Some Insights on Where We Are with HHS Information Control

In May, the new Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services said all press inquiries and material released to the press must go through his office. About a month before that a CDC communications official had told staff who deal with the press they do not necessarily have to “fulfill” reporters’ requests to talk to someone.

Years ago, federal agencies, like many other entities, instituted rules banning employees from speaking to the press without being overseen by authorities, often through public information offices. That, in effect, prohibited employees from saying, and the public from hearing, anything the leaders did not approve.

But it also created a choke point through which conversations, even such censor-managed conversations, are controlled or blocked entirely.

The Knight First Amendment Institute brought a Freedom of Information lawsuit in April seeking documents on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s employees’ speech policies . They received 113 documents, all posted on the Institute’s reading room.

Below are summaries of a few of interest.

A longer version of this article is here.

(1)

From May 22, 2020

New Public Affairs Secretary Says All HHS Media Inquiries, Etc., Must Go Through His Office

On May 22, 2020, Michael Caputo, new HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs sent an email to apparently all HHS agencies, saying, “Beginning Tuesday, May 26 all HHS operating and staff division media inquiries and press materials (e.g. news releases, talking points, etc.) must be passed solely to ASPA for clearance. There is no longer a need to submit your incoming press opportunities or press materials anywhere else. ASPA is committed to clearing these quickly.”

Whether this is better or worse for reporters getting to talk to someone is hard to say. From what we know in times past agencies had to get clearance for a reporter to speak to someone up through three to four levels, ending with the ASPA office.

The new rule does seem to illustrate, however, the unlikelihood of reporters and staff speaking to each other. There are about 100 people in the ASPA office. I suspect there are far fewer who will belooking at reporters’ requests for interviews.

There are about 80,000 HHS employees. That includes all of FDA, CDC, CMS, the National Center for Health Statistics, the 28 centers at NIH, etc.

I emailed Mr. Caputo, saying that sending all inquiries through one office would seem to be a constrained situation.

He emailed: “There are hundreds of communicators working at HHS. Don’t worry, we got this. Best wishes.” 

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(2)

From April 30, 2020

Don’t Necessarily Let Reporters Talk to Anyone

In an email Michawn Rich, special assistant to the CDC director, told staff who handle the pleas of reporters to talk to someone at CDC, “Just because there are outstanding requests or folks keep getting asked to do a particular interview does not mean it has to be fulfilled.”

She also said, “Every interview MUST be audio recorded.”

Also, she said, “You need to approve all interview requests (print, tv, radio, podcast) BEFORE they go to HHS or OVP [Office of Vice President?] for approval.” HHS means Health and Human Services headquarters office.

And, as covered in the news in June, Rich said, “As a rule, do not send up requests for Greta Van Susteren or anyone affiliated with Voice of America….” That was basically because President Trump did not like them.

The email also directs:

“NOTE: The new HHS comms leadership wants to focus on local media. Send any good local media stories to Brad Traverse.”

“All press materials (releases, statements, etc.,) need to be submitted to releases@hhs.gov for clearance.”

“All media inquiries (requests for interviews, written responses to reporter questions, etc.)  need to be submitted interviews@hhs.gov....

“HHS will triage the submissions to determine which ones require [redacted].”

Politico reported on March 26 that Rich had been detailed to CDC to help with coronavirus communication and she had previously been communications director for USDA for about a year.

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(3)

From March 16, 2020

So How Many People Does It Take to Let a Reporter Speak to Somebody?

An email to the entire National Center for Infectious and Respiratory Diseases at CDC said, “We are aware of heightened interest and activity surrounding COVID-19,” indicating all related inquiries should go to the CDC News Media Branch.

“The News Media Branch will coordinate with the COVID-19 response to determine how inquiries should be addressed,” said the email, sent on behalf of Sam Posner, Associate Director of NCIRD.

It says further, “For routine news media inquiries, please be sure to follow CDC news media policy. Typically, that involves contacting your Health Communication Lead or Office. They in turn coordinate with the Public Affairs staff within NCIRD HSCO [Health Science Communication Office] and the Office of the Associate Director for Communication, News Media Branch.”

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(4)

From January 9, 2020

The queries, the answers, the details

Ryan Murphy, HHS Acting Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, sent out a version of the ASPA Playbook to apparently all HHS divisions.

These are some outtakes.

“In addition to ASPA review, all op-eds required EOP [Executive Office of the President?] review. This involves a two-step process: 1) Submitting a concept for review and approval.

2) Upon approval of the concept, submitting the draft op-ed for review.

 “Concept review and approval: Submit a detailed concept for the proposed op-ed to your ASPA POC. The concept should include-

 “• The topic and summary of the content of the op-ed.

“• Why the message is relevant and how it fits into the overall communications strategy.

“• The proposed author of the op-ed.

“• Proposed target publication and target date for publication (if applicable) and any other information appropriate/valuable for reviewers.”

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(5)

From September 3, 2019

“Journalists Will Only Have Access to CDC Employees Who Agree to Be Interviewed.”

 (They just impact our health. They don’t have to answer questions.)

CDC released a new version of, “The CDC Media Relations Policy: Release of Information to the News Media”

Here are some outtakes:

“The NMB [News Media Branch] serves as the clearance and coordination liaison between CDC’s OD [Office of Director] and the HHS OASPA to provide articulate, knowledgeable spokespersons who can best serve the needs of CDC and the public in response to media requests for interviews. The NMB recommends that a media relations officer be present during interviews to witness and document the content of the interview, support the interviewee, and provide post-interview follow-up, as necessary. CDC employees are not required to speak to the media. Journalists will only have access to CDC employees who agree to be interviewed.”

 ***

“Individuals speaking in an unofficial capacity are not required to clear interviews or written material with the NMB or other CDC entity. Section 3.D. of this policy outlines additional employee limitations.”

***

CDC employees who provide their views as private citizens during media interviews must clearly state that the views they are expressing are their personal views and are not the views of CDC or HHS. They must ensure that media outlets do not identify them as a CDC or HHS representative. This also applies to employees who write letters-to-the-editor. Employees who author letters-to-the-editor must not use HHS or CDC letterhead or email addresses to express their personal views.

 “CDC employees who express their personal views are not subject to media relations clearance requirements. Expressions of personal or individual views to the media related to substance or outside activities are subject to the requirements set forth by the Office of Government Ethics’ Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. For example, CDC employees who present personal or individual views cannot make references to their official title or position in connection with outside activities (5 C.F.R. § 2635.807).”

 

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(6)

 From August 31, 2017

“Even for a simple data-related question…” layers of minders.

 Jeffrey Lancashire, National Center for Health Statistics acting Associate Director for Communication Science, sent an email to apparently all NCHS staff.

 “Important: ALL correspondence with media must now be cleared through Atlanta….”

 This meant that all press inquiries and press releases had to go through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, which is in Atlanta. NCHS is in Hyattsville, Maryland.

 Below are some outtakes from his email:

 “Per Katherine Lyon Daniel, the CDC Associate Director for Communications, effective immediately and until further notice, any and all correspondence with any member of the news media, regardless of the nature of the inquiry, must be cleared through CDC’s Atlanta Communications office. This correspondence includes everything from formal interview requests to the most basic of data requests. This new procedure will be in effect for all of CDC.

 “For NCHS staff, this means that if you are directly contacted by a reporter by phone or email, even for a simple data-related question, the inquiry will have to be routed through Atlanta for clearance. Thus, please forward all of these inquiries directly to the Public Affairs Office email box at: paoquery@cdc.gov and we will route it through the clearance chain.”