Palin's Team Penned Up the Media at a Wisconsin Book Signing

Philip Bump

At a Sarah Palin book signing on Thursday in Wausau, Wisconsin, reporters who arrived early were put into a back room at the store and prevented from leaving. According to a manager at the store who spoke with The Atlantic Wire, the confinement was at the request of the people organizing Palin's event.

On Tuesday, we attended the initial event on Palin's tour, organized around her war-on-Christmas-themed book, Good Tidings and Great Joy. We were able to walk freely among those waiting to talk to the governor, asking whatever questions we wanted.

The scene in Wausau, according to reporters on the scene, was very different.

According to media reporter Jim Romenesko, Treinen, who edits the Wausau Daily Herald was told there would be restrictions, but not what those restrictions would be. When they got there, reporter Theresa Clift was told that reporters would get five minutes with Palin and then be escorted out. Clift noted that the door to the room where the reporters were held for the first part of the Palin appearance wasn't locked, but the "door was guarded and we were told we couldn't leave."

According to Jeff, a manager at the Wausau Walmart who spoke with The Atlantic Wire by phone, that guard was provided by team running Palin's event, which was "put on by her publisher." The store had security on the floor managing the 800-plus people that attended the four-hour event, but the man guarding the media pen was provided by Palin's team.

RELATED: Sarah Palin Will Fix Christmas, but Only If You Buy Her New Book

At the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania event The Atlantic Wire attended, the only restriction was against entering the area where Palin was signing autographs — an area that was guarded by several burly security staffers. A reporter for the Allentown Morning Call told Romenesko that his experience mirrored that.

This article was originally published at http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/11/palin-staffers-penned-media-wisconsin-book-signing/71621/

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