Morgan State University: Media Policy Bars Student Journalists from Speaking Directly to Sources, Filming on Campus without Approval 

On November 13, 2025, Morgan State University’s Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications issued updated media request and filming protocols requiring all media, including student media outlets, to direct any interview requests that relate to the university or occur on MSU’s campus through the OPRSC. The protocols further required all filming on campus to undergo a “comprehensive review and approval process.” 

FIRE’s Student Press Freedom Initiative (SPFI) and the Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ) wrote MSU on January 6. SPFI and SPJ explained these policies effect a gag order on student journalists seeking interviews from university faculty or staff members who speak in their personal capacity — not on behalf of MSU — and that the First Amendment protects spontaneous newsgathering and filming.