[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 164 (Thursday, August 24, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49989-49992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13980]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

14 CFR Part 1213

Notice: (06-060)
RIN 2700-AD25


Release of Information to News and Information Media

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is 
amending NASA regulations on release of information to news and 
information media. These amendments will establish NASA policy, 
responsibility, and procedure for providing information to news media 
on NASA activities.

DATES: Effective Date: August 24, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R. Andrew Falcon, Associate General 
Counsel, General Law Practice Group, Office of the General Counsel, 
NASA Headquarters, telephone (202) 358-2465, fax (202) 358-4355.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These amendments set forth procedures for 
internal review of public information, updates the designations of 
officials responsible for the accuracy of information contained in 
press releases and other forms of public information, and provides 
guidance to employees on authorities governing the release of 
information. Since this action concerns matters of internal Agency 
organization, practice, and procedure, no public comment period is 
required, and this rule becomes effective on the date of publication. 
This rule is not subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 
chapter 6) since it will not have a significant impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. Finally, this rule is not a major Federal 
action as defined in Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 1213

    Administrative practice and procedure, News media.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, NASA revises part 1213 of 
title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations to read as follows:

PART 1213--RELEASE OF INFORMATION TO NEWS AND INFORMATION MEDIA

Sec.
1213.100 Scope.
1213.101 Applicability.
1213.102 Policy.
1213.103 Responsibilities.
1213.104 Public information coordination and concurrence.
1213.105 Interviews.
1213.106 Preventing release of classified information to the media.
1213.107 Preventing unauthorized release of sensitive but 
unclassified (SBU) information/material to the news media.
1213.108 Multimedia materials.
1213.109 News releases concerning international activities.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2473(a)(3).


Sec.  1213.100  Scope.

    This part sets forth policy governing the release of public 
information, which is defined as information in any form provided to 
news and information media, especially information that has the 
potential to generate significant media or public interest or inquiry. 
Examples include, but are not limited to, press releases, media 
advisories, news features, and Web postings. Not included under this 
definition are scientific and technical reports, Web postings designed 
for technical or scientific interchange, and technical information 
presented at professional meetings or in professional journals.


Sec.  1213.101  Applicability.

    (a) This policy applies to NASA Headquarters, NASA Centers, and 
Component Facilities.
    (b) In the event of any conflict between this policy and any other 
NASA policy, directive, or regulation, this policy shall govern and 
supersede any previous issuance or directive.
    (c) The requirements of this part do not apply to the Office of 
Inspector General regarding its activities.


Sec.  1213.102  Policy.

    (a) NASA, a scientific and technical Agency, is committed to a 
culture of openness with the media and public that values the free 
exchange of ideas, data, and information as part of scientific and 
technical inquiry. Scientific and technical information from or about 
Agency programs and projects will be accurate and unfiltered.
    (b) Consistent with NASA statutory responsibility, NASA will 
``provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of 
information concerning its activities and the results thereof.'' 
Release of public information concerning NASA activities and the 
results of NASA activities will be made in a timely, equitable, 
accurate, and complete manner.
    (c) To ensure timely release of information, NASA will endeavor to 
ensure cooperation and coordination among the Agency's scientific, 
engineering, and public affairs communities.
    (d) In keeping with the desire for a culture of openness, NASA 
employees may, consistent with this policy, speak to the press and the 
public about their work.
    (e) This policy does not authorize or require disclosure of 
information that is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) or otherwise restricted by statute, 
regulation, Executive Order, or other Executive Branch policy or NASA 
policy (e.g., OMB Circulars, NASA Policy Directives). Examples of 
information not releasable under this policy include, without 
limitation, information that is, or is marked as, classified 
information, procurement sensitive information, information subject to 
the Privacy Act, other sensitive but unclassified information, and 
information subject to privilege, such as pre-decisional information or 
attorney-client communications.


Sec.  1213.103  Responsibilities.

