Carl Fillichio, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis’ senior communications advisor, told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing this morning that he is discussing with media representatives the creation of a “code of conduct” for journalists participating in the Department of Labor’s “locku” release of new jobs and other economic data.
Fillichio did not include a reference to the code of conduct talks in his prepared statement before the committee. Neither of the major media representatives who testified before Fillichio said anything about the talks on a code of conduct and none of the committee members asked about it.
Such a code of conduct could be similar to the agreement journalists are required by the Department of Defense when they embed with military units for the purpose of war coverage, according to Lucy Dalglish, head of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Others may view the idea of a code of conduct as a backdoor means of establishing what is in effect a process for government licensing of journalists. Stay tuned on this unexpected issue.
UPDATE: It’s just a clarification of embargo agreement?
A DOL spokesman – Former Washington Post reporter Stephen Barr – tells the Examiner following the conclusion of the Issa hearing that the “code of conduct” discussion is only about making sure reporters going into the lockups are reminded each time about the ground rules, most particularly about not taking a wireless device into the lockup room.
More to come.
