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Posted by
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on Mon Jul 28 06:18:33 2014
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Letter urges President Obama to be more transparent7/8/2014President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C
July 8, 2014
Mr. President,
You recently expressed concern that frustration in the country is breeding cynicism about democratic government. You need look no further than your own administration for a major source of that frustration — politically driven suppression of news and information about federal agencies. We call on you to take a stand to stop the spin and let the sunshine in.
Over the past two decades, public agencies have increasingly prohibited staff from communicating with journalists unless they go through public affairs offices or through political appointees. This trend has been especially pronounced in the federal government. We consider these restrictions a form of censorship — an attempt to control what the public is allowed to see and hear.
The stifling of free expression is happening despite your pledge on your first day in office to bring “a new era of openness” to federal government — and the subsequent executive orders and directives which were supposed to bring such openness about.
Recent research has indicated the problem is getting worse throughout the nation, particularly at the federal level. Journalists are reporting that most federal agencies prohibit their employees from communicating with the press unless the bosses have public relations staffers sitting in on the conversations. Contact is often blocked completely. When public affairs officers speak, even about routine public matters, they often do so confidentially in spite of having the title “spokesperson.” Reporters seeking interviews are expected to seek permission, often providing questions in advance. Delays can stretch for days, longer than most deadlines allow. Public affairs officers might send their own written responses of slick non-answers. Agencies hold on-background press conferences with unnamed officials, on a not-for-attribution basis.
In many cases, this is clearly being done to control what information journalists — and the audience they serve — have access to. A survey found 40 percent of public affairs officers admitted they blocked certain reporters because they did not like what they wrote.
Some argue that controlling media access is needed to ensure information going out is correct. But when journalists cannot interview agency staff, or can only do so under surveillance, it undermines public understanding of, and trust in, government. This is not a “press vs. government” issue. This is about fostering a strong democracy where people have the information they need to self-govern and trust in its governmental institutions.
It has not always been this way. In prior years, reporters walked the halls of agencies and called staff people at will. Only in the past two administrations have media access controls been tightened at most agencies. Under this administration, even non-defense agencies have asserted in writing their power to prohibit contact with journalists without surveillance. Meanwhile, agency personnel are free speak to others — lobbyists, special-interest representatives, people with money — without these controls and without public oversight.
Here are some recent examples:- The New York Times ran a story last December on the soon-to-be implemented ICD-10 medical coding system, a massive change for the health care system that will affect the whole public. But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), one of the federal agencies in charge of ICD-10, wouldn’t allow staff to talk to the reporter.
- A reporter with Investigative Post, an online news organization in New York, asked three times without success over the span of six weeks to have someone at EPA answer questions about the agency's actions regarding the city of Buffalo’s alleged mishandling of “universal waste” and hazardous waste.
- A journalist with Reuters spent more than a month trying to get EPA’s public affairs office to approve him talking with an agency scientist about the effects of climate change. The public affairs officer did not respond to him after his initial request, nor did her supervisor, until the frustrated journalist went over their heads and contacted EPA’s chief of staff.
The undersigned organizations ask that you seek an end to this restraint on communication in federal agencies. We ask that you issue a clear directive telling federal employees they’re not only free to answer questions from reporters and the public, but actually encouraged to do so. We believe that is one of the most important things you can do for the nation now, before the policies become even more entrenched.
We also ask you provide an avenue through which any incidents of this suppression of communication may be reported and corrected. Create an ombudsman to monitor and enforce your stated goal of restoring transparency to government and giving the public the unvarnished truth about its workings. That will go a long way toward dispelling Americans’ frustration and cynicism before it further poisons our democracy.
Further examples on the issue are provided as well as other resources.
Sincerely,
David Cuillier
President
Society of Professional Journalists
spjdave@yahoo.com
Beth Parke
Executive Director
Society of Environmental Journalists
bparke@sej.org
Kathryn Foxhall
Member
Society of Professional Journalists
kfoxhall@verizon.net
Holly Spangler
President
American Agricultural Editors’ Association
Gil Gullickson
Board Chair
American Agricultural Editors’ Association Professional Improvement Foundation
Alexandra Cantor Owens
Executive Director
American Society of Journalists and Authors
Janet Svazas
Executive Director
American Society of Business Publication Editors
David Boardman
President
American Society of News Editors
Hoda Osman
President
Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association
Kathy Chow
Executive Director
Asian American Journalists Association
Diana Mitsu Klos
Executive Director
Associated Collegiate Press
Paula Poindexter
President
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
Miriam Pepper
President
Association of Opinion Journalists
Lisa Graves
Executive Director
Center for Media and Democracy
Rachele Kanigel
President
College Media Association
Gay Porter DeNileon
President
Colorado Press Women
Sue Udry
Executive Director
Defending Dissent Foundation
Mark Newton
President
Journalism Education Association
Mark Horvit
Executive Director
Investigative Reporters and Editors
J.H. Snider
President
iSolon.org
Phyllis J. Griekspoor
President
North American Agricultural Journalists
Carol Pierce
Executive Director
National Federation of Press Women
Robert M. Williams Jr.
President
National Newspaper Association
Bob Meyers
President
National Press Foundation
Charles Deale
Executive Director
National Press Photographers Association
Diana Mitsu Klos
Executive Director
National Scholastic Press Association
Mary Hudetz
President
Native American Journalists Association
Jane McDonnell
Executive Director
Online News Association
Patrice McDermott
Executive Director
OpenTheGovernment.org
Tim Franklin
President
The Poynter Institute
Danielle Brian
Executive Director
Project on Government Oversight
Jeff Ruch
Executive Director
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
George Bodarky
President
Public Radio News Directors Incorporated
Mike Cavender
Executive Director
Radio Television Digital News Association
Herb Jackson
President
Regional Reporters Association
Christophe Deloire
Secretary General
Reporters without Borders
Frank LoMonte
Executive Director
Student Press Law Center
Roy S. Gutterman
Director
Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University
David Steinberg
President
UNITY Journalists for Diversity
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