03/10/2003

Press Policy
We've never had a press policy and we don't often need one, but here is some guidance for the next time you're called by a reporter. Please let me, Mike, or Sharon know if you have any questions.

MTAS press policy for consultants – March 2003

We have a good working relationship with a lot of reporters and we don’t want to hurt our reputation by spinning an answer for a city. But we never want a city to learn about our conversation with a reporter by reading the paper. And we are, after all, funded by cities. We need to:
(1) Ask the reporter what city is generating the call. Ask the reporter who he or she has talked to at the city and what they said.
(2) If it is a general question i.e. do most cities collect garbage at the curb, yes they do, then answer it and don't worry about it.
(3) If it pertains to a specific law or regulation and the city's compliance, defer the question until you can research the issue and call the reporter back. While researching the issue, check with the city and get the background. This gives the city a heads up.
(4) If the question pertains to a specific law i.e. can cities deal with issues in a called meeting that were not listed in the call, no they cannot. After answering the question, immediately contact the city and give them a heads up.
(5) It’s perfectly acceptable to respond with a "No Comment." We don’t have to render a judgment on everything the city is doing.
(6) Requests for documents should be referred to the city in question. If the reporter is unable to get the documents from the city and calls back, refer the request to either the Executive Director or the Assistant Director who will comply with the University’s Open Records Policy, i.e. the request will end up with the University public relations office (John Clark).