Institutional Press Policies (West Virginia University)
It is a clone of this request.
| Multi Request | Institutional Press Policies |
| Submitted | May 30, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Anne Marie Tamburro
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1. Any policy, guidance, handbook, manual, or standard contract concerning the institution’s interactions or relationship with members of the news media, reporters, or journalists, including student journalists.
2. Any policy, guidance, handbook, or manual concerning the interactions or communications of institutional employees, including faculty, administrators, staff, and student employees, with the news media, reporters, or journalists, including student journalists.
Please note that this request does not seek a search of faculty or student email accounts or records. These requests should in no way be construed to include a review or search of email accounts, websites, or other forms of data or document retention which are controlled by students, alumni, or faculty members, nor by governmental or advisory bodies controlled by the same, except insofar as any such individuals also serve in an administrative capacity and the records were created or are held by the individual in that capacity. Any search should be limited to documents held by the administration and/or its staff members, including records created or maintained by persons acting in the capacity of administrators or staff members.
This request is made on behalf of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that aims to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought. This request concerns a matter of public interest. The records are sought for the purpose of researching and educating the public about policies affecting student journalists' ability to engage in news gathering and reporting on college and university campuses.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Anne Marie Tamburro
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following West Virginia Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 31, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: West Virginia University
Anne Marie Tamburro:
This email is the initial and final response concerning your West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (“W. Va. FOIA”) request received on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, requesting the following:
1. “Any policy, guidance, handbook, manual, or standard contract concerning the institution’s interactions or relationship with members of the news media, reporters, or journalists, including student journalists.”
1. “Any policy, guidance, handbook, or manual concerning the interactions or communications of institutional employees, including faculty, administrators, staff, and student employees, with the news media, reporters, or journalists, including student journalists.”
In final response to your request, the University’s Crisis Communications Plan and related guidelines and documents, as well as resources for University communicators are publicly available at the following websites:
* https://universityrelations.wvu.edu/culture/resources-for-communicators/crisis-communications-plan
* https://universityrelations.wvu.edu/culture/resources-for-communicators/crisis-communications-plan/plan
* https://universityrelations.wvu.edu/culture/resources-for-communicators/crisis-communications-plan/tips-for-operations-in-crisis
* https://universityrelations.wvu.edu/culture/resources-for-communicators/crisis-communications-plan/guidelines-for-wvu-social-media-during-emergency
* https://universityrelations.wvu.edu/culture/resources-for-communicators
Please note that certain documents have been withheld as exempt under W. Va. FOIA as they are documents that reflect the deliberative, decision-making process of the University and/or are internal documents reflecting or related to the University’s deliberative process and contain trade secrets. See W. Va. Code § 29B-1-4(a)(1), (8), (9); see also Highland Mining Co. v. W. Va. Univ. Sch. of Med., 2015 W. Va. LEXIS 679 (W. Va. May 21, 2015). The deliberative process privilege exists to “encourage the free exchange of ideas and information” within public bodies. Daily Gazette Co. v. W. Va. Dev. Office, 198 W. Va. 563, 571, 482 S.E.2d 180, 188 (1996) and United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, Inc., 592 U.S. ___ (2021)(“The deliberative process privilege protects [documents that] reflect a preliminary view – not a final decision[.]”). In Daily Gazette Co., the Court explained that this exemption specifically exempts from disclosure those written internal government communications consisting of advice, opinions and recommendations which reflect a public body’s deliberative, decision-making process as well as written advice, opinions and recommendations to a public body from outside consultants or experts obtained during the public body’s deliberative, decision-making process. Id. at 572, 189. Further, the Court stated this privilege may be applied “to government documents which reflect that agency’s group-thinking during its deliberative or decision-making process[.]” Id. at 573, 190. Moreover, the internal documents contain confidential and proprietary information that is commercially valuable to West Virginia University. See W. Va. Code § 29B-1-4(a)(1) (“Trade secrets, as used in this section, which may include, but are not limited to, any . . . process . . ., or compilation of information which is not patented which is known only to certain individuals within a commercial concern who are using it to . . . produce . . . a service . . . having commercial value, and which gives its users an opportunity to obtain . . . advantage over competitors”).
Please note that regardless of the production of these or other related documents, West Virginia University reserves its right to exercise any and all applicable exemptions under W. Va. Code § 29B-1-4, defenses, or privileges, as appropriate. Further, as required by W. Va. Code § 29B-1-3(d)<http://www.wvlegislature.gov/wvcode/ChapterEntire.cfm?chap=29B&art=1§ion=3>, please be advised that this request is now at an end.
Thank you.
FOIA OFFICER
West Virginia University
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