New Hampshire: Introduction to Open Meeting Law | The New England First Amendment Coalition is continuing its series on freedom of information laws with new classes on open meetings. This class features Gregory V. Sullivan, counsel to Union Leader Corp., who provides an introduction to the state’s open meeting law. All videos can be found on our YouTube channel or in our FOI Guide. Want to learn more about New Hampshire’s Right to Know Law? Start here.
How Often is Vermont’s Open Meeting Law Violated? Why We May Never Know | NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman speaks to Rachel Mann at WCAX about open meeting law complaints made in the state. Because complaints are filed with individual agencies, there’s no easy way to tally the number each year. “We as citizens need to know how many complaints are being filed against agencies under the open meeting law each year,” Silverman said.
30 Minute Skills: How to Balance Newsgathering with Privacy Interests | The line between responsible public interest reporting and the invasion of individual privacy can often be difficult to see. By viewing this lesson, you will learn: (1) what constitutes “invasion of privacy” under the law (2) the scope of First Amendment protection when reporting in public areas and (3) ways to stay within the legal bounds of privacy when newsgathering.
Connecticut: Introduction to Open Meeting Law | The New England First Amendment Coalition is continuing its series on freedom of information laws with new classes on open meetings. This class features Dan Barrett at the ACLU of Connecticut who provides an introduction to the state’s open meeting law. All videos can be found on our YouTube channel or in our FOI Guide. Want to learn more about Connecticut FOIA? Start here.
Provenza v. Town of Canaan: Open Government Victory in New Hampshire | Henry Klementowicz at the ACLU of New Hampshire discusses a recent state Supreme Court case involving access to police records. In 2018, the town of Canaan hired a company to investigate an allegation of excessive force against one of its officers and to issue a report on its findings. The police department later dismissed the allegations as “unfounded” and refused to release the report.
Connecticut: How Newsrooms Fight Public Record Denials | The New England First Amendment Coalition is continuing its series on public record laws with new classes on how newsrooms use the appeal process in their respective states. This class features Len Besthoff of NBC Connecticut who shares his experiences appealing a public records denial. All videos can be found on our YouTube channel or in our FOI Guide. Want to learn more about Connecticut FOIA? Start here.
Maine: How Newsrooms Fight Public Record Denials | The New England First Amendment Coalition is continuing its series on public record laws with new classes on how newsrooms use the appeal process in their respective states. This class features Callie Ferguson of the Bangor Daily News who shares her experiences appealing a public records denial. All videos can be found on our YouTube channel or in our FOI Guide.
2022 Rhode Island Open Government Summit | NEFAC helped commence the 24th annual Open Government Summit in Rhode Island, emphasizing the need for transparency within state and local government. “Make transparency your default mode,” NEFAC’s Ed Fitzpatrick told hundreds of public officials and government employees. Learn more about the summit and check out our multimedia FOI Guide to read about Rhode Island’s public records law.
Vermont: How Newsrooms Fight Public Record Denials | The New England First Amendment Coalition is continuing its series on public record laws with new classes on how newsrooms use the appeal process in their respective states. This class features Alan J. Keays of the VTDigger who shares how his newsroom appealed a public records request denial and the stories that resulted. All videos can be found on our YouTube channel or in our FOI Guide.
30 Minute Skills: How to Diversify Your Sources | Diversifying your sources can also help strengthen your credibility and improve your overall journalism practices. By viewing this lesson, you will learn (1) how diversifying sources can make journalists more trustworthy arbiters of the news (2) questions that can be asked while newsgathering to help diversify sources and (3) where to find resources to help build new source lists.
Federal FOIA: How Newsrooms Fight Public Record Denials | The New England First Amendment Coalition is continuing its series on public record laws with new classes on how newsrooms use the appeal process in their respective states. This class features Jason Leopold of BuzzFeed News who shares how he appealed several public records request denials and the stories that resulted. All videos can be found on our YouTube channel or in our FOI Guide.
A Cyberattack Against RIPTA: Using Public Records to Complete the Story | Tolly Taylor at WPRI in Providence describes how he reported on a recent cyberattack against the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority and the role public records played. This conversation is part of NEFAC’s First Amendment and the Free Press program. Check out our FOI Guide to learn more about Rhode Island’s public records law. Discussion links and notes.