Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official sends troubling message to employees about media questions

An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has instructed employees not to speak directly with members of the press. Several health journalists quickly condemned the CDC move, calling it “really disturbing” and a “gag order." A late August e-mail by a CDC public affairs officer directs staff to route any correspondence with journalists—“everything from formal interview requests to the most basic of data requests”—through the communication office at its Atlanta headquarters.