Alabama Gulf Naming Law Reaches WBHM’s Newsroom

The directive applied the new state law to WBHM, UAB’s university-licensed NPR affiliate, which also carries Associated Press reporting. Emails obtained by Inside Higher Ed show university officials discussing staff compliance and the difficulty of changing third-party material before broadcast or publication.[1]

WBHM executive director Will Dahlberg said he could not ethically enforce the requirement and resigned. He also cited wider concerns about the university’s treatment of the station. UAB later said the data request had been resolved and that no tracking or staff attestation was planned.[1]

What the law requires

The Gulf of America Act took effect October 1, 2026. It requires state and local entities and their employees to use the new terminology in maps, documents, educational materials, websites and official communications. Existing resources must be updated where practicable, subject to an operational-or-financial-burden exception.[2]

Section 2. Beginning October 1, 2026, all state and local entities and their employees shall be required to do all of the following: (1) Refer to the body of water that borders the coast of Alabama as the “Gulf of America.” (2) Reflect the “Gulf of America” terminology in all newly created maps, documents, educational materials, websites, official communications, and other resources. (3)a. Make reasonable efforts to update all pre-existing resources owned by state and local entities, including, but not limited to, official state maps, documents, educational materials, websites, and communications under their jurisdiction to reflect the name change, where practicable. b. The requirements of paragraph a. shall not apply if compliance would impose an operational or financial burden on the state or local entity and their employees. Section 3. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a public K-12 school or public institution of higher education from using the term “Gulf of Mexico” within a larger course of academic instruction when reasonable for historical purposes.Alabama HB2, enrolled Gulf of America Act, Sections 2–3[2]

Public schools and universities may still use “Gulf of Mexico” within a larger course of instruction when reasonable for historical purposes. The enrolled law does not expressly name WBHM or prescribe a newsroom monitoring system. University implementation and the statute’s text are therefore distinct parts of the record.[2]

The university’s newsroom directive

UAB business-operations executive Steve Murray directed that WBHM’s written and spoken content use the new name from October 1. University lawyer Cam Earnhardt discussed the risk and cost of editing third-party material. Murray sought counts of Gulf references, while managing editor Andrew Yeager said comprehensive counting was not feasible.[1]

Governor Kay Ivey signed the state measure in April 2026, following Trump’s January 2025 federal naming order. Her spokesperson defended the mandatory name and characterized free-speech objections as political bias. Faculty and free-speech advocates raised concerns about academic freedom and newsroom independence.[3][2][4][1]

Press-freedom conflict

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.U.S. Constitution, First Amendment[5]

The specific constitutional dispute concerns government-selected wording imposed on a newsroom’s journalism. Free-speech advocates argue that the directive conflicts with press independence and raises compelled-language concerns in teaching beyond the historical-instruction exception. The saved reporting identifies no court ruling deciding this Alabama dispute.[1][4][2][5]

The storm reporting that brought the issue into focus

The original report covered the naming dispute as Hurricane Isaias approached the northern Gulf Coast. The dated National Hurricane Center record placed its center at 29.8° north, 86.8° west at 23:00 UTC on October 9, 2026, with 100-knot sustained winds—about 115 mph—and northward movement of 18 knots, about 21 mph. Those figures describe that advisory, not current weather.[6][7][8]

The reported center, past track and forecast were separate records. The forecast issued at 21:00 UTC was a prediction rather than a confirmed landfall, and hazardous conditions could extend beyond its uncertainty cone.[6][7]