NASA Policy on the Release of Information to
News and Information Media
03.30.06
This
directive sets forth policy governing the release of public information, which
is defined as information in any form provided to news and information media,
especially information that has the potential to generate significant media, or
public interest or inquiry. Examples include, but are not limited to, press
releases, media advisories, news features, and web postings. Not included under
this definition are scientific and technical reports, web postings designed for
technical or scientific interchange, and technical information presented at
professional meetings or in professional
journals.
Applicability.(a) This policy applies to NASA
Headquarters, NASA Centers, and Component Facilities.
(b) In the event of
any conflict between this policy and any other NASA policy, directive, or
regulation, this policy shall govern and supersede any previous issuance or
directive.
Principles.(a) NASA, a scientific and technical
agency, is committed to a culture of openness with the media and public that
values the free exchange of ideas, data, and information as part of scientific
and technical inquiry. Scientific and technical information from or about Agency
programs and projects will be accurate and unfiltered.
(b) Consistent
with NASA statutory responsibility, NASA will "provide for the widest
practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning its
activities and the results thereof." Release of public information concerning
NASA activities and the results of NASA activities will be made promptly,
factually, and completely.
(c) To ensure timely release of information,
NASA will endeavor to ensure cooperation and coordination among the Agency's
scientific, engineering, and public affairs communities.
(d) In keeping
with the desire for a culture of openness, NASA employees may, consistent with
this policy, speak to the press and the public about their work.
(e) This
policy does not authorize or require disclosure of information that is exempt
from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) or
otherwise restricted by statute, regulation, Executive Order, or other Executive
Branch policy or NASA policy (e.g., OMB Circulars, NASA Policy Directives).
Examples of information not releasable under this policy include, without
limitation, information that is, or is marked as, classified information,
procurement sensitive information, information subject to the Privacy Act, other
sensitive but unclassified information, and information subject to privilege,
such as pre-decisional information or attorney-client
communications.
Responsibilities.(a) The Assistant
Administrator for Public Affairs is responsible for developing and administering
an integrated Agency-wide communications program, establishing Agency public
affairs policies and priorities, and coordinating and reviewing the performance
of all Agency public affairs activities. The Assistant Administrator will
develop criteria to identify which news releases and other types of public
information will be issued nationwide by NASA Headquarters. Decisions to release
public information nationwide by NASA Headquarters will be made by the Assistant
Administrator for Public Affairs or his/her designee.
(b) NASA's Mission
Directorate Associate Administrators and Mission Support Office heads have
ultimate responsibility for the technical, scientific, and programmatic accuracy
of all information that is related to their respective programs and released by
NASA.
(c) Under the direction of the Assistant Administrator for Public
Affairs, public affairs officers assigned to Mission Directorates are
responsible for the timely and efficient coordination of public information
covering their respective programs. This coordination includes review by
appropriate Mission Directorate officials. It also includes editing by public
affairs staff to ensure that public information products are well written and
appropriate for the intended audience. However, such editing shall not change
scientific or technical data, or the meaning of programmatic content.
(d)
Center Public Affairs Directors are responsible for implementing their portion
of the Agency's communications program, adhering to Agency policies, procedures,
and priorities, and coordinating their activities with Headquarters (and others
where appropriate). They are responsible for the quality of public information
prepared by Center public affairs officers. They also are responsible for the
day-to-day production of public information covering their respective Center
activities, which includes obtaining the necessary Center concurrences and
coordinating, as necessary, with the appropriate Headquarters public affairs
officers.
(e) Center Directors have ultimate responsibility for the
accuracy of public information that does not require the concurrence of
Headquarters. (See "Public information coordination and concurrence," section
(d).)
(f) All NASA employees are required to coordinate, in a timely
manner, with the appropriate public affairs officers prior to releasing
information that has the potential to generate significant media, or public
interest or inquiry.
(g) All NASA public affairs officers are required to
notify the appropriate Headquarters public affairs officers in a timely manner
about activities or events that have the potential to generate significant media
or public interest or inquiry.
(h) All NASA public affairs employees are
expected to adhere to the following code of conduct:
(1) Be honest and accurate in all communications.
(2) Honor publication
embargoes.
(3) Respond promptly to media requests and respect media
deadlines.
(4) Act promptly to correct mistakes or erroneous information,
either internally or externally.
