Former CDC Media Relations Head: Restraints on Reporters "Worked" for Political Officials

David Shipley
Editorial Page Editor

Karen Tumulty
Deputy Editorial Page Editor
The Washington Post

 

Mr. Shipley, Ms. Tumulty:

Glen Nowak, a former CDC media relations head, confirms that the controls on the press at the agency have “worked” for officials in terms of suppressing stories they did not want published.

This means that for years prior to the pandemic officials hid things from the public, using restrictions including banning staff from speaking to reporters without oversight through the public information office. Then people in power, up through the political administration, decided behind closed doors whether the requested contact could happen and what might be said.

Nowak will be speaking at the meeting of the Society of Professional Journalists this week about the controls.

Will you join us at the session and talk about why the Washington Post and others in the press have allowed the restrictions to continue without openly opposing them or alerting the public?

My recent article in the Columbia Journalism Review is on the history of this trend. Having covered federal health agencies as the rules tightened over the 30-40 years, I have zero doubt that the press’ acquiescence to the information control was a top factor in giving us a pandemic far deadlier than it had to be.

I will argue at the session that this is a crime against humanity, with the press just as responsible as the insiders.

The automatic response from many journalists about this situation is, “Good reporters get the story anyway.” With 80,000 staff in HHS alone virtually silenced, that’s a senseless and fearful assumption to allow millions of lives to depend on.

Journalists do get some seriously impactful stories. However, it’s very unlikely we get an adequate proportion of what is critical. Various evidence of journalism’s controlled state includes the many situations that emerge only after a long, noxious existence.

Your editorial, “A Media Masquerade” rightly decries so-called news websites, paid for by political groups that “launder advocacy through these sites.” However, presidential administrations use our precious public health agencies, among other entities, to do some potent laundering by restricting what legitimate journalists can hear.

The SPJ session is “Obstruction of Reporting through PIO Controls and Other Means; Responding to the Controls on Free Speech and Free Press,” Saturday, October 29, 2:30 p.m.

I hope to see you.

Also, I will be happy to talk to anyone.

Kathryn Foxhall

CC: The Post editorial staff