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MEDIA REQUESTS #145 All city employees have a responsibility to help communicate accurate and timely information to the public in a professional manner. Requests for private data or information outside of the scope of an individual’s job duties should be routed to the appropriate department or to the data practices authority. Any employee who identifies a mistake in reporting should bring the error to the city administrator or other appropriate staff. Regardless of whether the communication is in the employee’s official city role or in a personal capacity, employees must comply with all laws related to trademark, copyright, software use, etc. Except for routine events and basic information readily available to the public, all requests for interviews or information from the media are to be routed through the city administrator. No city employee is authorized to speak on behalf of the city without prior authorization from the city administrator or his/her designee. Media requests include anything intended to be published or viewable to others in some form such as television, radio, newspapers, newsletters, social media postings, and websites. When responding to media requests, employees should follow these steps: • If the request is for routine or public information (such as a meeting time or agenda), provide the information and notify the city administrator of the request. • If the request is regarding information about city personnel, potential litigation, controversial issues, an opinion on a city matter, or if an employee is unsure if the request is a “routine” question, forward the request to the city administrator. An appropriate response would be, “I’m sorry, I don’t have the full information regarding that issue. Let me take some basic information and submit your request to the appropriate person, who will get back to you as soon as he/she can.” Then ask the media representative’s name, questions, deadline, and contact information. All news releases concerning city personnel will be the responsibility of the city administrator or his/her designee. When/if the city administrator authorizes a staff person to communicate on behalf of the city in interviews, publications, news releases, on social media sites, and related communications, employees must: • Identify themselves as representing the city. Account names on social media sites must be clearly connected to the city and approved by the city administrator. • Be respectful, professional, and truthful when providing information. In most cases, only factual information (not opinions or editorial comments) should be provided: “The city finished street cleaning on 16 streets in the northwest corner of the city this past week” instead of “The city is doing a great job with street cleaning this year!” Corrections must be issued when needed. • Generally, do not include personal opinions in official city statements. One exception is communications related to promoting a city service. For example, an employee could post the following on the city’s Facebook page: “My family visited Hill Park this weekend and really enjoyed the new band shelter.” Employees who have been approved to use social media sites on behalf of the city should seek assistance from the city administrator on this topic. • Notify the city administrator if they will be using their personal technology (cell phones, home computer, cameras, etc.) for city business. Employees should be aware that the data transmitted or stored may be subject to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. 16 12/2024