INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- 10/29/07 --
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's
Oct. 23 press conference in southern California, where agency employees
posed as news reporters, was a blatant abuse of public trust, leaders of
the Society of Professional Journalists said Monday.
As wildfires raged throughout parts of Southern California, and citizens
were looking to the government for detailed accounts of the situation, FEMA
Deputy Administrator Harvey E. Johnson hosted a 1 p.m. news briefing where
members of the media were given a 15-minute notice of the event. Given the
circumstances of the crisis and the agency's unwillingness to wait for
professional reporters to come to FEMA offices, few credentialed media
members attended the event. FEMA's solution? Reporters were given a
toll-free, listen-only number to call.
A live broadcast of the staged briefing was carried on Fox News, MSNBC and
other stations. Before a group of FEMA employees posing as news reporters,
Johnson answered a few questions about shipments of supplies to the area
and how the agency was dealing with residents who refused to leave. Other
questions explained the difference between an emergency declaration and a
major disaster declaration signed by the president. The last question, as
determined by FEMA Press Secretary Aaron Walker, asked if Johnson was
pleased with FEMA's response and whether the agency learned anything from
Katrina. Johnson said he was very pleased and that the agency had the
benefit of experience, good leadership and good partnerships, none of which
were present during Katrina.
"It was an abuse of the public trust, plain and simple," said SPJ National
President Clint Brewer. "FEMA likely had no actual, real reporters at their
press conference because of poor planning and a mere 15 minutes notice. The
government should be honest with the American people about such things.
What would the government have to say if reporters began impersonating
federal employees?"
Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, the Society of Professional Journalists
promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry;
works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and
protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For
further information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.
Contact:
Clint Brewer
President
(615) 301-9229
Email Contact
Beth King
Communications Manager
(317) 927-8000, ext. 211
Email Contact
