"I did sense a little frustration in her voice when she said she had approached management about news and was told there is none.

So jump back into your 'mushroom' bed and eat as much bulls--t as you can."

Yes I'd pretty much call this a news blackout. Sounds like they definitely don't want any sense of leakage from anywhere. Perhaps the new masters are very strict on this. This truly is becoming...annoying to say the least.