In Response to “Press Release and Public Information Policy,” featured in a recent article from the Columbia Journalism Review.

“Allowing police to determine what information is newsworthy and how and when to disperse said information to reporters is quite troubling. To hear that several Vermont newspapers and members of the Vermont Press Association were not properly consulted in the redrafting of the policy is also concerning. Information on crime, sexual assault, armed robberies and arson are in the public’s interest, and law enforcement should be working with reporters to divulge said information to the public, not hinder it. We ask that you invite members of the press to be part of the current redrafting of the policy that is taking place and address the concerns put forward.”

– New England PRO Chapter President Jordan Frias