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COMMENTARY
Mass. State Police Want More Than $176k to Review Public Records Request
“These are our tax dollars that are being spent on the state police training program. And we have a right to know whether or not that program is operating safely or whether it’s just teeing up another tragedy to occur somewhere down the road,” NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman said. “They should be working on behalf of the public to come up with a way to be more transparent.”
Treasurer Goldberg Ordered Deletion of Series of Texts, Ex-Mass. Lottery Official Says
“It concerns me,” said Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. “Bottom line, text messages are subject to the public records law, and there are certain retention policies that govern when they can and cannot be deleted. . . . These are not the types of text messages that you fire off quickly, saying you’ll be in the office in five minutes, or ‘I’m running a little late today’.” 
Half the Story
Experts questioned why, upon realizing the MPTC didn’t have the information they wanted as electronic data, POST didn’t create this database itself. “It doesn’t make any sense that the previous employment of these officers wouldn’t be tracked and recorded if the ultimate goal was to prevent police misconduct from occurring,” said Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. “We’re only getting half the story without this information.”
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ADVOCACY
NEFAC, Vermont Press Association Defend Right to Record in Milton
The Milton Library Board of Trustees had planned to discuss a possible policy that would prohibit attendees of its meetings from recording. NEFAC and the Vermont Press Association sent a letter to Board Chair Alan Fletcher on Nov. 14 and explained that “recording is not just legally protected but it’s encouraged under the law.”
NEFAC: Access to Massachusetts Courts Limited By Inoperable, Overused Public Terminals
“Due to a combination of out-of-service kiosks and individuals using kiosks for an unreasonable amount of time, public access can frequently be denied. This is a major concern given that many court records, such as documents in criminal cases, cannot be thoroughly researched remotely but must instead be searched for through these kiosks.”
NEFAC, R.I. Open Government Groups Renew Call for Changes to Police Body Camera Policies
“By providing the means for greater transparency and accountability in police work, the implementation of police body-worn cameras (BWC) serves as an important oversight tool for both law enforcement and the public,” wrote the groups to the Department of Public Safety. “However, BWCs can only accomplish this goal if the policies and regulations governing them enshrine that role.”
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COMMUNITY
Dec. 9 | First Amendment and the Free Press | WorldBoston
NEFAC Meets with Egyptian Delegation to Discuss First Amendment
The New England First Amendment Coalition recently continued its international outreach with a constitutional lesson for Egyptian journalists, content creators and entertainment professionals. NEFAC President Gregory V. Sullivan met with the delegation on Nov. 7. The coalition has led 10 programs through WorldBoston, focusing on topics such as open government, free speech, misinformation and the growth of non-profit newsrooms.
First Amendment and the Free Press at UMass Amherst
NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman recently spent a day at the University of Massachusetts Amherst speaking to journalism classes about how the First Amendment protects newsrooms. Silverman discussed the importance of public record laws and how students can better access government information. The visit was part of the coalition’s First Amendment and the Free Press program which provides guest speakers for classroom, campus and community center events.
Negri First Amendment Institute Keynote Speakers and Faculty Announced
NEFAC will host 33 journalism fellows — 25 professionals and eight students — at the Institute which consists of local workshops, remote programming and three-days of in-person instruction at Northeastern University beginning Oct. 20. More than 300 journalists from 100 local news organizations have attended the Negri Institute since it began in 2011.
Meet NEFAC’s 2024 Gloria L. Negri First Amendment Institute Journalism Fellows
Named after the late trail-blazing Boston Globe journalist, the Negri Institute is an annual, multi-day, intensive training program on freedom of information law and investigative reporting techniques. It is offered each year exclusively to 25 New England journalists. The 14th annual Institute — provided at no cost to those who attend — consists of local workshops, online classes and in-person instruction at Northeastern University.