Chaos at Council President’s Media Briefing
Yesterday's "Media Availability" with Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart erupted in chaos during the closing question and answer session, when a reporter unaffiliated with either Bethesda Magazine or a Spanish language news outlet broke with long standing tradition and asked a question.
"We won't tolerate disruptions to our carefully scripted and poorly green screened Media Availabilities, an essential tool in spoon feeding the public what we think they need to hear," said council communications officer Anya Hoyles.
Montgomery County requires that reporters follow journalistic standards first printed by Johannes Gutenberg and designed to pitch softball questions to elected officials from traditional media that many people no longer find relevant. "We aren't like the White House, and we will continue to serve the best interests of county residents by ostracizing a wide spectrum of media," said Hoyles.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced last month opportunities for “new media” outlets, influencers, podcasters and content creators to apply for press credentials to participate in White House press briefings. At yesterday's press event, Stewart issued several strong condemnations of President Donald Trump and said Montgomery County would not bend to new White House policies and "irresponsible decisions."
County officials are resolved to rebuff changes coming from Washington, "even if that means ignoring the large and growing segment of the population that doesn't watch traditional news," said Hoyles. According to the Pew Research Center, over half of U.S. adults (54%) say they at least sometimes get news from social media, a statistic that consistently rises each year.
The question that raised a ruckus at Stewart's Media Availability came from Beatrice Kronicm, an unanointed freelance reporter, who had the audacity to ask when Silver Spring residents might get some assistance with trash piling up around the Glenmont Shopping Center.
Editor's Note: The Montgonion relied on third-party sources for this story. Our reporters are prohibited from attending Montgomery County Council Media Availabilities.
Glenmont Shopping Center parking lot, Layhill Road and Georgia Avenue, 2-24-2025. Several large bags of garbage and the front end of a car were removed from the parking lot apron recently but rubbish remains in the drainage pond exiting to the Rock Creek basin.
Glenmont Shopping Center, alley behind main building and adjacent to Glen Waye Condominiums.
Glenmont Shopping Center, retention pond and lot behind Country Boy Market and Planet Fitness, adjacent to Glen Waye Condominiums, 2-24-2025
