The following report was prepared by Sigmund Schutz, an attorney at Preti Flaherty in Portland, Me., and a member of New England First Amendment Coalition‘s Board of Directors. Schutz wrote this report on behalf of the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition. The Maine Freedom of Access Act (“FOAA”) does not require that state agencies adopt […]
By Edward Fitzpatrick Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai wants you to believe that killing net neutrality would be a big win for the little guy. The former Verizon lawyer wants you to believe he’s acting in the best interest of the public — not in the interest of big broadband companies such as Verizon, […]
The following is one of several articles recapping NEFAC’s 2017 New England First Amendment Institute. Full coverage of the program can be found here. By Nadine El-Bawab “When you take time to build a relationship with someone . . . and you care about getting the story right, they become invested in your story . . […]
The following is one of several articles recapping NEFAC’s 2017 New England First Amendment Institute. Full coverage of the program can be found here. By Daniel McLoone Sometimes the best investigative stories are the ones that start as a hunch, according to Mike Rezendes, an investigative reporter with The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Rezendes spoke to […]
The following is one of several articles recapping NEFAC’s 2017 New England First Amendment Institute. Full coverage of the program can be found here. By Kaitlyn Mangelinkx “Journalism is expensive and important,” Brian McGrory, editor of The Boston Globe, said as he began a speech to journalism fellows at the seventh annual New England First Amendment […]
By Daniel J. Klau Short Answer: It depends (my favorite two words as a lawyer). Fuller Answer: Isolated heckles by an individual are protected speech under the First Amendment. But an intentional and sustained effort to disrupt a lawful public assembly by heckling the speaker is unlawful in many states — and it should be. […]
The following is one of several articles recapping NEFAC’s 2017 New England First Amendment Institute. Full coverage of the program can be found here. By Jesse Goodman Kathleen Carroll, former executive editor and senior vice president of The Associated Press, said today’s journalists need to reach out to their readers through investigative reporting and news collaborations. […]
The following is one of several articles recapping NEFAC’s 2017 New England First Amendment Institute. Full coverage of the program can be found here. By Nadine El-Bawab “Get closer to the big story using a series of small stories; by doing smaller stories over time, you get a sort of expertise.” Pulitzer Prize winner Eric […]
By Colman M. Herman I recently wrote an article for CommonWealth magazine in which I report that Mass. Attorney General Maura Healey ruled that the governor is not subject to the Massachusetts public records law. I want to briefly discuss here one of the reasons that Healey based her decision on that I did not […]
By Daniel J. Klau For nearly two decades, the Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CPAN) has operated CT-N, Connecticut’ s version of C-SPAN, providing neutral, unbiased coverage of all three co-equal branches of Connecticut state government. Now, due to an abject failure of leadership in the General Assembly, CT-N may shut down. At a time when it is […]