Barack Obama may be swimming in campaign cash, but he still wants to charge reporters for the privilege of covering his Election Night activities at Grant Park in Chicago, reports John Fund in the Wall Street Journal.

Crain’s Chicago Business adds that Obama’s campaign sent a memo saying the price for access to the media area, where electrical power will be available, will be between $715 and $1,815 depending on how many phone lines and power outlets are granted. Reporters who want to cover Obama campaign officials and interview them will have to gain access to a “Press File” tent for an additional $935 per person for admission.

Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, called the price list “an outrageous pay-to-play plan that caters to national elite [media] outlets.” She noted that many reporters don’t have extensive phone and electrical needs and yet will be priced out of covering Obama on Election Night.

Are these the first signs of trouble between a future President Obama and the media that have so idolized him until now?