Getting word from our reporters on the Hill that journalists will be allowed to bring laptops into the House chamber to cover the State of the Union address tonight. That would be a first. Reporters are barred from bringing any electronic devices into the House and Senate chambers.
The media covering Congress are divided into different camps — TV, dailies, periodicals — each overseen by its own separate press gallery (distinctions that are getting ever harder to make). The gallery staffs are very professional and abide by the rules. So this would be a giant step for digital media types seeking to escape the surly bonds of pen and pad.
