The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says it has no communication records concerning a newly-enacted media relations policy that notifies reporters about public press conferences exclusively through the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
In a letter dated February 19, a NTSB official said it was unable to find any records of communications between agency officials related to the policy, which were requested by The Desk through the Freedom of Information Act.
The claim follows a statement made earlier this month that the NTSB was not effectuating a policy change by requiring reporters to use X to learn about public press conferences on matters concerning the agency, including updates on recent aviation disasters in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
The statement said the NTSB was merely trying to concentrate its efforts on reaching as many reporters as possible after being inundated with emails requesting information about the disasters and other issues.
Most federal agencies use a number of techniques to notify the news media and the public with reliable updates, especially during emergencies. These techniques include one or more e-mail lists through which reporters, producers and editors are told about the date, time and location of press conferences. Occasionally, agencies also provide the same information over publicly-accessible social media platforms.
Any change in the practice of distributing information to the public would almost certainly involve a paper trail, regardless of whether the shift was discussed by text message, over e-mail or by phone. The FOIA request submitted to the NTSB earlier this month requested “any and all documents” that included, but were not limited to, e-mails, text messages and phone records.
While the request was narrow in scope, it also covered the public statements made by the NTSB on their own X account, which the agency did not provide. Instead, an NTSB official said they “did not locate any records responsive to your request,” and closed out the matter.
In its letter, the NTSB provided information about appealing an unfavorable decision, which The Desk intends to pursue.
