Journalists like to go directly to the source, and a group of journalists covering health care say a change in federal policy the help make their jobs better.
Scientists working for the US government in general can not speak with reporters until they are approved by the press office of their agency, which sometimes insists on monitoring interviews . On February 26, the Association of Health Care Journalists wrote President Barack Obama and urged him to change the policies behind these requirements, which argues AHCJ "impede newsgathering and interfere with the public's right to know."
Journalists health are particularly concerned about the impact of policies on the various branches of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug administration. AHCJ argues that these restrictions have increased in the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, raising the chances "of incorrect or incomplete information being transmitted to the public."
Although AHCJ said the public affairs officers can help journalists do their job, he feared that too often they "are used to inhibit the flow of information to the public rather than encouraging . " the letter asks that federal employees authorized to speak to reporters without receiving prior approval or having to report the interaction.
administration has not responded to the letter.
AHCJ, which has over 1000 members, with headquarters at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia. the National Association of Science Writers, which has nearly three times more members (including myself), said he plans to send the Obama administration a similar letter requesting that the policy change applies to all federal agencies that science journalists cover.
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