The CBE Communications Department assists news media with their requests by arranging interviews and providing information. The following suggestions are provided to assist reporters in covering public education in Calgary.
The CBE has numerous events throughout the year where our schools are pleased to invite media to join them. News media also frequently request access to our schools or students. To comply with Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation, which has been in effect since 1998, each principal has a responsibility to limit media coverage to students with prior parental consent for media interviews. As well, for security or privacy reasons, some parents may not want to have their child appear in the media.
Reporters covering an event at a school are asked to request permission from the attending CBE staff member, principal or teacher before interviewing or photographing students. In cases where reporters want to interview or profile an individual child on a specific achievement or topic, the principal is required to obtain parental consent in advance specific to each media request, if the event is not a public event.
It is up to the discretion of each principal as to whether media is permitted on school property. The Communications Department is always willing to assist reporters in this aspect. While we understand and respect the time constraints and urgency of daily news, we ask reporters to understand that it may take several hours to arrange interviews. Often our side of the arranging means trying to reach a principal or teacher busy teaching in a classroom (especially at the elementary schools) – it takes time, as their first priority is always education.
If the principal prefers not to be interviewed, or if the media inquiry concerns a system-wide issue rather than a school-specific topic, Communications will assist in identifying a CBE spokesperson.
Media Contact for the Calgary Board of Education: CBE Communications Department, 403-819-2317 (cell)
