Alaska Governor's Office Cuts Off Communication With Journo

By: A veteran freelance journalist will be cut off from communications from Gov. Frank Murkowski's office because he hasn't shown the governor the proper respect, a Murkowski spokesman said Tuesday.

Deputy Press Secretary Will Vandergriff said reporter Bob Tkacz won't be alerted of future press conferences held by the governor and will no longer receive press releases.

"We're sick of him," Vandergriff said. "We don't think he's doing his job as a reporter. Half the time, he just wants to get the governor's blood up."

Tkacz, who has reported from the Capitol since 1990, is well known among government and legislative officials because of his dogged and sometimes combative style of questioning. He has written for various publications on government and commercial fisheries during his 16 years in Juneau, and now reports for the Alaska Legislative Digest and his own newsletter, Laws for the Sea.

Tkacz is not banned - he can still show up at the governor's press conferences if he finds out about them - but he is no longer going to be invited, Vandergriff said.

Although Murkowski has had a rocky relationship with the press since taking office, this is the first time he or any Alaska governor in recent memory has imposed sanctions against a reporter.

Vandergriff denied the action was an attempt to limit press freedom or impose standards on reporters who cover state government.

"We just think he needs to reflect on the way he interacts with our office," Vandergriff said.

Vandergriff said he has never read any of Tkacz's reports.
Tkacz said he only learned of the sanction when he was asked about it by a reporter.

"I think it's an attempt to intimidate," he said. "They're picking on the reporter from pretty much the smallest medium in the building. I don't see them throwing AP out of the news conferences or any of the media that they need because (they) have widespread circulation."

The restricted information flow should not impede his work, as other reporters have said they would forward him future news releases and announcements, he said.

"This is slapping my wrist, or something like that, and my wrist feels fine," he said.

The decision to declare Tkacz a persona non grata was made by Murkowski and Chief of Staff Jim Clark after Tkacz walked out of a governor's news conference last Friday.

Tkacz left after Murkowski twice interrupted a question he was trying to ask.

Murkowski later said he hoped Tkacz would return to his news conferences. However, Vandergriff cited the walkout as a reason for the sanctions. He also cited a time last year when Tkacz, as a protest, tried to enter a press conference from which several news organizations had been barred.

Tkacz was escorted by security from the governor's Capitol office at the time.

Tkacz said he respects the office of the governor and that he is just trying to get answers to his questions.

However, Murkowski refuses to answer them, he said. Instead, he said, the governor tries to steer the conversation to topics he suspects are related to his re-election campaign.

Murkowski faces a tough primary race against Republican challengers Sarah Palin of Wasilla and John Binkley of Fairbanks.

Vandergriff said the governor addresses legitimate state concerns in his news conference and is not campaigning.