The First Amendment Coalition, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization headquartered in Northern California, is hiring for two legal positions to focus on government transparency and press freedom litigation and counseling. FAC is looking for an experienced lawyer to serve as senior staff attorney, directing FAC’s strategic litigation program. FAC also is recruiting its next legal […]
Read More… from California’s First Amendment Coalition hiring senior staff attorney, legal fellow
California’s First Amendment Coalition, joined by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the California News Publishers Association, filed an amicus brief urging an appeals court to overturn a lower court’s ruling that kept death records secret after a 2018 mass shooting. Journalists covering the Borderline Bar & Grill massacre have been denied […]
The National Freedom of Information Coalition welcomes its newest member, the Florida Center for Government Accountability. Barbara A. Petersen, executive director of the Florida Center for Government Accountability, previously served on NFOIC’s Board and as president of Florida’s First Amendment Foundation. Petersen says the new organization will focus on public access and investigative journalism. “The Florida Center […]
Read More… from NFOIC’s newest member to focus on public access, investigative journalism in Florida
Opening police records to routine and systematic public scrutiny is the way to stop officer misconduct, argues First Amendment Coalition Executive Director David Snyder in an op-ed published in The Mercury News. Snyder wrote in support of California bills to enhance police transparency, including SB 16, which would require disclosure of records related to misconduct. […]
The California-based First Amendment Coalition has sued a county in the state for violating California’s Public Records Act. Ventura County officials have refused to disclose information about COVID-19 deaths and about outbreaks at businesses and other non-residential settings. “It’s troubling that government officials would so blatantly disregard their transparency obligations at a time when people […]
Read More… from California coalition sues county for access to COVID-19 data
Nancy Ancrum of the Miami Herald will lead a discussion with journalists Andrea Gallo of The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La., and Derek Kravitz of the Brown Institute, along with First Amendment Coalition Executive Director David Snyder. The panel will discuss tips for fighting for open government and records access. The event is Thursday, March 18 at 10 am. PST via Zoom. The […]
Read More… from Panel will share tips on fighting for access to public records
The First Amendment Coalition awarded Ferndale Enterprise publisher/editor Caroline Titus the 2016 Free Speech & Open Government Award on Thursday during the California Press Foundation’s annual meeting in San Francisco.
“I am extremely proud to be honored by such a prestigious organization. I’m also honored to represent the 138-year-old Ferndale Enterprise and our readers who support our efforts to stand up for the First Amendment and open and transparent government,” she said in an email.
[…]
Read More… from First Amendment Coalition honors Ferndale Enterprise publisher
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has weak legal and public policy grounds to defend his decision to withhold text messages between himself and the leadership of NV Energy, according to open government experts, if the examples in other states and cities were to be followed in Nevada.
Courts and attorneys general in at least 18 states have addressed the issue, of which “decisions have overwhelmingly favored public access,” according to a paper written by Joey Senat, a professor who teaches media law at Oklahoma State University.
[…]
Read More… from Nevada Governor’s text messages should be made public, experts say
From Courthouse News Service: WASHINGTON (CN) – The once-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has mishandled demands to reveal the government's attempted justifications of its program of collecting the call and email data of Americans, a media coalition said.
Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press filed the amicus brief with the FISC, just before Thanksgiving last week, alongside Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Courthouse News Service and 21 other media organizations.
[…]
Read More… from Media outlets push FISC for info on secret government surveillance
From First Amendment Coalition: A year or two from now, when investigators have taken stock of all the revelations in the NSA records released by Edward Snowden, the verdict is likely to be that the exposed NSA surveillance activities were NOT unlawful.
[…]
