Feb. 14, 2025: Whitman Wire Responses

Requesting journalist: Bex Heimbrock

Respondent name and position: Gina Zandy Ohnstad, Vice President for Communications

Response:

The section on the Whitman College website dedicated to responses to the Whitman Wire came after multiple conversations with staff and faculty who are often asked to be interview subjects for the Whitman Wire. During the fall semester 2024, I began to hear concerns from interviewees who felt that the full context of their answers was not represented once Whitman Wire stories were published. There was a hesitancy from several interview subjects to engage with Wire reporter interviews in the future. While the college does not require employees to speak to any journalist, I began to think of how we might balance engagement with student journalists, which is extremely important, and the comfort of employees who are featured in stories. After conversations with several interview subjects and with college administrators, I decided to create a space on the website for more comprehensive, unfiltered answers for those who are interested. 

I do not have concerns that this will discourage employees from speaking to the Wire. The webpage was created for the opposite purpose—to ensure that employees feel comfortable responding to the Wire and feel confident that their responses will be represented fairly and factually. It is also common for interviewees to get follow-up questions from campus, so having a place where they can point to their complete answers is helpful. Employees can choose to have their Whitman Wire responses posted to the webpage but are not required to do so.  

It is up to each individual employee if they want to participate in any interview and how they want to participate. Some interview subjects prefer to answer each question put forth by a reporter. Others prefer to answer in paragraph or narrative format. Whichever format is chosen by the interviewee is how it will be presented on the website.

There is no plan to publish responses to inquiries from other sources because we have not heard the same concerns about other publications.

Answers to Follow-up Questions

Does this policy implicitly or explicitly discourage staff from speaking with The Wire via in-person interviews?
No. Staff are able to decide how they would like to engage with the Whitman Wire and posting answers on the website is just another option to encourage staff to engage with reporters in the ways that are most comfortable for them.

And, how will the communications department ensure that employees aren't substantially altering and publishing their responses post facto?
In order for employees to alter their responses post facto, they would have to do so through a member of the web team in the Office of Communications and would be required to let the reporter know of any change in response.