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Xenia narrows definition of "journalist" as council amends public-records policy
Summary
The Xenia City Council amended its public-records policy to exclude "personal content creation on social media" from the definition of journalist, citing privacy and safety concerns for public-safety workers and utility customers. The amendment passed unanimously after debate and an amendment vote.
The Xenia City Council voted unanimously on May 22 to adopt an amended public-records policy that tightens the local definition of "journalist" and limits who may access certain sensitive records.
Council members debated language the law director said was intended to protect designated public-service workers and utility customers from disclosure of home addresses, family information and other sensitive details. The council moved first to untable the resolution and then to amend the definition; both the amendment and the final amended resolution passed on unanimous roll-call votes.
City Law Director (name not specified) told the council that state law and case law have not kept pace with changes in technology and that the city needed to clarify who qualifies as a journalist for access to records. The law director said some categories of information (for example, home addresses for designated public-service workers, schedules, and certain utility account details) are treated differently and that the definition of journalist affects who may obtain those records.
The council adopted amended language that excludes from the definition of journalist "individuals or organizations whose only medium is personal content creation on social media or social media sites." Councilman Probst moved the amendment; Councilwoman Sarris seconded. After discussion, the amendment passed on a roll-call vote of council members present.
Councilwoman Cerise then moved approval of the amended resolution; the motion was seconded and the final vote to approve the amended public-records policy was unanimous.
The council did not change the city's underlying list of categories for which journalists may receive additional access; rather, the change narrows which requesters qualify as journalists. The law director emphasized she would still assert discretion in cases where requesters claim journalist status but appear to be personal-content creators, citing public-safety and privacy concerns.
Next steps noted by staff include updating the city's public-records procedures to reflect the amended definition and continued internal review of how the change will be implemented for records requests.
Votes and formal motions related to this item are recorded in the meeting minutes.
