KFOR Wins Free Speech Debate With Oklahoma State Department of Education
Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR will have full access to meetings and public education officials after settling a lawsuit filed against the state Department of Education.
The trial took place after Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and press officer Dan Isett repeatedly denied the Nexstar-owned station access to board meetings and press conferences and placed reporters in an overflow room.
Walters and Isett say the 75-year-old broadcast station is not a legitimate news organization.
Earlier this year, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order, saying the state’s arguments were “little more than a ruse, masking an attempt to punish a news organization for its editorial stance “.
“This agreement confirms the fundamental principle that government officials cannot declare themselves arbiters of ‘truth,’ nor can they choose which media outlets cover their activities based on the favorableness of the reporting,” said the senior lawyer for the Institute for Free Speech. Charles “Chip” Miller. “The First Amendment protects the right of journalists to gather and report information, even – or especially – when the coverage scrutinizes government officials and holds them accountable to the public. »
Walters and Isett agreed to allow KFOR journalists to attend all press conferences and meetings. They also agreed to pay $17.91, a symbolic amount since 1791 was the year of ratification of the First Amendment to the American Constitution, protecting freedom of speech and the press.
“This agreement means KFOR can continue to do what we have done for 75 years: keep Oklahomans well-informed about their state government,” said Dylan Browna KFOR reporter who Walters and Isett had previously banned from reporting. “If the freedom of the press enshrined in the First Amendment means anything, it is that our ability to report on issues of public interest should not depend on government officials not liking our reporting.”
You can read the court documents by clicking here.
