News Releases

Busy Week for RTNDA in the Freedom of Information Fight

Contact: Stacey Staniak, 202-467-5214 or staceys@rtnda.org

For Immediate Release: August 20, 2009

Washington – The Radio-Television News Directors Association spoke out strongly this week on state and national Freedom of Information issues. In letters to the California State Assembly and the Southeast Conference RTNDA opposed actions that would interfere with news gathering. RTNDA joined more than a dozen organizations in a letter to government press secretaries urging government transparency.

In a letter to the speaker of the California State Assembly, Karen Bass, RTNDA opposed AB 524, a state law intended to curb the paparazzi that would have a chilling effect on news distribution and contradicts existing press rights in California. RTNDA believes the proposed legislation is unconstitutional based on legal precedent. 

RTNDA, in a letter to the Southeast Conference, argued the SEC media credential policy restricted news gathering and distribution. RTNDA’s letter to SEC Commissioner Mike Silva acknowledged the conference’s amendments to an earlier policy but said the revised policy would limit news sharing, prevent stations from using their own video of SEC events for any purpose outside a regular newscast, bar stations from using their video in online news casts, and prohibit radio stations from broadcasting live reports from an SEC event.

Stacey Woelfel, RTNDA chairman said, “As athletic conferences work to protect their content for their own revenue opportunities, it’s important for RTNDA to help maintain its push to protect access for news coverage that actually increases the value of the content for the conferences.  The coverage our viewers and listeners get from RTNDA members has helped give collegiate sports the success it now enjoys.” 

RTNDA, as a member of the Sunshine in Government Coalition, signed a letter to more than 600 press secretaries urging them to keep speeches to large groups “on the record.” In the past several years the letter notes, it has become common for speeches by Congressional and federal agency staff, to be considered “off the record.” The practice prevents the free reporting of news about the speech but does not hold the members of the audience who may post information about the speech online to the same “off the record” standard. RTNDA and SGI work to improve government transparency.

Said Woelfel,” Working ‘off the record’ has always been an approach professional journalists enter into carefully and with an eye on the ethics involved.  As press officers and media relations people fall back on this approach more frequently, it undercuts our ability to put people on the record to strengthen our stories.  We at RTNDA want to keep sources on the record as much as possible and bring new media journalists into the fold to recognize that same need.”

RTNDA has been working on behalf of freedom of information and press freedom on the state and national level for more than 60 years.

RTNDA is the world's largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism. RTNDA represents local and network news executives in broadcasting, cable and other electronic media in more than 30 countries.