Policy on News Releases and Press Conferences

[Section IC of Handbook]

To maintain good media relations and to use most efficiently the time of faculty and staff, interviews with the press concerning matters of official policy of the University should, whenever possible, be channeled through University Communications and Marketing. However, it is appropriate to respond directly under the following circumstances: 

1. The President will respond for Ohio University on all general University matters and all policy matters unless he/she/they specifically assign this responsibility to a senior officer. On other matters pertaining to a senior officer's administrative area, that senior officer will respond unless he/she/they specifically assigns this responsibility to a person in their area. These responses may be prepared by University Communications and Marketing, but only at the direction of the President or the senior officer whose administrative area is involved, and they will not be released until after the statement has been approved by them. University Communications and Marketing should be informed of interviews and given copies of the statements made if University Communications and Marketing did not take part in preparing them.
2. Faculty or staff approached as the result of personal accomplishments or their knowledge in a specialized field may respond directly.
3. Responses to reporters from the student newspaper or to newspersons from the University radio or television station may be made without formal clearance through University Communications and Marketing.
4. Certain routine announcements—e.g., concerning scheduling of University events—may be made directly to the news media. At the time of a University emergency, all official statements or announcements relating to that emergency will be made by the President of Ohio University or their designated representative through University Communications and Marketing. All official interviews relating to the emergency will be held with the President or with a person designated by them and will be coordinated by University Communications and Marketing.
   
   Nothing in the above policy statement is intended to abridge
   • individual citizenship rights of the faculty and staff to express personal opinions or offer personal commentary on any subject they choose, although they should use caution in differentiating such personal free speech from official statements;
   • the rights of various leaders and members of groups within the University to speak freely on behalf of their organizations; or
   • the rights of the press to seek, energetically, all matters of public interest in a public university.