Editor and Publisher Reports

For decades many federal agencies have been prohibiting reporters from talking to anyone without first requesting access through a public information officer (PIO). And over those years, these “PIO chokepoints” have gotten tighter and tighter, including oversight on conversations and demands for questions ahead of any interview.  Reporters today are often not allowed to speak to anyone, even after acquiescing to censorship and controls. First Amendment attorney and head of the Brechner Center, Frank LoMonte, wrote in a 2019 article: “Although the practice of gagging public employees from giving unapproved interviews is pervasive across all levels of government, decades’ worth of First Amendment caselaw demonstrates that blanket restrictions on speaking to the media are legally unenforceable.”   In July, twenty-five journalism organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) ,  called on the Biden administration to end these prohibitions