    (a) The Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs is responsible 
for developing and administering an integrated Agency-wide

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communications program, establishing Agency public affairs policies and 
priorities, and coordinating and reviewing the performance of all 
Agency public affairs activities. The Assistant Administrator will 
develop criteria to identify which news releases and other types of 
public information will be issued nationwide by NASA Headquarters. 
Decisions to release public information nationwide by NASA Headquarters 
will be made by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs or his/
her designee.
    (b) NASA's Mission Directorate Associate Administrators and Mission 
Support Office heads have ultimate responsibility for the technical, 
scientific, and programmatic accuracy of all information that is 
related to their respective programs and released by NASA.
    (c) Under the direction of the Assistant Administrator for Public 
Affairs, Public Affairs Officers assigned to Mission Directorates are 
responsible for the timely and efficient coordination of public 
information covering their respective programs. This coordination 
includes review by appropriate Mission Directorate officials. It also 
includes editing by public affairs staff to ensure that public 
information products are well written and appropriate for the intended 
audience. However, such editing shall not change scientific or 
technical data or the meaning of programmatic content.
    (d) Center Public Affairs Directors are responsible for 
implementing their portion of the Agency's communications program, 
adhering to Agency policies, procedures, and priorities, and 
coordinating their activities with Headquarters (and others where 
appropriate). They are responsible for the quality of public 
information prepared by Center Public Affairs Officers. They also are 
responsible for the day-to-day production of public information 
covering their respective Center activities, which includes obtaining 
the necessary Center concurrences and coordinating, as necessary, with 
the appropriate Headquarters Public Affairs Officers.
    (e) Center Directors have ultimate responsibility for the accuracy 
of public information that does not require the concurrence of 
Headquarters. See Sec.  1213.104(d).
    (f) All NASA employees are required to coordinate, in a timely 
manner, with the appropriate Public Affairs Officers prior to releasing 
information that has the potential to generate significant media or 
public interest or inquiry.
    (g) All NASA Public Affairs Officers are required to notify the 
appropriate Headquarters Public Affairs Officers, in a timely manner, 
about activities or events that have the potential to generate 
significant media or public interest or inquiry.
    (h) All NASA public affairs employees are expected to adhere to the 
following code of conduct:
    (1) Be honest and accurate in all communications.
    (2) Honor publication embargoes.
    (3) Respond promptly to media requests, and respect media 
deadlines.
    (4) Act promptly to notify the public of, and correct, erroneous 
information, either internally or externally.
    (5) Promote the free flow of scientific and technical information.
    (6) Protect non-public information.
    (i) All NASA employees are responsible for adhering to plans 
(including schedules) for activities established by public affairs 
offices and senior management for the coordinated release of public 
information.
    (j) All NASA-funded missions will have a public affairs plan, 
approved by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, which will 
be managed by Headquarters and/or a designated NASA Center.
    (k) Public affairs activities for NASA-funded missions will not be 
managed by non-NASA institutions, unless authorized by the Assistant 
Administrator for Public Affairs.


Sec.  1213.104  Public information coordination and concurrence.

