E90: Gag Orders on Public Information Officers with Kathryn Foxhall of SPJ

In this episode, host Rebecca Snyder welcomes Kathryn Foxhall from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) to discuss a crucial issue affecting journalists today: the growing difficulty in accessing public information due to gag orders imposed by public information officers (PIOs). Kathryn shares insights from her extensive experience in fighting for transparency, highlighting a pivotal case led by journalist Brittany Haler (covered previously in episode #37). Together, they explore how gag orders restrict the free flow of information, the challenges journalists face in getting the full story, and how the fight for transparency is not over. Kathryn and Rebecca also dive into the legal battles being fought by First Amendment clinics and discuss ways journalists and citizens alike can push back against this concerning trend. This episode sheds light on the vital role journalists play in ensuring government accountability and the importance of continuing this fight for the public's right to know

Tune in to hear how SPJ and others are tackling this issue and what can be done to protect the integrity of journalism in the face of increasing censorship.

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A message from Kathryn Foxhall:

"A number of journalism groups, including the Society of Professional Journalists, have long fought the bans, in agencies and elsewhere, against employees speaking to journalists, or from speaking to them without notifying the authorities, often through the public information office.

We have had what we hope is a groundbreaking legal settlement in which a journalist filed a suit for herself against an agency’s restrictions. Reporter Brittany Hailer sued the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh which prohibited even the medical personnel from talking to reporters, even as a high death rate was alleged. Yale Law School Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic and the Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press represented her.

In April Hailer won a favorable settlement with strong First Amendment language supporting employees’ and contractors’ right to speak to reporters.

In light of the settlement, SPJ has issued a call for action against gag rules and “Censorship by PIO.”

Frank LoMonte, previously head of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information,  provided foundational thinking on the issue in a 2019 report. Frank says these constraints are unconstitutional, that many courts have said so, and that journalists should be able to bring their own cases. A shorter version of that report is here.

Glen Nowak, a former CDC communications director, has said that presidential administrations hand down mandates on what may be said and who reporters may talk to; that the controls have tightened under every president since Reagan; and that they are explicitly political.

A list of resources is here."