Service Corps, the Church Periodical Club, the Daughters of the King, the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, the Episcopal Public Policy Network, the Living Church, and Indigenous Ministries just to name a few.

In addition, several dioceses and organizations create and hand out daily General Convention publications presenting their own point of view be it liberal, conservative or something in the middle.

I was on one such publication at the 1991 General Convention in Phoenix. I was the photographer for THE SOURCE which was the Episcopal Synod of America’s daily General Convention publication. Other staffers included such notables as Bill Murchison and Peter Toon. Just mentioning those names brings up fond memories.

But I am wondering if the upcoming General Convention will even generate much interest from or for the secular media. There are no new woke bridges to cross which generate breaking headlines in the mainstream press.

The Episcopal Church has already embraced women’s ordination. It embraced gay bishops. It embraced same-sex marriage. It embraced transgenderism. It embraced a female presiding bishop. It embraced a black presiding bishop. It embraced abortion. It embraced heresy. It embraced inclusive language. It embraced going against the Thirty-Nine Articles. It embraced ignoring the Book of Common Prayer. It embraced jettisoning the Church Constitution and Canons. It embraced disregarding Scripture.

In all likelihood this Generation Convention will not create any attention-grabbing headlines as in past years. I doubt if the Associated Press, Christianity Today, CBN News, or the Religion News Service will be clamoring for press credentials.

But this is not the first time that VirtueOnline has been barred from a news making event. The last time it happened was on January 2, 2012 when I attempted to cover the introduction of former Episcopal Bishop Jeffrey Steenson (V Rio Grande) as the first Ordinary of the newly-forming Personal Ordinariate of the Chair St. Peter. The introductory news conference was being held at Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston.

At that time, I was not permitted to set up my equipment with other journalists nor was I allowed to participate in the question-and-answer session with the other reporters present.

I was told that full access was only for “credentialed media” by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston communications director who was running the show. She wasn’t giving an inch.

At that point I had been “credentialed media” for more than 40 years. I carefully explained that I have held media credentials at three Episcopal General Conventions, two Anglican Use Conferences, two Forward in Faith Assemblies, two Country Fests, the 2006 Iditarod, the Firecracker 400, the 1984 World’s Fair, the 1969 formation of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, the reconstitution of TEC’s Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, and the Anglican Church in North America’s Inaugural Assembly as well as a host of other major media events.

The Ordinariate news conference was an interesting event. They were trying to explain to the Catholic and secular press what the Anglican Ordinariate was. The powers that be were considering it a “Catholic” story rather than an “Anglican” story even though the first ordinary was a former Episcopal bishop and the Ordinariate was being peopled with former Anglicans — priests and laity — who turned Roman Catholic. So, in part, it was Anglican news, not just Catholic news. I was the only Anglican reporter there.

Then VOL was cut out of the mix. Now, again, VirtueOnline is cut out of the mix.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline.

VOL Denied Media Credentials to Upcoming General Convention
This is the second time VOL has been denied press access to religious media event

By Mary Ann Mueller
VOL Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
May 4, 2024

Well, it happened again. This time VirtueOnline has been denied media credentials for the upcoming General Convention scheduled to take place in Louisville, Kentucky.

Friday (May 3) I received this email from Amanda Skofstad, the Senior Public Affairs Officer for The Episcopal Church.

“Dear Mary Ann: Thank you for being in touch. Due to our criteria for GC81 media credentials, we are unfortunately unable to approve this request. …”