CHICAGO Mayor Lori Lightfood has said from now on she will only give interviews to journalists of color.

Lightfood used the second anniversary of her election to announce the move, which she said was in protest at the "overwhelming whiteness " of the city’s news media.

"I ran to break up the status quo that was failing so many. That isn't just in City Hall," Lightfoot tweeted Wednesday morning.

"It's a shame that in 2021, the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly White in a city where more than half of the city identifies as Black, Latino, AAPI or Native American.

“Diversity and inclusion is imperative across all institutions including media. In order to progress we must change.

“This is exactly why I'm being intentional about prioritizing media requests from POC reporters on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as mayor of this great city."

In a public statement on Wednesday, Lightfoot, who is the Windy City's first black mayor, confirmed the policy.

The Mayor said she had been “struck” when the she first ran for office by that she called the “the overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets”.

Lightfoot said that included “editorial boards, the political press corps, and yes, the City Hall press corps specifically”.

Local journalists in Chicago pushed back against the decision, with one Latino reporter cancelling an interview in support.

NBC Chicago political report Mary Ann Ahern reporter told The Hill she has been informed  “only Black and brown journalists are getting one-on-one interviews”.

“I think it’s outrageous for an elected official to choose who will ask questions,” Ahern said.

“And it’s even more outrageous when it’s based on the color of their skin.”

She said the mayor’s office could address diversity in journalism without banning white reporters.

“Maybe City Hall and others should do something like sponsor scholarships for Black and brown journalists, so it doesn’t take them as long as it took me to get here. But to freeze us out?”

The Chicago Tribune's City Hall reporter Gregory Pratt tweeted: “I am a Latino reporter @chicagotribune whose interview request was granted for today.

“However, I asked the mayor’s office to lift its condition on others and when they said no, we respectfully canceled. Politicians don’t get to choose who covers them.”

The policy was also attacked by Carol Marin, co-director of the Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence at DePaul University in Chicago.

“It’s a very good lesson for our journalism students to learn,” Marin tweeted.

“Public officials don’t get to pick their reporters. And reporters need to stand up for fellow reporters.”

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