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The city of Henderson has revoked a policy that said employees could be fired for talking to the media.

City Manager Jacob Snow announced the change in an email to employees Thursday afternoon. It came after recent articles in the Review-Journal about the citys media policy and dealings with reporters.

Media and civil-liberties advocates criticized the firing clause as an effort to intimidate employees and control what the media and public know about city government.

In an interview, Snow said the language was mistakenly included by a new assistant city attorney who had worked in the private sector. The threat of employees being fired for talking to the media is common in business, Snow said, but not appropriate for a governmental entity thats supposed to be open and transparent.

He added: Thats something that shouldnt have happened.

Thursdays announcement was a sharp reversal. When first asked about the firing threat after a Feb. 3 City Council meeting, Snow said he knew nothing about it. But he also said the clause did not surprise or concern him because he wanted all media inquiries routed through spokespeople.

And in a later interview with Fox News, city spokesman Bud Cranor defended the discipline clause, saying, If you violate a policy, there is a consequence.

Snow signed off on the three-page policy in September, but said neither he nor his staff noticed the final section, which said employees could be disciplined or fired for speaking to a reporter without permission from the city communications office. The previous policy, adopted in 2002, had no discipline clause.

I should have caught it, but I didnt, Snow said. My staff should have caught it, but they didnt.

The new media policy also will include language reminding employees they have protection under state whistleblower law and city ethics law if they speak up to expose wrongdoing.

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Henderson pulls firing policy for news media contact