Black publishers request Speaker McCarthy grant equal access to 41K hours of Jan. 6 Commission footage after Fox News receives documents

By Business Wire The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the national trade association of Black owned newspapers and media companies throughout the United States, urgently requests that Congressman Kevin McCarthy, […] The post Black publishers request Speaker McCarthy grant equal access to 41K hours of Jan. 6 Commission footage after Fox News receives documents appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers .

Black publishers request Speaker McCarthy grant equal access to 41K hours of Jan. 6 Commission footage after Fox News receives documents
On March 6, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) asked for access to the more than 40,000 hours of video footage used to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The videos have already been shared with Fox News host Tucker Carlson

By Business Wire

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the national trade association of Black owned newspapers and media companies throughout the United States, urgently requests that Congressman Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, provide the NNPA with copies of the 41,000 hours of security tape footage that was given to Fox News host Tucker Carlson regarding the January 6th Commission.

This is a matter of equal access to governmental information for the Black Press of America and specifically referencing the fact that Speaker McCarthy set the precedent by providing the 41,000 hours of footage to Fox News. The NNPA awaits a timely response to this request for equal access.

“The U.S. Constitution does not distinguish the freedoms of the press to just white press, mainstream press, or right-wing press. These freedoms are afforded to ALL media. The Black Press is a trusted voice in African American communities and should receive the same equity and access as all other press entities in the U.S.” says Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), known as the Black Press.

The NNPA has made two requests, both of which have gone unanswered by Speaker McCarthy. In an interview on the NNPA’s live morning news program called “Let It Be Known,” Congressman Bennie Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who chaired the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said there’s no reason why Speaker McCarthy should not give the Black Press the same access he provided Fox News.

“We are looking forward to receiving a response, or at the very least a courtesy acknowledgment, from the Speaker,” says Karen Carter Richards, NNPA Board Chairman.

The NNPA calls upon Speaker McCarthy to uphold the principles of equal access to government information and provide the 41,000 hours of security tape footage to the NNPA immediately.

For further information, contact: 

Claudette Perry, National Newspaper Publishers Association 

1816 12th St. NW Washington, DC 20009 

202-903-8528 * cperry@nnpa.org * www.nnpa.org

This press release was originally published by Business Wire.

The post Black publishers request Speaker McCarthy grant equal access to 41K hours of Jan. 6 Commission footage after Fox News receives documents appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers .