Shhh... It's a secret

[Bob Of Burleson]

Texas Oil & Gas Regulator Won’t Talk To Media

HOUSTON (AP) – Texas’ oil and gas regulator has instituted a blanket policy barring staff from doing media interviews, raising questions about transparency just as the state grapples with the intricacies of one of the largest energy booms in decades.

The three-member Texas Railroad Commission, which is one of the largest state agencies of its kind in the country, approved the policy in August, about a year after Milton Rister took over as the commission’s executive director. Since then, all media inquiries have been funneled through a spokeswoman who responds via email and bars any direct access to staff.

The commission, which also regulates pipelines and mining, devotes much of its time to permitting oil and gas drilling and production, ensuring wells are safe and investigating complaints or problems at those sites.

For a Texas agency to ban all media interviews is unusual. Typically, the media relations department is not the source of information, but rather acts as a liaison to connect journalists with the staff they need to speak with for a particular story.

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[Chlorine Tinsley]

Would any organization want the guy in the mail room, or some other unrelated function, discussing RRC policy with the press? The RRC has an abundance of factual and policy information available to the public, via its' website, etc. Those folks with some sort of agenda will always throw rocks until they get the grist for their mill. If the grist is non-existent, then they accuse the agency of hiding it. IMHO

[Bob Of Burleson]

Would any organization want the guy in the mail room, or some other unrelated function, discussing RRC policy with the press? The RRC has an abundance of factual and policy information available to the public, via its' website, etc. Those folks with some sort of agenda will always throw rocks until they get the grist for their mill. If the grist is non-existent, then they accuse the agency of hiding it. IMHO

Following that line of thinking, reporters should be happy with government press releases. Sounds like journalism as it is in totalitarian states.

[dublusk]

They work for us, we should know what is going on at anytime in those offices! We are the bosses of these people!

[Chlorine Tinsley]

Would any organization want the guy in the mail room, or some other unrelated function, discussing RRC policy with the press? The RRC has an abundance of factual and policy information available to the public, via its' website, etc. Those folks with some sort of agenda will always throw rocks until they get the grist for their mill. If the grist is non-existent, then they accuse the agency of hiding it. IMHO

Following that line of thinking, reporters should be happy with government press releases. Sounds like journalism as it is in totalitarian states.

I was just trying to say that questions should to addressed to (and interviews given by) folks that have the appropriate knowledge, and are actually qualified to provide it.