    (a) General. All NASA employees involved in preparing and issuing 
NASA public information are responsible for proper coordination among 
Headquarters and Center offices to include review and clearance by 
appropriate officials prior to issuance. Such coordination will be 
accomplished through procedures developed and published by the NASA 
Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs.
    (b) Coordination. To ensure timely release of public information, 
Headquarters and Center Public Affairs Officers are required to 
coordinate to obtain review and clearance by appropriate officials, 
keep each other informed of changes, delays, or cancellation of 
releases, and provide advance notification of the actual release.
    (c) All public information shall be coordinated through the 
appropriate Headquarters offices, including review by the appropriate 
Mission Directorate Associate Administrator and Mission Support Office 
head, or their designees, to ensure scientific, technical, and 
programmatic accuracy, and review by the Assistant Administrator for 
Public Affairs or his/her designee to ensure that public information 
products are well written and appropriate for the intended audience.
    (d) Centers may, however, without the full coordination of 
Headquarters, issue public information that is institutional in nature, 
of local interest, or has been deemed not to be a Headquarters release. 
These releases must be coordinated through the appropriate Center 
offices and approved by the Center Director and Center Public Affairs 
Director. The Center Public Affairs Director is required to provide 
proper notification to the Office of Public Affairs, NASA Headquarters, 
prior to release. The Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs or 
his/her designee will determine which public information will be issued 
nationwide by NASA Headquarters and shall publish guidelines for the 
release of public information that may be issued by Centers without 
clearance from Headquarters offices.
    (e) Dispute Resolution. Any dispute arising from a decision to 
proceed or not proceed with the issuance of a news release or other 
type of public information will be addressed and resolved by the 
Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs with the appropriate Mission 
Directorate Associate Administrator, Mission Support Office head, 
Center Director, and others, such as Center Public Affairs Directors, 
as necessary. However, the appropriate Mission Directorate Associate 
Administrator shall be the arbiter of disputes about the accuracy or 
characterization of programmatic, technical, or scientific information. 
Additional appeals may be made to the Chief of Strategic Communications 
and to the Office of the Administrator. When requested by a Center 
Public Affairs Director, an explanation of the resolution will be 
provided in writing to all interested Agency parties.


Sec.  1213.105  Interviews.

    (a) Only spokespersons designated by the Assistant Administrator 
for Public Affairs, or his/her designee, are authorized to speak for 
the Agency in an official capacity regarding NASA policy, programmatic, 
and budget issues.
    (b) In response to media interview requests, NASA will offer 
articulate and knowledgeable spokespersons who can best serve the needs 
of the media and the American public. However, journalists may have 
access to the NASA officials they seek to interview, provided those 
NASA officials agree to be interviewed.
    (c) NASA employees may speak to the media and the public about 
their work.

[[Page 49991]]

When doing so, employees shall notify their immediate supervisor and 
coordinate with their public affairs office in advance of interviews 
whenever possible, or immediately thereafter, and are encouraged, to 
the maximum extent practicable, to have a Public Affairs Officer 
present during interviews. If Public Affairs Officers are present, 
their role will be to attest to the content of the interview, support 
the interviewee, and provide post-interview follow up with the media, 
as necessary.
    (d) NASA, as an Agency, does not take a position on any scientific 
conclusions. That is the role of the broad scientific community and the 
nature of the scientific process. NASA scientists may draw conclusions 
and may, consistent with this policy, communicate those conclusions to 
the media. However, NASA employees who present personal views outside 
their official area of expertise or responsibility must make clear that 
they are presenting their individual views--not the views of the 
Agency--and ask that they be sourced as such.
    (e) Appropriated funds may only be used to support Agency missions 
and objectives consistent with legislative or presidential direction. 
Government funds shall not be used for media interviews or other 
communication activities that go beyond the scope of Agency 
responsibilities and/or an employee's official area of expertise or 
responsibility.
    (f) Media interviews will be ``on-the-record'' and attributable to 
the person making the remarks, unless the interviewee is authorized to 
do otherwise by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs or 
Center Public Affairs Director, or their designees. Any NASA employee 
providing material to the press will identify himself/herself as the 
source.
    (g) Audio recordings may be made by NASA with consent of the 
interviewee.
    (h) NASA employees are not required to speak to the media.
    (i) Public information volunteered by a NASA official will not be 
considered exclusive to any one media source and will be made available 
to other sources, if requested.


Sec.  1213.106  Preventing release of classified information to the 
media.

