If You're Running for President, You Should Be Talking to Journalists

Earlier this month, my husband, Sen. Sherrod Brown, went on a listening tour of four early-primary states as he considered running for president. I traveled with him to Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, as did a caravan of political reporters waiting to see if he would announce that he was in. (He's not.) After one of Sherrod's news gaggles, a reporter pulled me aside and said, "How long before you guys shut down access?" "To whom?" I asked. "To us," he said, pointing to the pool of journalists behind him. This was in late February. At every public stop, Sherrod and I talked on the record with reporters. This has always been my husband's practice, and long before he married me. I'm less accustomed to being on this side of an interview, but it would be an act of unforgiveable hypocrisy if, after nearly 40 years as a journalist, I were to start avoiding reporters. Besides, we trust journalists.   Continue reading...