NEW YORK, NY June 07, 2007 —The way the city gives reporters their press passes is being questioned after two Internet reporters were turned down. The police department is in charge of doling out the passes that allow reporters to cross police lines and attend the mayor's events. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: Both journalists say the rejection is more about censorship than security. For years, Lenny Leavitt was Newsday's police reporter until he started his own widely read web site about life inside the NYPD. But, as an unaffiliated Internet reporter, Leavitt was unable to attain his press credentials. His attorney Chris Dunn, with the New York Civil Liberties Union.

DUNN: Oh, I think the Department has been regulating press passes for probably decades. It’s only recently however that we've started encountering a lot of complaints about press passes being denied or revoked.

REPORTER: Another Internet journalist, Rafael Martinez Alequin, who operates New York City Free Press online, was also recently denied a press pass. He has retained Norman Seigel who says the current credentialing process is outdated and unconstitutional. The NYPD maintains both men were rejected because they did not prove they were working reporters who needed to be able to cross fire and police lines. For WNYC, I’m Bob Hennelly.