2001-04-29 @ 10:06 PM CT
Provost sends clarifying e-mail: The message said permission wasn't needed to talk to the media.
Sarah Cavanah

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Provost Nancy Mergler has sent a new e-mail to clarify one sent two weeks ago stating that faculty and staff needed to immediately alert OU press officials when contacted by a reporter.

Mergler's new e-mail, sent Friday, came on the same day The Oklahoma Daily published a story about the original e-mail, which directed all university directors, deans and chairs: "if a reporter (local or national), calls a staff member or a faculty member, they need to IMMEDIATELY alert either (Vice President for Public Affairs) Catherine (Bishop) or (OU Press Secretary) Jeff (Hickman)."

The new e-mail, released by Hickman, said that Mergler did not mean to cause any confusion for faculty and staff and that "there is absolutely no requirement that any faculty or staff member contact the Vice President for Public Affairs or the University Press Secretary prior to expressing personal or professional opinions."

The e-mail follows concerns raised by faculty members that the original message seemed to state permission was required from Bishop or Hickman for any faculty or staff member to talk to a reporter on any topic.

"No institution is stronger in support of free speech and free expression than the University of Oklahoma," Mergler said in the e-mail.

Hickman said OU prefers that faculty and staff report their involvement with the press as a courtesy. The information helps make sure that OU personnel are not overwhelmed with press requests outside their own fields of expertise, and helps OU with its own promotions. He said had his office or OU Public Affairs known about the NBC Nightly News crew on campus, they could have told the crew about the Foreign Policy Conference happening the same day and perhaps gotten OU some good publicity.

Hickman said the e-mails were not part of a general trend of tightening on OU personnel talking to media outlets.

"What we do is no different than the White House," Hickman said. He hasn't seen any change in the enforcement of the 1980 policy in his nine months as OU press secretary.

The policies may be different than what is the practical situation at other Big 12 universities, however.

Kursten Phelps, campus editor at The University Daily Kansan, in Lawrence, Kan., said that with the exception of athletics, the University of Kansas is generally open to media requests.

"Our main problem is administrators," Phelps said. "Not because there is a policy about dealing with the press, but because we're the last priority because we're in the media."

Phelps said that, as far as she knew, KU did not have any faculty policy relating to contacts between faculty and staff with the media, and if there was, it was not enforced.

"When we call the Chancellor's Office, we call and obviously get his secretary," Phelps said. "But his home phone number is listed in the student directory."

Ryan McNeill, senior staff writer at The Daily O'Collegian, in Stillwater, said he was surprised to hear OU had such a policy.

"Whenever we call (OU President David) Boren, he's always real good about getting back to us," McNeill said.

McNeill said that Oklahoma State students are taught to avoid public information officials, something he said his paper's staff tries to do, if possible.

When dealing with the police, at least, that is easier to carry out at OSU. McNeill said he could call any member of his university's policing force for comment on a story. At OU, access is currently limited to Joseph Lester, director of the Department of Public Safety and the university press secretary, after Lt. Bruce Chan ceased to be OUDPS's press information officer.

Hickman said the move was made because a staff shortage at OUDPS required all of Chan's attention to be focused on investigations. The department thought it would be better to keep Chan from having to be a source on investigations he was involved in.

Ryan Pittman, senior reporter for The Daily Texan, covers the administration beat at the University of Texas.

He has UT president's home number and talks to him virtually every day.

He talks to the people he needs to directly, except for the physical plant, parking and about staff hirings and firings.

"The Office of Public Affairs sends out press releases," Pittman said. "As far as calling and getting in touch with sources, we don't have to deal with that at all."

Pittman said he couldn't imagine having to go through one source to get to all of UT's numerous personnel.

"Having unmolested and unmediated timely access to sources, to people in charge is paramount to getting the truth," he said.

He said he questioned the motives behind OU's policy.

"To have somebody mediating the truth tells me the university has something to hide, and that's bad to see."


Additional reporting by Ryan Chittum


Mergler E-Mails and OU Policy


Mergler e-mail sent out two weeks ago

Deans, Directors, and Chairs,

PLEASE remind all your faculty and staff to co-ordinate any contact with the media through Catherine Bishop, Vice President for Public Affairs, 325-1543, or Jeff Hickman, Press Secretary to the President, 325-3916. Yesterday they learned of a faculty member who had arranged for a reporter from NBC Nightly News to interview her entire class. Such details as talent release forms had not been attended to .... not good.

Please, if a reporter (local or national), calls a staff member or a faculty member, they need to IMMEDIATELY alert either Catherine or Jeff and you as well. Catherine and Jeff respond quickly and appropriately, they are well trained professionals.


Nancy Mergler


OU Faculty Handbook

section 5.16


CONTACTS WITH REPORTERS

On occasion, reporters for print and electronic media will contact University faculty or staff members directly instead of working through the University's Public Affairs Office. There is no objection to this procedure. However, any faculty or staff member who is contacted and either gives a statement to the press or arranges for a subsequent interview is requested to inform the Associate Vice President for Public Affairs. This is an informational procedure only, and the cooperation of the faculty and staff is requested.


Mergler e-mail sent Friday

Deans, Directors, and Chairs,

I certainly didn't mean to cause any confusion by my earlier e-mail in regard to media policy.I want to make the following points clear.

1) No institution is stronger in support of free speech and free expression than the University of Oklahoma.There is absolutely no requirement that any faculty or staff member contact the Vice President for Public Affairs or the University Press Secretary prior to expressing personal or professional opinions.

2) The request for notification of those two offices related only to those situations where the individual is asked to express an official position of the University as an institution.

3)In all other situations, contact is purely voluntary and the standing offer of the two offices is merely to offer assistance when they can be of help and the faculty member desires help from their staffs or in situations in which the staff or faculty member as a courtesy wishes to advise those two offices that media contacts are being made.

I refer you all to section 5.16 of the faculty handbook http://www.ou.edu/provost/pronew/handbook/5/Gp516.htm for further clarification.

Nancy Mergler
hello there & you too