From:
To: City Council
Cc: John Jay
Subject: Sebastopol Times article regarding city personnel speaking to Press Date: Friday, February 28, 2025 9:08:09 PM
I read Reporter Rush's article about new constraints on City Personnel responding to reporters with real dismay. Given what's going on in our nation right now, it somehow boosted how terrifying this new policy felt. I'm so grateful that we have a real newspaper to keep us informed locally. In times when all across America such news sources are simply disappearing in favor of personal opinion on Next Door or Facebook, we find out about what we otherwise would not know: Where our candidates for city government stand, what's happening at Ives Park, or the Library, or crime, or the garbage contract, etc.
Our plucky tiny news force is so talented and so careful, and such a great support to the local businesses, and workers, and yes, really helpful for and supportive of our local government. I've been pretty satisfied with our City Council, that satisfaction stemming from the news I follow in the Sebastopol Times, by the way. It seems the City Government has found cause to feel somehow uncomfortable with being reported in the news by real reporters who do not take their marching orders from them but report independently. Although according to the experience of this reporter, this policy is already being acted upon, apparently it is not actually a policy that has been officially adopted, and I hope it is not.
I'm sorry I can't attend the upcoming meeting, but you can addend this comment to the report of this agenda item.
Thank you for your attention to this matter,
Margo Miller
Sebastopol