The SPJ Washington, D.C., Chapter sent this letter today to the presidents of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine asking for scientists and others be allowed to speak to journalists without interference.
Dr. McNutt and Dr. Dzau,
Thank for your important statement yesterday against the distortion and miscommunication of scientific evidence and your call for transparency to ensure public trust.
The SPJ Washington, D.C., Chapter is part of the Society of Professional Journalists, the largest general organization of journalists in the nation.
SPJ-DC calls on the NAS leaders to go even further and to ask that government scientists and others be allowed to speak with the media to get the word out, rather than being silenced so that any administration can put out its own version of “science.”
As the Society said in a resolution passed by its delegates just this month, SPJ has for many years decried, “the controls on speech that pressure people not to speak to journalists without notifying the authorities, often through public information officers.”
SPJ-DC calls on the NAS leaders to go even further and to ask that government scientists and others be allowed to speak with the media to get the word out, rather than being silenced so that any administration can put out its own version of “science.”
As the Society said in a resolution passed by its delegates just this month, SPJ has for many years decried, “the controls on speech that pressure people not to speak to journalists without notifying the authorities, often through public information officers.”
The Society has called the restrictions censorship and authoritarian.
For some time prior to this administration any contact between a reporter and an employee of the federal public health agencies must be approved by authorities, often up through two to four levels.
These controls pull a veil over the communication process and are used to deliberately block or limit information according to the thoughts or inclinations of people in power.
Under any presidential administration, the distortion and miscommunication we don’t know about could be far more dangerous than those that become public.
Please note recent documents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show officials telling media relations staff that 1) a particular news outlet should not be allowed an interview because President Trump did not like them and 2) it was not necessary to allow any specific news outlets to speak to employees.
Also note the extensive legal analysis by Frank LoMonte, Director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, that finds such controls on speech are unconstitutional and many courts have said so.
....
We would appreciate talking to you about this matter.
Kathryn Foxhall
Board Member, SPJ Washington, D.C., Chapter
CC: Matthew Hall
President, Society of Professional Journalists
For some time prior to this administration any contact between a reporter and an employee of the federal public health agencies must be approved by authorities, often up through two to four levels.
These controls pull a veil over the communication process and are used to deliberately block or limit information according to the thoughts or inclinations of people in power.
Under any presidential administration, the distortion and miscommunication we don’t know about could be far more dangerous than those that become public.
Please note recent documents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show officials telling media relations staff that 1) a particular news outlet should not be allowed an interview because President Trump did not like them and 2) it was not necessary to allow any specific news outlets to speak to employees.
Also note the extensive legal analysis by Frank LoMonte, Director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, that finds such controls on speech are unconstitutional and many courts have said so.
....
We would appreciate talking to you about this matter.
Kathryn Foxhall
Board Member, SPJ Washington, D.C., Chapter
CC: Matthew Hall
President, Society of Professional Journalists
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