The 2015 measles outbreak in California has reignited a debate on the effectiveness and safety of vaccinations and, by implication, has called into question the legitimacy of public health officials. This paper investigates the American public health system and the threats to the legitimacy and status of public employees. Drawing on the example of the measles outbreak in California, we analyse the rhetoric surrounding the crisis, which was used by three major media sources concerning the outbreak of measles in California. We assert that the public health debate over vaccination is indicative of a larger issue of public employee credibility and its relationship to the transforming role of public managers. Our findings indicate that the media, especially local media, play an important role in the public health network of communicating risk in crisis and expressing the legitimacy of the public health officials.