(5) Promote the free flow of scientific and
technical information.
(6) Protect non-public information.
(i) All
NASA employees are responsible for adhering to plans (including schedules) for
activities established by public affairs offices and senior management for the
coordinated release of public information.
(j) All NASA-funded missions
will have a public affairs plan, approved by the Assistant Administrator for
Public Affairs, which will be managed by Headquarters and/or a designated NASA
Center.
(k) Public affairs activities for NASA-funded missions will not
be managed by non-NASA institutions, unless authorized by the Assistant
Administrator for Public Affairs.
(l) The requirements of this directive
do not apply to the Office of Inspector General regarding its
activities.
Public information coordination and
concurrence.(a) General. All NASA employees involved in preparing
and issuing NASA public information are responsible for proper coordination
among Headquarters, Center, and Mission Directorate offices to include review
and clearance by appropriate officials prior to issuance. Such coordination will
be accomplished through procedures developed and published by the NASA Assistant
Administrator for Public Affairs.
(b) Coordination. To ensure timely
release of public information, Headquarters and Center public affairs officers
are required to coordinate to obtain review and clearance by appropriate
officials, keep each other informed of changes, delays, or cancellation of
releases, and provide advance notification of the actual release.
(c) All
public information shall be coordinated through the appropriate Headquarters
offices, including review by the appropriate Mission Directorate Associate
Administrator and mission support office head, or their designees, to ensure
scientific, technical, and programmatic accuracy, and review by the Assistant
Administrator of Public Affairs or his/her designee to ensure that public
information products are well written and appropriate for the intended
audience.
(d) Centers may, however, without the full coordination of
Headquarters, issue public information that is institutional in nature, of local
interest, or has been deemed not to be a Headquarters release. (The Assistant
Administrator for Public Affairs or his/her designee will determine which public
information will be issued nationwide by NASA Headquarters.) These releases must
be coordinated through the appropriate Center offices and approved by the Center
Director and Center Public Affairs Director. The Center Public Affairs Director
is required to provide proper notification to the NASA Office of Public Affairs,
Headquarters, prior to release. (The Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs
shall publish guidelines for the release of public information that may be
issued by Centers without clearance from Headquarters' offices.)
(e)
Dispute Resolution. Any dispute arising from a decision to proceed or not
proceed with the issuance of a news release or other type of public information
will be addressed and resolved by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs
with the appropriate Mission Directorate Associate Administrator, mission
support office head, Center Director, and others, such as Center Public Affairs
Directors, as necessary. However, the appropriate Mission Directorate Associate
Administrator shall be the arbiter of disputes about the accuracy or
characterization of programmatic, technical, or scientific information.
Additional appeals may be made to the Chief of Strategic Communications and to
the Office of the Administrator. When requested by a Center Public Affairs
Director, an explanation of the resolution will be provided in writing to all
interested Agency parties.
Interviews.(a) Only
spokespersons designated by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, or
his/her designee, are authorized to speak for the Agency in an official capacity
regarding NASA policy, programmatic, and budget issues.
(b) In response
to media interview requests, NASA will offer articulate and knowledgeable
spokespersons who can best serve the needs of the media and the American public.
However, journalists may have access to the NASA officials they seek to
interview, provided those NASA officials agree to be interviewed.
(c)
NASA employees may speak to the media and the public about their work. When
doing so, employees shall notify their immediate supervisor and coordinate with
their public affairs office in advance of interviews whenever possible, or
immediately thereafter, and are encouraged, to the maximum extent practicable,
to have a public affairs officer present during interviews. If public affairs
officers are present, their role will be to attest to the content of the
interview, support the interviewee, and provide post-interview follow up with
the media as necessary.
(d) NASA, as an Agency, does not take a position
on any scientific conclusions. That is the role of the broad scientific
community and the nature of the scientific process. NASA scientists may draw
conclusions and may, consistent with this policy, communicate those conclusions
to the media. However, NASA employees who present personal views outside their
official area of expertise or responsibility must make clear that they are
presenting their individual views – not the views of the Agency – and ask that
they be sourced as such.
(e) Appropriated funds may only be used to
support Agency missions and objectives consistent with legislative or
presidential direction. Government funds shall not be used for media interviews
or other communication activities that go beyond the scope of Agency
responsibilities and/or an employee's official area of expertise or
responsibility.
