Bay City News
A discussion about the First Amendment came front and center Tuesday night as the Brentwood City Council discussed creating a policy that would require media outlets to follow the Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics if they hope to earn advertising revenue from the city or receive press releases.
No decision was made during the meeting other than to send the topic to the city's Diversity Equity Belonging Inclusion Committee for consideration and possible council discussion at a later time.
Public comments submitted to the city clerk ahead of the meeting and those circulating social media platforms expressed concern and outrage with the apparent governmental attempt to control the messaging -- a direct violation of the freedom of the press protected under the First Amendment.
"We question the need for the requirements you are considering, would ask who is left to decide if the news outlet in question is in violation of the standards you have set, and -- of course -- what requirement or restriction comes next," wrote J.D. O'Connor, identified as a senior newsroom editor.
A letter from the First Amendment Coalition and the Society of Professional Journalists called the idea unconstitutional and stated that they opposed a governmental body imposing any code of ethics, even their own.
However, some of the council members raised their own concerns about using taxpayer dollars to advertise on sites run by publishers who don't monitor racist and derogatory comments on social media or who publish inaccurate information with inflammatory headlines.
"There are some local outlets that are not following safe procedures and ethical procedures," said Vice Mayor Susannah Meyer, who together with Councilmember Jovita Mendoza first raised the request to consider establishing a media policy.
She further clarified that no one would be required to sign a contract to receive press releases.
"It was more of a request to hold yourself to a standard," Meyer continued.
Speaker Rod Flohr, who sits on the Brentwood Planning Commission, said the city is bound by the First Amendment but noted there is no First Amendment right to force the city to do business with media publications that promote messages the city doesn't want to be associated with.
Councilmember Pa'tanisha Pierson, a Black woman, said she and her family have experienced racism and bullying since she stepped into her role on the council. She shared that her son no longer wants to become a police officer because of the racist comments found on the social platform of a particular outlet.
While he said the public can be harsh, Councilmember Tony Oerlemans raised the point that the city might influence the press by implementing a policy that would define how outlets should behave.
"I don't think we should be able to require any type of action, because I don't know who would judge that action or judge that conduct," he said. "And I think once we start becoming the judge of that, we start telling our press what they can and can't say, and the same part of that goes with our advertising dollars.
"If we start telling or changing our advertising strategies with the press because we don't like what they say, then we're starting to dictate what the press is going to tell people," Oerlemans continued. "We're starting to dictate what the press can and cannot do, and that is not what the First Amendment says. It's the freedom of the press."
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