There has been a lot of talk lately about the fact that organizers of the National Tea Party Convention were trying to keep the media from covering the event, especially the speeches that will be delivered by Sarah Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Well, apparently Palin has decided that her speech can be covered by the press, according to The Tennessean:
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has decided to allow media coverage of her speech at next month’s Tea Party Convention at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
Palin’s speech was initially announced as being closed to the media, but the former vice presidential candidate requested the press be allowed in after all, the event’s organizer announced Wednesday.
The nation’s first Tea Party convention will take place Feb. 4-6 at Gaylord Opryland.
Although the convention is sold out, according to the Tea Party Nation Web site, banquet tickets are still available. Besides Palin, Republican Congresswomen Marsha Blackburn and Minnesota’s Michele Bachmann will both be speaking at the convention.
UPDATE: According to a press release issued by the organizers, it looks like only right-wing news outlets will be allowed to cover the event:
First, we are pleased to announce that the convention has sold out and we now have a waiting list which we will continue to try to clear as opportunity presents.
In this light, we have had numerous requests for press passes and the resulting expected coverage. However, as we have set expectations that this is a working convention, we have tried not to make it a media event.
In fact, Tea Party Nation has received hundreds of requests for press credentials to cover this convention. Everyone from a small town newspaper in Iowa to Fox News has asked for press credentials. We have had requests from Canada, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Norway, Croatia and Japan. We have been hard pressed to accommodate all of these requests and do not have the space or resources to support the entirety of the press corp. Indeed, we have asked the hotel if they would be willing to provide a press room during the convention.
However, given these practical limitations, we have approved the following press organizations:
Fox News
Breitbart.com
Townhall.com
The Wall Street Journal
World Net Daily
