The Village of Key Biscayne has settled a federal lawsuit with a nonprofit news outlet that claimed village policy violated the First Amendment rights of its reporters and of village employees.
Village councilmembers approved the settlement agreement Tuesday night, agreeing to pay $25,000 in attorneys fees and costs to the Key Biscayne Independent (KBI), a local digital news operation dedicated to covering news in the island hamlet off the coast of Miami.
KBI, a WLRN News partner, sued the village last June over a media policy established by Village Manager Steve Williamson that forbade village employees from speaking to the media without first getting approval from the manager or head of communications.
"The purpose of the policy was to provide a clear, consistent structure for all media relationships and to ensure the Village continues to deliver timely, accurate, and well‑coordinated information. We modeled the approach after many unwritten agreed‑upon procedures we already had in place with multiple media outlets, which worked very effectively for these organizations," Williamson told WLRN in a statement.
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In its complaint, KBI noted that immediately prior to Williamson creating the policy, the outlet published an investigation regarding Miami Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar allegedly moving into a Key Biscayne condo before the building was deemed safe.
The news outlet received legal representation from the nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Tony Winton, KBI’s editor-in-chief, said village media policy made it difficult to do the work of accountability journalism, and essentially meant the village administration could control the flow of information.
“ A policy that essentially funneled every request for information to the manager or a spokesperson really impaired the ability of our reporters to get information to serve the public,” Winton told WLRN.
Following KBI filing their First Amendment suit in federal court, Key Biscayne rescinded the media policy in November. The case continued, however, as Winton said the action did not bar the city from reinstating a “gag order” rule in the future.
The parties ultimately settled before going to trial. Under the settlement agreement, the village must publicize any future intention to create a policy relating to communication with the media, and allow the public to comment on it.
“ The battle for open government, access to records and transparency is a continuing one, and we want to thank our supporters and our readers for standing with us during all of this,” Winton said.
The settlement must now be filed with the court.
Williamson told WLRN the village is glad the lawsuit will be concluded so it can provide residents with current and relevant information.
