Skip to content

Gag Rules

Call For Action By Journalists Against Gag Rules After Key Legal Win

June 19, 2024 Society of Professional Journalists. , , , ,
The Society of Professional Journalists is issuing a call to action for journalists to fight government restrictions on employee speech rights following what is believed to be the first time a journalist has won a legal settlement against gag rules on workers in public agencies. The settlement came in a suit brought by investigative reporter Brittany Hailer against the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh for its rules prohibiting employees from speaking to the press or posting information on social media. After rounds of negotiations with Hailer’s attorneys, the county agreed in April that its employees and contractors “have constitutional rights to speak on matters of public concern when acting as private citizens and not purporting to represent the view of the [Allegheny County Bureau of Corrections].”

Journalists File Suit Against Gag Rules In Public Agencies

February 5, 2024 Kathryn Foxhall, PR Office Censorship. , , ,
In apparently unprecedented legal actions, two separate suits have been filed for journalists against public agencies for having gag rules prohibiting employees or contractors from speaking to reporters. Previously, similar suits on employee speech to journalists have been filed and won by parties including unions or employers.  Many people, including attorneys, have thought that journalists could not file such actions for themselves.  However, in August investigative journalist Brittany Hailer sued the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh for allegedly having such speech restrictions even while a number of deaths occurred in the facility.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Donate Here

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Donate Here
Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.