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Commissioners endorse liaison approval for employee interviews with media
Summary
After a recent request from the Coeur d'Alene Press to interview transit staff, the board said media interviews should be coordinated through a commissioning liaison and that commissioners may participate or authorize employees as appropriate.
The Board of County Commissioners on March 4 revisited county policy on employee interviews with media after a request from the Coeur d'Alene Press to interview staff in the transit department.
Commissioner Eberlein said media access should be managed by the commissioner who serves as liaison to the relevant department: "If the commissioner says go for it, and they're okay with it, I'm okay with it," he said. Commissioners said a liaison-level approval or the commissioner's presence during interviews would help maintain a consistent message while allowing for transparency.
Nut graf: The board did not enact a new rule but agreed informally that media interviews by county employees should be coordinated with the commissioner liaison; commissioners may attend or authorize interviews on a case-by-case basis.
Commissioner Duncan said the liaison model makes sense and that the board must be able to answer questions from the public through elected officials. No formal policy change was made at the meeting; commissioners directed that the liaison process be used for the pending Coeur d'Alene Press request and for similar requests going forward.
Ending: The discussion concluded with an informal agreement to handle media interviews through the commissioner liaison process and to allow commissioners to attend or authorize interviews as they see fit.
