A reporter for a well-respected national education outlet is accusing Florida’s higher education system of boycotting access because the outlet declined to publish the state’s op-ed.
Inside Higher Ed reporter Josh Moody posted a screenshot of an email he received where the State University System said it is now refusing to “participate in media requests.”
Moody has been covering the state’s recent push to create its own accreditation system — an issue that even some Florida Board of Governors members raised concerns about during a recent meeting.
“For years the State University System of Florida has engaged in good faith with Inside Higher Ed, responding to inquiries and providing context for stories — even as the outlet has consistently published content that presents Florida’s higher education policies in a negative and often biased light,” the state’s email said. ”It is deeply disappointing, then, that Inside Higher Ed would reject an opinion piece intended to offer a direct rebuttal to one of its own published articles … This dismissive approach undermines the principles of balanced journalism and fair discourse.”
Insider Higher Ed declined to release a copy of the State University System’s op-ed when Florida Politics requested it but the publication’s leader said she was “acting within our rights as a publisher and within our stated submission guidelines” when declining to publish the piece.
“We maintain a strong firewall between our opinion and news sections so I’m sorry they are choosing to disengage from our independent reporting in response to an opinion rejection,” Editor in Chief Sara Custer said. “We take our responsibility as journalists very seriously and know that our readers value our coverage of public higher education in Florida, including the comments we get from the State University System. We hope they will reconsider their decision.”
When reached for comment, the State University System released an email thread between Moody and Chancellor Ray Rodrigues.
“Candidly you can’t boycott an entire publication and pretend to be transparent, so I would encourage you to reverse this decision,” Moody wrote Rodrigues, adding that the op-ed was submitted improperly. “To me this smells like an excuse to simply refuse media inquiries because you can’t handle tough but fair coverage.”
Rodrigues countered, “All due respect, you are missing the point. Inside Higher Education published a piece attacking our system and then refused to publish our rebuttal. Therefore, by only presenting one side, Inside Higher Education is who has executed a divorce from transparency. The State University System of Florida will continue to be transparent; it will just be with publications who treat us fairly and demonstrate an equal value for transparency.”
It’s not the first time Florida officials have tried to quash journalists’ reporting.
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) sent a cease and desist letter last month to the Orlando Sentinel’s Tallahassee bureau reporter, Jeffrey Schweers, who has been covering the Hope Florida scandal. It didn’t stop Schweers who recently published a piece on “odd, unexplained payments” at the organization.
Moody has been covering the state’s recently announced decision to create a new higher-ed accrediting organization alongside several other state university systems.
At a meeting earlier this month, however, several BOG members expressed concerns about the accreditor not being perceived as independent since the BOG would be the nonprofit Commission for Public Higher Education’s sole member. Others inquired about staffing and other concerns as the BOG Chair acknowledged state education officials are seeking clarity on multiple issues.
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