Gov. Pete Ricketts has amended his new media credentialing procedure amid complaints that it may violate the free press guarantees of the U.S. Constitution and serve as a tool to exclude journalists with whom he disagrees. Representatives from Nebraska news outlets believe the revised application is an improvement from the one released in April, but the news outlets are still concerned. The application was brought forth in early April after NOISE (North Omaha Information Support Everyone) was denied access to press briefings and email access. Following this event the Governor’s Office issued a formal policy for obtaining access to Ricketts’ news briefings at the State Capitol. No written policy had existed before that. As freedom of press committees and officials weighed in on Gov. Ricketts' new application, the main concern was that the new policy appeared to provide a pretext to exclude media outlets based on their perceived political viewpoint.

The new application allows media outlets who exclusively publish online are allowed to apply. Other alterations to the application include a non requirement of a notarized letter and questions surrounding how the organization is funded. Gov. Ricketts' media office did announce that if a media company is denied, they will be provided a reason. Since the applications birth in early April, there have been no events that required the new press credentials, it will first be tested on May 24th at an upcoming news event.

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