By definition, a “gag order” is a judge’s order that a case cannot be discussed in public.
Fresno State does not have a court-ordered gag order, but the term is helpful to know because that is what it can feel like as a student journalist. 
Informal gag orders can be used in corporations as a form of internal policy or unspoken expectation, restricting employees to talk to the media.
This can be done in a private agency but not a public one.
Fresno State
The Collegian’s media inquiries are often directed at specific university administration officials. Often those officials deflect those questions.
On April 1, The Collegian sent a media inquiry to Bernadette Muscat, dean of undergraduate studies, asking if the presidential committee investigating various controversies related to the Associated Students Inc (ASI) election had reached a decision. Muscat did not respond. The person who did was the senior director of university marketing and communications, Ashley Illic, acknowledging The Collegian’s email to Muscat and stating that “there is no update at this time.”
On February 14, Collegian reporter Isaac Marquez was working on a story regarding an Academic Senate’s resolution about athletics funding that was supported by The Collegian’s reporting.
Marquez emailed Fresno State Provost Xuanning Fu and Director of Budget Planning and Management Jeffery Blanks. He received a response from Lisa Bell of University Marketing and Communications, stating that his questions were shared with her. Ultimately, Marquez was not able to talk to Fu or Blanks.
On January 30, another reporter, Josiah Poynter, emailed Muscat some questions. Ilic, from University Communications, emailed Poynter saying:
“I heard that you may be reaching out to Dean Muscat regarding a story you are working on. Can I help you with something?”
A person in such a high position and with that much experience should be able to respond to a student journalist’s basic questions.
These are only a few of many instances, but seeing University Communications jump in to ask us questions about our questions seems like a common theme.
The university does not have a specific policy on their media guide to where staff or administration need to go through them for media clearance.
“Many staff and administrators choose to consult with our office or request our assistance with media inquiries and interviews,” Illic said in response to a Collegian query.“Some have shared concerns about being misquoted or taken out of context in the past, and this has contributed to their preference for coordinated communication. Many are also uncomfortable granting interviews for the same reason. Ultimately, it is up to the source how they would like to proceed.”
David Loy, First Amendment Coalition legal director and First Amendment lawyer, told The Collegian that a public agency is entitled to speak for itself and decide who can represent the agency when speaking on its behalf.
“But if people are only speaking for themselves even if they are affiliated with the university, you know they still have free speech rights,” Loy said.
While the University is not legally breaking any rules, that doesn’t take away from the fact that it is imposing a system where staff and faculty are afraid to talk.
There have been many occasions where staff and faculty seem discouraged from being quoted in a story. They’ll give The Collegian enough information to know of what’s going on, but never want to go on record.
This can have a negative impact on faculty and staff who don’t have tenure and are afraid to speak up because of the lack of security in their position.
James Ward, The Collegian’s Editor-in-Chief in spring 1997, said in an interview that things functioned differently back when he was in the newsroom.
“We did not have to go through the [university] communication [or] the press office to talk to anyone on campus. We just called the dean or someone that’s up in administration and they called us,” Ward said.
FOIA’s
A Freedom of Information Act Request is a federal law that grants the public the right to access records from government agencies. This is done to foster a transparent environment.
In California, public agencies legally have 10 calendar days to comply with a public records request.
On Sept. 6, The Collegian submitted a public records request regarding the campus bomb threat that took place the year prior on Sept. 23, 2023. Legally, that request needed to be at the very least acknowledged that it was received by Sept. 20.
An email of acknowledgement from Esther Gonzalez, Fresno State confidential analyst, was sent on Feb. 9 four months and 2 weeks past the deadline.
The Collegian followed up five times over email and had multiple phone calls to get an update over the course of that time.
The Collegian is still waiting for documents it asked for months ago. Currently, the university is weeks behind in giving us documents requested from the ASI presidential election.
At a public university, transparency should be the standard, not the goal.
