BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- Princeton University has implemented new restrictions on reporters, limiting them to two per publication and requiring 24-hour advance notification for faculty meetings, as well as prior media credentials.
- A ban on recordings at faculty meetings was introduced by the Council of the Princeton University Community in November 2025 to promote open discussion among faculty.
- Critics, including media representatives, argue that these rules undermine transparency and press freedom, while the university maintains they are aimed at ensuring accuracy and maintaining a candid environment for faculty discussions.
Reporters are now facing restrictions on recording and taking photos at Princeton University faculty meetings following a school policy that recently went into effect.
“The new rules also limit the number of reporters to two per campus publication and stipulate that reporters notify the Office of Communications of their attendance at least 24 hours in advance of meetings,” The Daily Princetonian reported.
In addition, campus reporters are required to “obtain media credentials prior to each faculty meeting,” the school newspaper reported.
The restrictions come after the Council of the Princeton University Community passed a broader ban in November 2025 on recordings “in an educational, residential, research or workplace setting, including off-campus University-sponsored activities.”
The school can also choose to ban recordings at public events if it explicitly states its intent to do so.
Dean of the Faculty Gene Jarrett told The Princetonian that the “recent guidance clarifying the protocol for observers is designed to ensure faculty can speak openly and candidly at their meetings, consistent with the Rules.”
She added that “non-faculty observers” will still be permitted to attend faculty meetings.
However, the new rules have sparked some criticism, including from Peter Barzilai, editor of Princeton Alumni Weekly.
“While we appreciate the University’s desire to make faculty meetings a space where faculty and administrators can speak candidly, those concerns need to be balanced against the need for transparency and reasonable media access,” he said.
Similarly, The Daily Princetonian’s Editor-in-Chief Jerry Zhu said, “The recent decision by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty to restrict press freedoms at Faculty meetings is highly regrettable and creates new obstacles to The Daily Princetonian’s mission of informing the campus community.”
Zhu added the publication is urging the office to “reconsider these restrictions and ensure that the campus press is not unnecessarily encumbered when engaged in legitimate newsgathering.”
The university defended the campus recording policy in a statement to The College Fix last year.
“The University’s new recording policy will be implemented with an eye to maintaining existing media access and to supporting media accuracy, which may be helped by audio recordings that supplement note taking,” the office said.
However, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told The Fix the policy is overly restrictive.
“At a university, virtually anything can be considered an ‘educational setting’ and even the common areas of a residence hall can be considered a ‘residential setting,’” Program Counsel Ross Marchand told The Fix via email.
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