Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times -

The following article first appeared in the Yellowstone County News, dated October 16, 2020.

By Katrina McNiven

In an attempt to re-assert his First Amendment right, local journalist and owner of the Yellowstone County News, Jonathan McNiven attended a school board meeting in Roundup on Monday night. At the meeting, the school board chose not to present a motion to act upon McNiven’s request to override the superintendent’s choice to refuse McNiven entrance to their home volleyball games or future games. McNiven was admitted the first week he drove up to Roundup, but on September 10, 2020, when he attempted to return to cover a volleyball game as the press, he was denied entrance as the Yellowstone County News, YCN Sports, as well as the KFHW radio station.

“I’ve exhausted all efforts in order for us to attend future Roundup games to cover them for our listeners who follow their local teams,” stated McNiven. “We’ve done all that we can do, but they have left us with no other choice than to pursue legal action.” McNiven has been denied entrance as a newspaper, YCN Sports broadcast and radio station. “we have bent over backwards trying to ask for reasonable accomodations, but they haven’t budged at all. They are stomping all over our First Amendment rights as press, especially since this was an event which was open to the public.”

According to an email dated September 1, 2020, obtained by the Yellowstone County News between Roundup Public School District Superintendent Chad Sealey and Megan Spry, RS for the Central Montana Health District, Spry states, “I just want it noted that this is your decision, so when parents push back in regards to not allowing more spectators in attendance because the building can facilitate it, it does not fall back on the Health Department by people saying that it is my office that is limiting the spectators to the point that you are limiting them to. We can allow for more spectators if you can hold 900 people, but if you want to limit people even more than the 75% capacity, that is your decision.” McNiven’s response to this information was, “And they couldn’t reasonable allow for two more people?”

Roundup Superintendent Chad Sealey cited COVID restrictions and space limitations as to why McNiven was denied entrance, but McNiven says, “They retaliated against us because we asserted our First Amendment right the week before, and then they completely denied us access to do our job in covering the proceedings of the next week’s game between Huntley Project and Roundup.” Roundup Public School District’s policy allowed five spectators per home player and two visitors per visiting player to their gymnasium, “In these challenging times when everyone is trying to do the right thing and obey the rules and the health orders, it is even more important to bring these broadcasts so community members can follow their teams in spite of the limitations we are all facing.”

The following is an article from the Billings Gazette, dated October 23rd.

By Phoebe Tollefson

Billings - A weekly newspaper says its rights were violated earlier this school year when it was barred from covering a girls volleyball game, while a competing news outlet was allowed inside.

For indoor games, Roundup Public Schools is allowing five spectators per home athlete and two spectators per visiting athlete in order to limit crowd size due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yellowstone County News sued the school district on Thursday in Musselshell County District Court. The weekly newspaper also runs radio station KFHW 101.1 FM.

The news outlet covers both Huntley Project and Shepherd high school athletics. It was blocked from games on Sept. 10.

The paper filed the lawsuit in advance of the winter sports season, when Huntley Project and Shepherd basketball teams will play in Roundup.

District officials had suggested the news outlet connect to the live stream of KLMB 99.9 FM, a competitor broadcast station that was allowed inside the gym. KLMB is based in Roundup.

But the paper needed to write articles and take photos for the print publication as well. In addition, advertisers who sponsored Huntley Project and Shepherd athletic events wouldn’t get any airtime without a radio broadcast, the lawsuit stated.

Yellowstone County News said that with restricted access for fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the outlet played an even more important role.

“Media access to those athletic events is more imperative now, with limited access restrictions, than at any other time,” the lawsuit read.

Yellowstone County News asked for a preliminary injunction blocking the school district from restricting the news outlet’s attendance at future games.

It said the ban on attendance violated constitutional free speech and press rights.

Reached Friday, Roundup Superintendent Chad Sealey said he had not yet heard about the lawsuit and didn’t know when the district would respond.

He said the school gym has bleachers on just one side of the room that can hold betwee 800 and 900 people.

Sealey said the September when the school turned away Yellowstone County News, the district was also blocking teachers from attending. They’ve since relaxed that policy, he said.

Sealey said the district has no plans to loosen up the ban on visiting media. He said Yellowstone County News could attend and cover the games if it got one of the two tickets allotted per visiting athlete.

Asked about allowing local media but not visiting media, Sealey pointed to the Montana High School Association handbook, which says host schools are in charge of setting policy on broadcasting games.

The lawsuit claims the following:

Yellowstone County News vs. Roundup Public Schools, District 55 & 55H, Chad Sealey, Thomas Vanderberg, Chris Brewers, Duane Snook, Clay Bedford & Amy Angel. That at the monthly school board meeting of October 12, 2020 the school board declined to take action on YCN request. The motion also stipulates that the school districts denial violates, freedom of speech and freedom of the press as guaranteed by Article II, Section 7 of the Montana Constitution. YCN is seeking a preliminary injunction enjoining the school district fromn restricting YCN’s access to the Huntley Project and Shepherd high school boy and girls away games at Roundup High School. The suit also asks the court to award reasonable damages, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. We will follow this story in the coming weeks. - Publisher