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Gov. Ferguson's secret media rule: What we know
A new policy from Gov. Ferguson requires state agencies to get approval before speaking to the media, a move critics say is causing a "tremendous bottleneck" for public information.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - A newly uncovered policy by Gov. Bob Ferguson is raising concerns over transparency and the significant slowdown of information flowing to the public.
Axios broke the story revealing a new approval policy implemented in July requiring most state agencies to get approval from the governor’s office before press releases are issued or even to answer reporter questions.
The backstory:
Reporter Melissa Santos acquired emails and communication from former and current state workers through a public disclosure request.
Her report highlights a process described as a "tremendous bottleneck" due to a grueling approval process. A former worker with the WA State Health Care Authority wrote that her agency was forced to wait days or weeks for a response from the governor’s office.
Bob Ferguson speaks on Aug. 29, 2025 in Olympia, Wash. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Santos listed delays in key information, including critical public health updates involving a mild delay of information going out about a measles case in October and delays regarding vaccine guidance.
Santos described a potentially unprecedented level of micromanagement within the governor's office that differs sharply from previous administrations. FOX 13 interviewed Santos about her report:
What they're saying:
"What we did find was that there are delays from the governor's office that are delaying information getting out to the public," Santos said. "These are things that do affect the public. If I was at SeaTac that day, I might want to know about that measles case and maybe have access to that information a little sooner and not have sort of delays imposed by multiple layers of editing."
According to Axios, in one instance, the governor was found to be personally reviewing and editing talking points for the state epidemiologist regarding bird flu for a response to Politico.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson speaks at a press conference. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Santos noted that the policy appears to be used, in some cases, to shield from tough questions.
Regarding the Women, Infants, and Children food aid program, Santos found records indicating the governor’s office instructed agencies to decline interviews to avoid questions about a lack of backup funding.
"The governor's office was instructing the agencies not to take any interviews about that because they didn't want any questions about why the state didn't have any backup funding for that kind of program," Santos said. "That’s not transparent for the public. That’s not helpful to people."
Dig deeper:
The internal emails displayed a level of high frustration from some employees who say it’s hard to fulfill their core duties.
"We were having people saying, 'We cannot do our jobs. We can't get any actual work done,'" Santos said. "This is not government efficiency. I think that is something that this governor specifically talked about—making government work well—in his inaugural address."
While previous governors, including Jay Inslee, Chris Gregoire, and Gary Locke requested "heads up" notices on controversial topics, Santos noted that requiring approval for routine items like interstate construction is a departure from historical norms.
"The governor personally going back and forth over what a press release should look like on I-5 construction really undermines the people who are working at the agencies who do that communication day to day and who are experts in that," Santos said.
The investigative report from Axios also brings up questions of transparency. Santos says documents she obtained show that state agencies were instructed not to disclose the new approval requirements to the media.
The Response:
In response to the report, Ferguson’s office defended the changes. Communications Director Brionna Aho stated that a new administration has different ways of doing things. Aho says change can be hard and with dozens of agencies that they "need to be communicating with each other and with the governor’s office."
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The Source: Information in this story came from Axios, the Office of Washington Governor Bob Ferguson, and FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.