FCC Security Official Who Tangled With Reporter Retiring; FCC Implements New Press Policy
The retirement of an FCC security official involved in a physical altercation with a reporter last month was announced at commissioners' meeting Thursday, where new security policies involving the news media were put into effect. The retirement of Administration Security Operations Center Head Fred Bucher was planned before the May incident with CQ Roll Call Senior Writer John Donnelly and isn’t related, an FCC spokesman told us. Reporters covering the June meeting were for the first time issued bright orange badges marked “PRESS,” and the event included a noticeably more visible security presence, similar to what was in place last month when the commission considered controversial agenda items involving net neutrality.
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“We want to make sure that we take some of the steps that are necessary to make it easier for you to do your job,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in response to a question on the changes. Unlike during the May 18 meeting, no protesters could be seen outside Thursday.
“I just hope that whoever replaces Bucher is more aware of the role the press plays in a free society and more able to tell the difference between a reporter and a security threat," Donnelly, chairman of the National Press Club’s Press Freedom Team, emailed us. In an article earlier this month, Donnelly described Bucher as among those who knocked him backward and “leaned into” him, and an FCC spokesman confirmed Bucher was involved in the incident. The FCC’s account of what happened differs from Donnelly’s.
“Fred has done a great job over the last several years, and I've gotten to know him, and even his son a little bit,” Pai said, recognizing Bucher’s impending retirement at the close of Thursday’s meeting. Bucher has been with the FCC seven years and heads the agency’s administrative operations security center, Pai said. “I just wanted to recognize Fred and say thank you for your service.”
The FCC has said that the May meeting had heightened security because of potential safety threats, and recently denied our Freedom of Information Act Request for information on the threats (see 1706200061). The Office of the Managing Director told us information about such threats would be exempt because it could be part of an ongoing investigation. That reason doesn't appear good enough, National Press Club Journalism Institute Press Freedom Fellow Kathy Kiely said. It should be possible for the agency to work with journalists to share information about the threats without compromising an investigation, she said. Denying the request raises questions about credibility, she said.
It should be possible for the FCC to provide "reasonably segregable" portions of any documents related to the threats, said Georgetown Law Institute for Public Representation Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman. It's of "questionable legality" to withhold the entirety of the documents when there may be some portions -- such as names and dates -- that could be provided to reporters without harming an investigation, he said.
Before Thursday, reporters attending commissioners' meetings checked in with security in the same manner as other meeting attendees. Thursday, reporters’ names were checked against a list of journalists at the security desk, and orange badges issued. The check-in procedure for non-journalists appeared to be similar. An FCC security official said the procedure was intended to make sure only journalists sat in the press area. At a net neutrality meeting under the previous administration, protesters sat in the press area and revealed themselves only when they got up to disrupt the meeting. Thursday’s meeting also included uniformed security seated throughout the meeting room, including next to the press area.
Increased security is understandable with the current “heightened threat” to public officials, said Kiely. Since reporters announce their status as journalists to those they interview, there’s nothing wrong with giving them special identification, she said -- as long as it isn’t used to prevent access. The transparency of the FCC process for determining who gets an orange press badge is important, she said. “There needs to be fair access,” she said. Asked if the credentials or extra security were a response to the May incident or the recent Alexandria, Virginia, shooting at a congressional baseball practice (see 1706140072), Pai said they were measures intended to help reporters.
The FCC didn’t comment on the process for determining who's issued a badge, but did include a new paragraph on press access, highlighted in yellow in its July commissioners' meeting tentative agenda. “Members of the news media are welcome to attend the meeting and will be provided reserved seating on a first-come, first-served basis,” the agenda read. “Following the meeting, the Chairman may hold a news conference in which he will take questions from credentialed members of the press.”