New England First Amendment Coalition |
|
|
|
The New England First Amendment Coalition is pleased to announce the election of attorney Gregory V. Sullivan, long-time media counsel and First Amendment professor, as its new president.
Sullivan succeeds Karen Bordeleau, former executive editor at The Providence Journal, who will continue to serve on NEFAC’s Board of Directors.
Now serving on the coalition's Executive Committee with Sullivan are Maggie Mulvihill of Boston University, Topher Hamblett of The Foundation for West Africa, NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman, Shirley Leung and Emily Sweeney of The Boston Globe, and Carlos Virgen of The Day. [...]
|
|
The New England First Amendment Coalition is providing a free mentorship program for all journalists working in the region.
Reporters, editors and producers looking for guidance in a variety of professional areas can apply to be paired with a veteran journalist with relevant expertise.
Mentorship focus areas include community storytelling, public records and open meetings, use of data in reporting, navigating the industry as a bilingual reporter, building relationships as a journalist of color, audio production and mining stories from beats. [...]
|
|
NEFAC’s Tim White, an investigative reporter for WPRI in Providence, shares stories of government agencies holding executive sessions, secret meetings that are allowed only under certain circumstances. White describes how he and his colleagues responded to these meetings and continued their reporting.
|
|
The New England First Amendment Coalition and a group of news organizations recently called on the Maine Judicial Branch to stop charging excessive fees for electronically-filed records.
Such fees, the groups explained in a Jan. 20 letter, are a violation of state court rules and the First Amendment.
“These fees are excessive on their face in relation to the actual incremental cost of providing public access to documents that are already available over the internet to litigants,” the groups wrote, adding that the fees also “impair the ability of journalists to report on matters of public concern.” [...]
|
|
Coverage of democracy-related issues has found its way across all parts of the newsroom, overlapping with many of the beats assigned to journalists.
By viewing this lesson, you’ll learn (1) how to strengthen your beat coverage with democracy-related stories (2) potential sources for stories on topics relevant to our democracy and (3) specific democracy-related story ideas that you can immediately begin working on.
|
|
The New England First Amendment Coalition recently joined a group of media organizations to argue against long-term pole camera government surveillance.
Such monitoring, the groups argued in a Dec. 21 amicus brief, threatens First Amendment freedoms and the right to gather news.
“Under the rule that still governs in the First Circuit, investigators could station a permanent, never-blinking eye with an indefinite memory outside any sensitive location on bare curiosity — on the off-chance, say, of catching the next Neil Sheehan visiting the next Daniel Ellsberg’s apartment,” explained NEFAC and fellow amici, referencing the late New York Times reporter and Pentagon Papers whistleblower. [...]
|
|
FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE FREE PRESS
|
|
NEFAC recently visited South Hadley (Mass.) High School to discuss the First Amendment with journalism students. The coalition provides educators a variety of resources to incorporate into their classroom lessons each academic year. The materials and services we offer address a range of First Amendment topics, journalism skills and freedom of information laws. [...]
|
|
NEFAC President Gregory V. Sullivan will meet with Egyptian diplomats next month to discuss the First Amendment and freedom of information laws in the United States. The presentation is part of a U.S. Department of State-funded civics program coordinated by WorldBoston, a local non-profit organization. [...]
|
|
The New England First Amendment Coalition led this month a class on common exceptions to free speech. Upcoming classes include The Fundamentals of the First Amendment and Your Right to Know and NEFAC.ORG: A First Amendment and Open Government Toolbox. Register.
|
|
Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said he welcomes Healey's pledges to bring more transparency to Beacon Hill.
“She could have easily just fallen in line with previous governors and claimed the exemption,” he said. “But she’s not doing that, and deserves credit for it.”
That said, Silverman said there are lingering questions about how the Healey administration will implement the changes and exactly what kinds of records will be subject to public disclosure.
“There aren’t any details and she hasn’t provided any insight into how this will happen,” he said. “And, as of yet, we haven’t received any response from her to our letter, which outlined some specific things she could do.” [...]
|
|
Healey gets credit for signaling a break from her predecessors. But as Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, fairly points out:
“She hasn’t provided any details, she hasn’t shared with us any steps that she’s going to take to make that a reality,” and “until she does, until she puts more action into those words, it’s just a promise unfulfilled.” [...]
|
|
Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said it is essential that all journalists get equal access to committee meetings.
“If these restrictions that are currently in place don’t allow that to happen, then the Legislature should reconsider those restrictions and determine whether they are still necessary given the health concerns of Covid,” he said.
Silverman said video streams, while important for transparency, don’t provide the level of access that reporters need — a concern echoed in the letter from newsroom leaders.
“Journalists need the opportunity to follow up with legislators in-person, face-to-face,” he added, “and ask difficult questions that could otherwise be evaded.” [...]
|
|
Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said he wasn’t aware of any exceptions in the law that would apply to the stakeholder group.
“Just because it’s this ‘ad hoc’ committee, as they describe it, doesn’t make it any less of a public body serving a public purpose,” he said. [...]
|
|
MORE FOI & FIRST AMENDMENT NEWS
Regional / National
Social Media, Jawboning
_________________________________________________
Connecticut
Private Employee Speech
Public Access to Gov't Buildings
_________________________________________________
Maine
Massachusetts
Governor's Office, Public Records
Worcester, Police Transparency
_________________________________________________
New Hampshire
'Divisive Concepts'
_________________________________________________
Rhode Island
Vermont
EB-5, Public Records
Public Access to Gov't Meetings
_________________________________________________
|
|
Thank You to Our Supporters |
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:
|
|
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
Rhode Island Foundation
Hearst Conn. Media Group
The Boston Globe
Paul and Ann Sagan
The Robertson Foundation
|
|
MAJOR SUPPORTERS
Boston University
WBUR-Boston
Academy of New England Journalists
SPJ Foundation
Genie Gannett for the First Amendment Museum
Linda Pizzuti Henry
Champa Charitable Foundation Fund
Connecticut Public
GBH-Boston
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
