OBSERVED: OCPS media policy restricts press access, threatens protected speech

The University of Missouri School of Journalism didn’t have a class called Journalism 101. It actually was called Journalism 110, but it served the same purpose: Teach young students the basics of our craft.

One of the first lessons: You report the news. You are not the news.

So when the Observer Media Group last week joined several other Central Florida news organizations, as well as the Society of Professional Journalists and the Florida State University College of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, to urge Orange County Public Schools to revise its media policy, it felt odd. A press release went out, and all of a sudden, we became part of the news.

But another, more important lesson from J-110: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

And when we find the government treading on the First Amendment, we cannot stay silent.

As West Orange’s only paper of record, our newspaper has a long history — 121 years! — of chronicling, celebrating and communicating news and information about our schools to our readers.

However, in at least the last five years, the Observer — and other news organizations covering Central Florida — has experienced increasing difficulty covering OCPS-related topics, people and events.

Most of these troubles arise from the district’s media policy. The policy strips away the ability for our reporters to contact our schools directly. Instead, with any OCPS-related story, we are to contact the media relations office in downtown Orlando with our request. We are then supposed to wait for that office to contact the school to arrange a time to conduct interviews and take photos. Sometimes, that happens. Often, it does not.

Furthermore, any band director, drama director, coach, teacher — anyone who wants publicity for an event or to highlight students’ achievements — are not allowed to contact us directly, even to let us know about events otherwise open to the public. And if they do, they risk discipline. Instead, we — the journalists — are supposed to let the media relations department know. So this roundabout circus can begin anew.

In a perfect world, perhaps this could work. But, after years of watching this policy in action, we have found it not only delays stories to the point that they are no longer relevant but also prevents our ability to publish some stories altogether.

And this is the most dangerous, most corrosive product of OCPS’ policy: They can control the news.

Another J-110 nugget: Just the facts.

So, here we go. Three specific instances in which OCPS’ media policy has either killed a story or delayed our ability to cover one. 

1. West Orange High School’s 2026 Warriorthon. This is an event we have covered every year for as long as I can remember. Except this year. And even though we did as we were told — asked the media relations department for access to the event on March 3 (three full days before the event) — we didn’t receive a response. 

On the day of the event, our reporter reached out one more time, only to receive this: “I was not able to secure approvals for your visit.” 

We sent our reporter to the event, anyway. After all, we covered this event every year. However, the organizer of the event apologized and said we were not allowed to come in, per district policy. She also told our reporter she had no idea the Observer had asked to attend. Translation: The media relations department hadn’t told her of our request.

2. Castleview Elementary’s “The Lion King.” Castleview’s theater director had contacted us in January to invite us to cover the school’s spring musical. Our reporter confirmed we would attend the Friday, March 6, public performance. Our reporter covered the event and published the photos on our website. On Monday, March 8, OCPS’ media relations administrator contacted me to question who invited us and to slap our hands because his office had not been contacted.

Remember: The director invited us personally.

“… Your team never reached out to our office,” this administrator wrote. “Did you purchase a ticket to the event? Yes, the event was open to the public … with the purchase of a ticket. I am assuming you did not, which is where the approval to be on campus would come from.” 

3. Windermere High School’s Barbershop Quartet. Our reporter sent the media relations department a request for interviews Friday, April 3. The office responded to confirm receipt of the request. However, we still hadn’t received a response by Tuesday, April 7. Our reporter followed up on this request but received no reply. For regular readers, you might remember that we, indeed, had this as a cover story in our April 16, 2026, edition of the Southwest Orange Observer. That’s because my son is friends with a couple of the guys in the quartet, and I had him contact them directly. When our reporter interviewed the boys, three of them said they never heard from the district or the principal that we wanted to interview them. The fourth said his mother received a call from the principal the morning of the interview, Friday, April 10. 

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
This policy, in practice, delays access to routine information and reduces transparency for parents, taxpayers and the community. Moreover, by controlling OCPS employees’ access to journalists, it has created a chilling effect on employee speech. 

And to think: These three instances I shared are all positive, uplifting stories. You’d think a district that is hemorrhaging students (and thus, money) would welcome a few puff pieces to make their schools look great. But if OCPS’ media relations officials want to silence these stories, what do you think they will do when we have to tell one that is less flattering?

In our letter to the district, our coalition has asked for a face-to-face meeting with Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez. Unsurprisingly, the media relations department has not been responsive to that request. Instead, they’d like us to talk to them. 

Figures.