(f) Media interviews will be "on-the-record" and
attributable to the person making the remarks, unless authorized to do otherwise
by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs or Center Public Affairs
Director, or their designees. Any NASA employee providing material to the press
will identify himself/herself as the source.
(g) Audio recordings may be
made by NASA with consent of the interviewee.
(h) NASA employees are not
required to speak to the media.
(i) Public information volunteered by a
NASA official will not be considered exclusive to any one media source and will
be made available to other sources, if requested.
Preventing release
of classified information to the media.(a) Release of classified
information in any form (e.g., documents, through interviews, audio/visual,
etc.) to the news media is prohibited. The disclosure of classified information
to unauthorized individuals may be cause for prosecution and/or disciplinary
action against the NASA employee involved. Ignorance of NASA policy and
procedures regarding classified information does not release a NASA employee
from responsibility for preventing any unauthorized release. See NPR 1600.1,
Chapter 5, Section 5.23 for internal NASA guidance on management of classified
information. For further guidance that applies to all agencies, see Executive
Order 12958, as amended, "Classified National Security Information" and its
implementing directive at 32 CFR Parts 2001 and 2004.
(b) Any attempt by
news media representatives to obtain classified information will be reported
through the Headquarters Office of Public Affairs or Installation Public Affairs
Office to the Installation Security Office and Office of Security and Program
Protection.
(c) For classified operations and/or programs managed under
the auspices of a DD Form 254, "Contract Security Classification Specification,"
all inquiries concerning this activity will be responded to by the appropriate
PAO official designated in Item 12 on the DD Form 254.
(d) For classified
operations and/or information owned by other Government agencies (e.g., DOD,
DOE, etc.), all inquiries will be referred to the appropriate Agency public
affairs officer as established in written agreements.
Preventing
unauthorized release of sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information/material to
the news media.(a) All NASA SBU information requires accountability
and approval for release. Release of SBU information to unauthorized personnel
is prohibited. Unauthorized release of SBU information may result in prosecution
and/or disciplinary action. Ignorance of NASA policy and procedures regarding
SBU information does not release a NASA employee from responsibility for
unauthorized release. See NPR 1600.1, Chapter 5, Section 5.24 for guidance on
identification, marking, accountability and release of NASA SBU
information.
(b) Examples of SBU information include: proprietary
information of others provided to NASA under nondisclosure or confidentiality
agreement; source selection and bid and proposal information; information
subject to export control under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations
(ITAR) or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR); information subject to
the Privacy Act of 1974; predecisional materials such as national space policy
not yet publicly released; pending reorganization plans or sensitive travel
itineraries; and information that could constitute an indicator of U.S.
government intentions, capabilities, operations, or activities or otherwise
threaten operations security.
(c) Upon request for access to
information/material deemed SBU, coordination must be made with the
information/material owner to determine if the information/material may be
released. Other organizations that play a part in SBU information
identification, accountability and release (e.g., General Counsel, External
Relations, Procurement, etc.) must be consulted for assistance and/or
concurrence prior to release.
(d) Requests for SBU information from other
Government agencies must be referred to the respective Agency public affairs
officer.
Multimedia materials.(a) NASA's multimedia
material, from all sources, will be made available to the information media, the
public, and to all Agency Centers and contractor installations utilizing
contemporary delivery methods and emerging digital technology.
(b)
Centers will provide the media, the public, and as necessary, NASA Headquarters
with:
(1) Selected prints and original or duplicate files of news-oriented imagery
and other digital multimedia material generated within their respective
areas.
(2) Selected video material in the highest quality format practical,
which, in the opinion of the installations, would be appropriate for use as news
feed material or features in pre-produced programs and other
presentations.
(3) Audio and/or video files of significant news developments
and other events of historic or public interest.
(4) Interactive multimedia
features that can be incorporated into the Agency's Internet portal for use by
internal and external audiences, including the media and the general
public.
News releases concerning international
activities.(a) Releases of information involving NASA activities,
views, programs, or projects involving another country or an international
organization require prior coordination and approval by the Headquarters offices
of External Relations and Public Affairs.
(b) NASA Centers and
Headquarters offices will report all visits proposed by representatives of
foreign news media to the public affairs officer for the Office of External
Relations for appropriate handling consistent with all NASA policies and
procedures.
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