Agencies hinder journalists' access to federal execs, survey shows
A survey of 146 journalists covering the federal government found that the reporters are routinely finding their accesss to agencies blocked by public affairs offices.
Federal agencies routinely hinder journalists from interviewing agency employees, according to a new survey from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Three-quarters of the 146 working journalists who responded to the survey said that agencies routinely require them to obtain approvals from public affairs officers before interviewing federal agency employees.
Thirty-one percent of the journalists said they must obtain such approvals for every single interview, while 45 percent said it was required “most of the time.”
Two-thirds of the journalists said the agencies outright prohibit the reporters from interviewing employees at least some of the time. Eighteen percent said that happens most of the time.
Eighty-four percent of the journalists said their interviews with agency employees have been monitored in person or over the phone by public information officers.
The journalists in the survey—of whom 95 percent are full-time journalists--overwhelmingly agreed with the statement that “the public was not getting all the information it needs because of barriers agencies are imposing on journalists’ reporting practices,” the society said in a report on the survey results released on March 12.