From ``Clarification of Policy about Providing Information to the News Media,'' a memo sent in April by Daniel H. Weinberg, chief of the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics division, to all division employees.  The memo was distributed two weeks after Census Bureau officials dropped their efforts to fire a demographer, Beth Osborne Daponte, who had released to the press her estimate of Iraqi casualties during the Persian Gulf War.

The basis rule is that all contacts with the ``major media'' must be referred to the Public Information Office (POI).  We cannot even give out simply numbers, such as the number of housing units in the United States in 1990, nor can we even tell a reporter where to find certain information.

The following are identified as ``major media'':

Washington Post, Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, USA Today, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Business Week, Forbes, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Reuters, Associated Press, UPI, National Public Radio.

A conversation with a reporter from one of the [major] organizations might go:

ANALYST: This call needs to be referred to PIO.  May I give you their number or transfer you?
REPORTER: Why do I have to talk to PIO?
ANALYST: This is current Commerce Department policy.  I have to refer you to PIO.

This will undoubtedly irk many reporters, especially those who have talked to you in the past, but the directed if clear: without prior PIO approval, you may not talk to major media.

For ``minor'' media reporters, the procedure is less clear.  We can give them numbers (e.g. median value for [housing in] New Jersey) or direct them to appropriate references to obtain data.  However, I would be cautious in giving them anything more than that.  If you give them your opinion as to past or future housing trends in their area, it could become a ``major story.'' In this case, I would refer the reporter to PIO or get PIO approval and call the reporter back.

You may, of course, refer even ``minor media'' reporters to PIO.  In these cases, use your own ``good judgment.''

These rules also apply to situations other than telephone calls.  If you are attending a conference (as a speaker or a booth staffer, for example), you must adhere to the above rules.  This does create a rather odd situation if a reporter from the New York Times approaches your booth and asks for your opinion about a publication you are handing out; you would have to tell the reporter that you will have to contact PIO first for permission.  On the other hand, if a reporter from the Sacremento Bee asks for numbers from such a publication, you may give it to him/her.  You might find it best to contact PIO before you go on such a trip and get blanket permission to talk to all conference attendees.