Incident details
- Date of incident
- June 17, 2025
- Government agency or public official involved
- Type of denial
- Government event
Denial of Access
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, above, at a June 17 news conference, where he said he would bar New York Daily News reporter Chris Sommerfeldt from attending future briefings.
Reporter allowed back in NYC mayor’s briefings, but his questions remain ignored
New York Daily News reporter Chris Sommerfeldt was allowed back into a mayoral news conference on June 24, 2025, a week after being barred from the briefings, but Mayor Eric Adams then refused to take his questions, according to the Daily News Union.
Adams initially banned Sommerfeldt on June 17 after accusing the City Hall reporter of being “disrespectful” for calling out questions during a news conference. The union and other journalists took to social media at the time to criticize the mayor’s actions.
But when Sommerfeldt was permitted to attend the later briefing, Adams again ignored his questioning, even after other journalists tried to yield their time to the reporter.
Josephine Stratman, another Daily News politics reporter, posted a transcript of the exchange on social platform X detailing her attempt, along with The City reporter Katie Honan, to defer their questions to Sommerfeldt.
Mayor Adams responded angrily, the transcript shows, saying, “There is no rule or law that states who we have to call on.” He added, “In other countries, you don’t have that luxury. In other countries, you’re dragged away if you do something wrong.”
In a statement posted later on X, the union responded, “In claiming that First Amendment press freedoms are a ‘luxury,’ and that our colleague is doing ‘something wrong’ by demanding answers, Adams echoed the rhetoric of authoritarians.”
Reporter Joe Anuta, who covers City Hall for Politico NY, also posted, “So @NYCMayor is basically saying we should be thankful we’re not disappeared at his press conferences for misbehaving?”
New York Daily News reporter Chris Sommerfeldt was barred by Mayor Eric Adams from attending future press conferences after Sommerfeldt called out a question to the mayor during a news briefing on June 17, 2025.
In a video posted by the mayor’s office of an announcement on housing, Adams is seen opening the floor and taking questions from other reporters.
After Sommerfeldt attempts to ask a question, Adams responds in a mocking tone, “You’re calling out a lot, Chris. Stop calling out. You must have done that in school.”
The mayor then turns gruff, saying, “You’re not going to be disruptive in our conferences. You’re going to stop at the gate. You do that again, you’re going to stop at the gate. You’re not going to come into this conference off topic, be disrespectful, and call out and think you’re going to do what you want.”
After Sommerfeldt calls out again, Adams responds, turning aside to staff and saying, “He did it again, make sure security knows he’s not allowed back into this room.”
Daily News Executive Editor Andrew Julien, in a statement issued via email to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, said, “Our reporters have the right to ask questions, and taxpayers aren’t funding the police to keep reporters out of City Hall press conferences.”
The union that represents Daily News reporters and staff later wrote the mayor demanding that he reverse the restriction. “To ban a reporter from future press conferences for doing the very thing a press conference is designed to facilitate—asking a question—shows a flagrant disregard for the role of the press and for our colleagues’ professionalism,” the union wrote.
The union’s letter also noted that Adams had not called on Sommerfeldt during press conferences for the past three months.
The mayor’s press secretary, Kayla Mamelak Altus, told The New York Times that she didn’t know Sommerfeldt hadn’t been called on for that long. But Katie Honan, a reporter at The City, said on social media, “This is a blatant lie.”
Other journalists took to social media to criticize the mayor.
Craig McCarthy, City Hall bureau chief at the New York Post, said that Sommerfeldt was not interrupting: “He injected a follow-up question during a pause, actually furthering the line of questioning from Politico.”
Joe Anuta, who covers City Hall for Politico NY, also confirmed that the mayor’s teams hadn’t called on Sommerfeldt for months. “Chris does not interrupt other reporters. Let him ask his Qs like the rest of us,” he added.
The New York Press Club responded to the ban, saying, “We are reaching the height of absurdity when the Mayor of New York City is applying a hostile tactic seen in the White House.”
The Tracker reached out to Adams’ press office for comment but did not receive a response.
“Chris was doing his job,” the union wrote the mayor. “The only person being disrespectful is you.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
