Freedom of Speech?

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

Today's edition of NewsBlues (www.newsblues.com) has a short article about 
a policy manual Viacom/CBS/Infinity distributes.  It may be much ado about 
nothing, but the editor of NewsBlues was concerned about how seriously this 
policy is enforced and whether such policies have a chilling effect on 
freedom of speech, making it difficult for people at the particular 
stations to speak their mind on issues or make public comments.  I'd be 
interested in your opinions of this policy and whether it is really 
standard practice:

from this morning's NewsBlues:
...Viacom employees have been "asked" to sign a "Business Conduct Statement."
On page 9, in a section titled "Talking to Members of the News Media," 
Viacom take a chilling step toward restricting freedom of speech.
We quote....
"Unless you have been officially designated as a spokesperson, you may not 
comment or provide documents or information to members of the news media on 
matters pertaining to Viacom's business or any other internal matter. This 
applies to all media contacts, whether on the record, off the record, 
unattributed, anonymous or background contacts."]