    (a) Release of classified information in any form (e.g., documents, 
through interviews, audio/visual) to the news media is prohibited. The 
disclosure of classified information to unauthorized individuals may be 
cause for prosecution and/or disciplinary action against the NASA 
employee involved. Ignorance of NASA policy and procedures regarding 
classified information does not release a NASA employee from 
responsibility for preventing any unauthorized release. See NPR 1600.1, 
Chapter 5, Section 5.23 for internal NASA guidance on management of 
classified information. For further guidance that applies to all 
agencies, see Executive Order 12958, as amended, ``Classified National 
Security Information,'' and its implementing directive at 32 CFR parts 
2001 and 2004.
    (b) Any attempt by news media representatives to obtain classified 
information will be reported through the Headquarters Office of Public 
Affairs or Installation Public Affairs Office to the Installation 
Security Office and Office of Security and Program Protection.
    (c) For classified operations and/or programs managed under the 
auspices of a DD Form 254, ``Contract Security Classification 
Specification,'' all inquiries concerning this activity will be 
responded to by the appropriate PAO official designated in Item 12 on 
the DD Form 254.
    (d) For classified operations and/or information owned by other 
Government agencies (e.g., DOD, DOE), all inquiries will be referred to 
the appropriate Agency Public Affairs Officer as established in written 
agreements.


Sec.  1213.107  Preventing unauthorized release of sensitive but 
unclassified (SBU) information/material to the news media.

    (a) All NASA SBU information requires accountability and approval 
for release. Release of SBU information to unauthorized personnel is 
prohibited. Unauthorized release of SBU information may result in 
prosecution and/or disciplinary action. Ignorance of NASA policy and 
procedures regarding SBU information does not release a NASA employee 
from responsibility for unauthorized release. See NPR 1600.1, Chapter 
5, Section 5.24 for guidance on identification, marking, accountability 
and release of NASA SBU information.
    (b) Examples of SBU information include: proprietary information of 
others provided to NASA under nondisclosure or confidentiality 
agreement; source selection and bid and proposal information; 
information subject to export control under the International Traffic 
in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or the Export Administration Regulations 
(EAR); information subject to the Privacy Act of 1974; predecisional 
materials such as national space policy not yet publicly released; 
pending reorganization plans or sensitive travel itineraries; and 
information that could constitute an indicator of U.S. Government 
intentions, capabilities, operations, or activities or otherwise 
threaten operations security.
    (c) Upon request for access to information/material deemed SBU, 
coordination must be made with the information/material owner to 
determine if the information/material may be released. Other 
organizations that play a part in SBU information identification, 
accountability, and release (e.g., General Counsel, External Relations, 
Procurement) must be consulted for assistance and/or concurrence prior 
to release.
    (d) Requests for SBU information from other Government agencies 
must be referred to the NASA program or other office responsible for 
handling the information as SBU.


Sec.  1213.108  Multimedia materials.

    (a) NASA's multimedia material, from all sources, will be made 
available to the information media, the public, and to all Agency 
Centers and contractor installations utilizing contemporary delivery 
methods and emerging digital technology.
    (b) Centers will provide the media, the public, and as necessary, 
NASA Headquarters with:
    (1) Selected prints and original or duplicate files of news-
oriented imagery and other digital multimedia material generated within 
their respective areas.
    (2) Selected video material in the highest quality format 
practical, which, in the opinion of the installations, would be 
appropriate for use as news feed material or features in pre-produced 
programs and other presentations.
    (3) Audio and/or video files of significant news developments and 
other events of historic or public interest.
    (4) Interactive multimedia features that can be incorporated into 
the Agency's Internet portal for use by internal and external 
audiences, including the media and the general public.
    (5) To the extent practicable, these products will be in forms and 
media accessible to the public at large, as well as to specific user 
groups requesting them, if any.


Sec.  1213.109  News releases concerning international activities.

    (a) Releases of information involving NASA activities, views, 
programs, or projects involving another country or an international 
organization require prior coordination and approval by the 
Headquarters offices of External Relations and Public Affairs.
    (b) NASA Centers and Headquarters offices will report all visits 
proposed by

[[Page 49992]]

representatives of foreign news media to the Public Affairs Officer of 
the Office of External Relations for appropriate handling consistent 
with all NASA policies and procedures.

Michael D. Griffin,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6-13980 Filed 8-23-06; 8:45 am]
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