New England First Amendment Coalition |
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The New England First Amendment Coalition is pleased to announce the incoming class of fellows for its 2021 New England First Amendment Institute.
Now in its 11th year, the Institute provides support and training for New England journalists to give them the tools they need to become more accomplished investigative reporters, well-versed in the freedom of information laws that govern today’s difficult reporting landscape.
The Institute — provided at no cost to those who attend — is Oct. 31 through Nov. 6 and features many of the country’s elite reporters, editors and media attorneys. [...]
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Tracy Jan of the Washington Post will open the investigative journalism program on Oct. 31 by discussing her work and the value of local investigative journalism.
Jan covers the intersection of race and the economy, a beat she launched in December 2016 that encompasses racial economic disparities, immigration, housing policy and other stories that hold businesses and politicians accountable for their decisions and promises.
Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter for The New York Times and a CNN political analyst, will be the second featured speaker and will provide closing remarks on Nov. 6. Herndon was a member of the Times’ 2020 presidential election team. He was previously a Washington bureau and Boston city hall reporter for The Boston Globe. [...]
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The 11th annual New England First Amendment Institute is a week-long investigative journalism program provided at no cost to New England journalists and featuring many of the country’s elite reporters, editors and media attorneys. Learn more.
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The New England First Amendment Coalition recently called on the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to cease barring reporters its considers “advocacy journalists” from its press briefings.
State CDC officials barred the Maine People’s Alliance and the Maine Policy Institute from a press briefing earlier this month, justifying the decision by calling representatives from both organizations “advocacy journalists.” The CDC later reversed its decision for the next press briefing but made no assurances that access for the two organizations would continue. [...]
Additional Coverage
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The New England First Amendment Coalition and Union Leader Corp. recently argued for the release of New Hampshire Superior Court documents that were inappropriately sealed and kept from the public.
The sealed documents include records about the policies and procedures within the Hillsborough County Attorney’s office. They are part of an ongoing case in which the office has been admonished for missing deadlines, ignoring court orders and, in the judge’s words, an “administrative breakdown.” [...]
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What is or is not a FERPA record has become more consequential during the COVID-19 pandemic given the increasing demand for school data.
By viewing this lesson, you will learn:
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• More about the history and purpose of FERPA (Family Educational and Privacy Rights Act)
• Under what circumstances and to what types of educational institutions FERPA applies
• How to best respond to public record denials that are incorrectly attributed to FERPA
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The New England First Amendment Coalition and the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association recently explained to the state’s highest court how a case involving ownership rights in photography could indirectly limit how journalists gather news.
The case — Lanier v. President and Fellows of Harvard College — involves a woman claiming that Harvard University illegally possesses photos of her enslaved ancestors.
“The circumstances in which these photos were taken are horrific,” said Justin Silverman, NEFAC’s executive director. “But how the court rules in this case could have the unintended consequence of severely restricting the ability of journalists to report the news.” [...]
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The classes will feature a local journalist from each New England state. The journalist will explain how to make three specific requests using their respective state public records law and what stories can be reported with the records received.
There will also be a similar class focusing on the federal Freedom of Information Act.
This new round of classes will be provided by NEFAC with support from the Society of Professional Journalists Foundation, SPJ’s New England Chapter, MuckRock and the New England Society of News Editors. [...]
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Recordings and Upcoming Classes |
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Cassidy Jensen, a reporter at The Concord Monitor, discusses a public records request she and her colleagues made of Gov. Sununu and the unexpected response they received. Jensen breaks down the governor’s claim of “executive privilege” and the consequences such a privilege could have on the public’s right to know about government.
Additional Coverage
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The New England First Amendment Coalition is calling for federal money to be directed to Massachusetts towns and municipalities in need of equipment for online and hybrid meetings.
NEFAC joined several other open government groups in the state to urge the use of American Rescue Plan Act money “to create a grant program to improve the technological capacity of our cities and towns to conduct accessible public meetings — by enabling residents to join a meeting and contribute to the proceedings both in person and remotely.” [...]
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Learn more about how NEFAC is helping to keep government open and accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The New England First Amendment Coalition is providing educators throughout the region a variety of resources to incorporate into their classroom lessons this academic year, including access to expert speakers.
NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman spoke this month to students at the University of Connecticut, Framingham State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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Learn more about how NEFAC can help your classroom or campus event.
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The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a clinic in New London that says it fears it is a target of a new law that prohibits deceptive advertising practices by crisis pregnancy centers. NEFAC's Robert A. Bertsche, an attorney at Klaris Law, recently joined New England Public Media to explain the First Amendment concerns involved in the case.
Additional Coverage
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If you’re a journalist in need of an expert opinion, please email justin@nefac.org. All our commentary can be viewed here.
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The situation does not spark First Amendment concerns because Bates is a private college, said Justin Silverman, the executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. But he criticized Pols’ request to take the article down and provide suggested changes, saying Bates should recognize a power imbalance with the newspaper reliant on the school for funding.
“[The college] could have instead made this a larger conversation about what might or might not be inaccurate in that story, and some other ways that those inaccuracies can be cleared up, rather than requesting taking down that story entirely or doing anything that could be perceived as a demand by the university,” Silverman said. [...]
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To begin, [NEFAC’s Justin] Silverman said it would be dangerous to choose leaders without first recognizing what is true and false about them, helping to explain the importance of identifying misinformation.
Referencing the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, he added stopping misinformation is something all individuals should be committed to. He said this code was a set of rules that can be applied not only to newswriting, but also informal, everyday interactions.
“Verify information before releasing it … But how often are we guilty of seeing something on social media, and just quickly sharing it, without giving it much thought?” he said. [...]
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MORE FOI & FIRST AMENDMENT NEWS
Regional / National
Religious Freedom, Vaccines
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Connecticut
Open Meetings, Free Speech
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Maine
Religious Freedom, Vaccines
Vanity Plates, Offensive Speech
Massachusetts
FOI, Health Records
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New Hampshire
Right to Record
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Rhode Island
Vermont
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NEFAC appreciates the support of all its donors and volunteers. In particular, we would like to thank the following Leadership Circle donors ($10,000+) and Major Supporters ($2,500-$9,999) for their contributions:
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LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
Hearst Conn. Media Group
The Boston Globe
Paul and Ann Sagan
The Robertson Foundation
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MAJOR SUPPORTERS
Boston University
WBUR-Boston
Academy of New England Journalists
SPJ Foundation
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