(More proof that efforts to “coordinate” aren’t always in the best interest of all people…)

THE LEAD: Just when I’m about ready to put up a “Gone Fishin'” post to close up the blog until mid-summer, my university decides to “go there” when it comes to free expression:

Dear Campus Community,

To help streamline media relations coordination and ensure timely, accurate, and consistent responses to media inquiries, University Relations & Communications asks that all media-related requests and outreach be directed to:

media@uwosh.edu

This includes requests for interviews, statements, comments, filming, photography, background information, expert sources, or any other university-related media outreach from external news organizations, trade publications, broadcast outlets, podcasts, and student media platforms.

If you are contacted directly by a reporter, producer, editor, student journalist, or media outlet regarding university matters, please relay or forward the inquiry to media@uwosh.edu so our team can coordinate the appropriate response and provide communications support as needed.

Student journalists and student media organizations are also encouraged to send interview requests and media inquiries directly to media@uwosh.edu for coordination and routing to the appropriate university representatives.

DOCTOR OF PAPER FLASHBACK: We went through this kind of thing about four years ago, when the folks at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) did a deep dive on the way in which the university was “muzzling” student media with a policy like this. At the time, the head of the PR arm of the university assured me that there was no policy about having to go through them and this was all a big misunderstanding.

Then, of course, the kids turned over the emails to me, and we found out the truth.

CHECKING IN WITH THE ADMIN: I sent a basic note to  Anindita (Andy) Anaam, the executive director of university relations and communications asking for some clarification as to if this was a mandate or a set of suggestions or a refresher on what the university’s policy was.

To be fair to Anaam, she literally started here two months ago and wasn’t part of the mess we saw in 2022. The same is true of our current chancellor, Manohar Singh, who has professed an interest in free expression on this campus. With that in mind, I provided her with the context of the previous debacle before asking for clarification:

Right now, it’s unclear to me if what you presented is in the form of a suggestion, as in “If a media person reaches out to you and you’re not the right person, or you don’t feel qualified, please feel free to forward them to our office.” Or is it a “All media relations requests are expected to go through our office, regardless of how you are contacted. Anyone who fails to do so will be chastised and/or reprimanded, and media reps who don’t reach us first will be treated similarly.”

With that in mind can you:

• Clarify the intent and approach of this policy, as noted above.
• Explain the source (chancellor, you, regents, some PR seminar someone attended once) of this policy
• Provide the full policy the university has regarding media contact (a link to the proper part of the website or formal document would be fine)

She responded quickly, but incompletely:

Hi Vince,

Thank you for reaching out and for sharing your thoughts.

Just to clarify, the intent behind the note was simply operational. Our office has been receiving and coordinating a growing number of media-related requests, and we are a bit stretched thin at the moment, so the goal was simply to help streamline communication and coordination where helpful — nothing more than that.

Faculty, staff, and subject matter experts are still absolutely welcome to speak with media, particularly in their areas of expertise. The note was intended more as a coordination effort for requests that may already be routing through our office or involve broader institutional context.

Thank you again for reaching out and for the thoughtful note.

Best,
Andy

DOCTOR OF PAPER HOT TAKE: I am at a loss as to why this sudden interest in “streamlining media requests” showed up in my inbox with less than a week to go before the end of school.

If I had to guess, and it’d be just a guess, The Advance-Titan did an amazingly good story on the antiquated nature of the Halsey science building, which is full of mold, bugs and rotting ceiling tiles. Professors were quoted as to how sketchy the place is, something I’m sure the folks at University PR would have preferred they not say. A friend of mine noted he was likely the problem, after he was vocal about the way the U used flock cameras around here without telling everybody.

Anaam’s email clarification to me is reassuring, although a broader clarification of the “talk to whomever you want, but we’re here if you need backup” nature would have been appreciated. In thinking about the A-T’s story, I imagine if the expectation is that everything routes through Anaam’s office, I’m guessing she’s not going to be connecting journalists with people who think parts of this place suck.

Also, we’re not getting answers to bullet points two and three. I did follow up and I’ll keep folks posted on what happens with that if I get an answer. I’m sure she has more important things to do than answer my emails, something that can be said safely of most human beings, but definitely of an administrator here.

I’m sure FIRE and the Student Press Law Center will be keeping an eye on this, and if there are mandates based on a non-existent-yet-enforced policy, I’m sure someone somewhere will forward them to me.

ACTION ITEM: Given how email tends to be a preferred outreach method of the university, I’d like to request that you take them up on their offer:

Please feel free to email the university affairs folks at media@uwosh.edu  if you want to let them know you would like UWO to be as open and transparent as possible. That includes making sure that the faculty, staff and students feel free to speak with whomever they wish in the media, without having to touch base with the PR department.

Trust me, it’s helped before.