I’m questioning the propriety of the press covering what was known about baby formula issues prior to the shortage without talking about the censorship on newsgathering in Food and Drug Administration and elsewhere.
FDA employees, like people in many agencies, are prohibited from talking to reporters without guards from the public information office. Probably most contacts with reporters never happen because of delays or blockages through that permission-to-speak process.
About 27 years ago at least five specialized newsletter reporters walked the agency’s halls getting many stories that were not officially ordained. That kind of networking with employees might very well have brought out the formula issues well before they became a crisis.
Staff who may have seen this problem coming are in effect blocked from getting to know reporters, talking to them informally or, often, talking to them at all.
We in the press like to think that with all our talent, along with contacts with a few insiders who defy the no-talk rules, we get the whole story anyway. We don’t tell the public about this censorship culture which is now pervasive in many U.S. public and private entities. Our silence is shameful and our assumption about how much we know is repeatedly shown to be wrong.
We turn a blind eye to official information control and thereby turn a blind eye to many hazards to children and others.
The extensive legal analysis from The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information finds that these constraints, although very common, are unconstitutional and that many courts have agreed with that. The longer version is a legal brief.
May we talk about this?
Thanks,
Kathryn Foxhall
FDA employees, like people in many agencies, are prohibited from talking to reporters without guards from the public information office. Probably most contacts with reporters never happen because of delays or blockages through that permission-to-speak process.
About 27 years ago at least five specialized newsletter reporters walked the agency’s halls getting many stories that were not officially ordained. That kind of networking with employees might very well have brought out the formula issues well before they became a crisis.
Staff who may have seen this problem coming are in effect blocked from getting to know reporters, talking to them informally or, often, talking to them at all.
We in the press like to think that with all our talent, along with contacts with a few insiders who defy the no-talk rules, we get the whole story anyway. We don’t tell the public about this censorship culture which is now pervasive in many U.S. public and private entities. Our silence is shameful and our assumption about how much we know is repeatedly shown to be wrong.
We turn a blind eye to official information control and thereby turn a blind eye to many hazards to children and others.
The extensive legal analysis from The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information finds that these constraints, although very common, are unconstitutional and that many courts have agreed with that. The longer version is a legal brief.
May we talk about this?
Thanks,
Kathryn Foxhall
Resources
--The Society of Professional Journalists has said the controls are censorship and authoritarian.
-- “Editor and Publisher” featured the issue in October 2021.
-- The Yale Law School Access and Accountability Conference last October had a “Fighting Censorship by PIO” session. (The agenda is here and the PIO papers [Foxhall and LoMonte] are here. The video is here, session number 5.)
BCC:
Laura Reiley
Kimberly Kindy
Washington Post Editorial Staff
Senate HELP Committee
House Energy and Commerce Committee
Media Reporters
Health Reporters
--The Society of Professional Journalists has said the controls are censorship and authoritarian.
-- “Editor and Publisher” featured the issue in October 2021.
-- The Yale Law School Access and Accountability Conference last October had a “Fighting Censorship by PIO” session. (The agenda is here and the PIO papers [Foxhall and LoMonte] are here. The video is here, session number 5.)
BCC:
Laura Reiley
Kimberly Kindy
Washington Post Editorial Staff
Senate HELP Committee
House Energy and Commerce Committee
Media Reporters
Health Reporters
American Society of Journalists and Authors
American Society of Media Photographers
News Leaders Association
Associated College Press
Center for Scholastic Journalism
Colorado Press Women
Colorado State University
Colorado Press Women
Colorado State University
International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors
iSolon.org
Media Freedom Foundation and Project Censored
National Association of Black Journalists
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
National Federation of Press Women
National Newspaper Association
National Press Photographers Association
iSolon.org
Media Freedom Foundation and Project Censored
National Association of Black Journalists
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
National Federation of Press Women
National Newspaper Association
National Press Photographers Association
National Writers Union
Native American Journalists Association
North American Agricultural Journalists
OpenTheGovernment.org
Radio Television Digital News Association
Society of American Business Editors and Writers
Society of Environmental Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University
Native American Journalists Association
North American Agricultural Journalists
OpenTheGovernment.org
Radio Television Digital News Association
Society of American Business Editors and Writers
Society of Environmental Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University
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