National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

Author: NFOIC

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Seattle Times, ProPublica, NPR Take Home 2014 Online Journalism Awards

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Coverage of natural disasters and health care as well as the making of a T-shirt took top honors Saturday night at the 2014 Online Journalism Awards, which ended the Online News Association Conference.

At the 14th annual awards dinner, ONA also announced a new award for 2015, the James Foley Award, honoring work by reporters in conflict zones and named for the Global Post freelancer killed in Syria in August.

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Organizing to Defend a Professor’s Freedom of Speech

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On a Friday night in early August, Prof. Corey Robin put out a call on his blog. There had been plenty of grumbling over the University of Illinois's decision to revoke a job offer to Prof. Steven G. Salaita, who gained notoriety for incendiary tweets about Israel. But it had not been enough to persuade the university to reinstate Professor Salaita. So Professor Robin, a political theorist at the City University of New York's Brooklyn College, ratcheted up the pressure.

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The Ghost of Ronald Reagan authorizes most NSA Spying

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U.S. intelligence agents have broad authority to spy on U.S. companies as long as they are 'believed to have some relationship with foreign organizations or persons' – a description that could conceivably apply to any company with foreign shareholders, subsidiaries, or even employees – according to newly released government documents published this morning by the ACLU.

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Tim Berners-Lee says freedom of internet under threat

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Tim Berners-Lee claims our internet freedom in under threat by governments and corporations that don't have the public's interest at heart and has called for a bill of rights to be introduced to ensure users' privacy.

He said these organisations are tempted to abuse the open internet and this issue has come to light after former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden leaked information suggesting the government was snooping on US citizens.

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About that State Dept. $52,000 luxury hotel tab

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The State Department has taken more than two years to turn over documents WND sought through a Freedom of Information Act request regarding mysterious transactions at an expensive European luxury hotel funded by U.S. taxpayers.

Despite President Obama's continued proclamations and executive orders heralding a new era of open government, the State Department only partly satisfied this FOIA request. WND received mostly redacted, unreadable and even German-language documents.

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Why we’re failing to get the most out of open data

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An unprecedented number of individuals and organizations are finding ways to explore, interpret and use Open Data. Public agencies are hosting Open Data events such as meetups, hackathons and data dives. The potential of these initiatives is great, including support for economic development (McKinsey, 2013), anti-corruption (European Public Sector Information Platform, 2014) and accountability (Open Government Partnership, 2012). But is Open Data's full potential being realized?

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The White House Wants to Reveal Where Government Drones Fly

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Soon you'll be able to find out where the federal government flies drones and what it does with the data according to a report fromThe Washington Post.The White House is getting ready to send out an order to make agencies open up data on where they fly drones and what happens to all of the data they collect.

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Guest Commentary: Government becoming more transparent in modern era

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Government transparency has been the focus of many news stories as of late. In this modern age of sophisticated technology, social media platforms and watchdog reporters, it is now easier than ever to keep up with the inner workings of government.

Transparency is the key to having an administration that is supported and trusted by the people it serves. At its core, transparency is important because it holds government accountable for its actions. But accountability only works if citizens are on the other side taking a look at the information provided and responding.

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Ports’ secret meetings face court challenge

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An open government advocate said Thursday he is filing suit in King County asking a judge to declare a series of secret meetings between the port commissions of Tacoma and Seattle illegal.

Arthur West, an Olympia resident who has made a career of challenging government secrecy, said he believes commission members have wrongly held private meetings to discuss how the two ports can improve their competitive stance in the maritime business.

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