USDA rushes to clarify gag order on DA researchers
"Starting immediately and until further notice, the Agricultural Research Service will not release any public-facing documents,"
"This includes, but is not limited to, news releases, photos, fact sheets, news feeds and social media content," Sharon Drumm, chief of staff at ARS, wrote in a department-wide email earlier this week, which sent the the media into a debate over what the vague choice of language actually meant.
In a followup email the following day department officials rescinded the order:
"Yesterday, we sent an email message about Agency informational products like news releases and social media contact," another email to employees said. "This internal email was released prior to receiving official Departmental guidance and is hereby rescinded."
On Tuesday, however, Department officials were quick to clarify the meaning behind the email and assure the public that there was no such ban. They stated that scientific articles published through peer-reviewed journals had not been banned and that such a decree would have conflicted with established scientific integrity standards.
The Department's acting deputy administrator, Michael Young's memo, a copy of which was given to The Washington Post, which clarified that press releases and policy statements must first obtain approval from the secretary: “In order for the Department to deliver unified, consistent messages, it's important for the Office of the Secretary to be consulted on media inquiries and proposed responses to questions related to legislation, budgets, policy issues, and regulations,” said the memo.
The Department of Agriculture gag comes at the same time as an administration-imposed media blackout at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, forbidding press releases, updates on blogs or posts on the EPA's social media accounts.
source: washingtonpost.com
