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Media blacklist heads down-ballot

North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican running for reelection, is refusing to provide The Raleigh News & Observer with details of his public campaign events and campaign schedule in retaliation for the newspaper’s coverage of Burr’s campaign.

A spokesman for Burr told The News & Observer that Burr’s lead political strategist “put an embargo” on sending scheduling details to the newspaper “until you demonstrate the ability to cover this race from a balanced point of view.” Jesse Hunt, Burr’s spokesman, told a News & Observer reporter in an email that the ban applies to the newspaper “because Colin Campbell and The News & Observer have failed to cover the Senate race objectively and on its own merits.”

Campbell, who covers government and state politics for the News & Observer, said in an article about the ban that the daily's reporters were no longer receiving regular emailed news releases that detail where Burr will campaign in the state. The move will limit the newspaper’s ability to report on Burr’s campaign events, Campbell said.

The decision to intentionally limit a news outlet from being able to report on a candidate’s public appearances has become something close to a trend in 2016. Earlier this year, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign enforced a media blacklist that blocked reporters from more than a dozen news organizations from attending campaign events. The blacklist, which was enforced by preventing reporters from being granted press credentials and removing reporters from campaign events, occurred in retaliation for those outlets’ coverage of Trump. After many months, Trump eventually dropped blacklisting news outlets. He continues to called the media “dishonest” and “absolute scum,” and he has said that he will try to change libel laws to make it easier for individuals to file lawsuits against news outlets.

