INSTRUCTORS
Gregory V. Sullivan is president of the New England First Amendment Coalition and has served as general counsel for the Union Leader Corporation for more than 40 years. He has represented Union Leader and many other media organizations regarding First Amendment issues in federal and state courts. Sullivan served on the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s Committee on the Judiciary and the Media, as well as the Committee for Public Access to Courts, and is president of the Hingham, Mass.-based media law firm, Malloy & Sullivan. Sullivan has successfully argued before the New Hampshire Supreme Court in several landmark First Amendment and public access cases. He teaches First Amendment Law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston and at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications in Manchester, N.H.
Annmarie Timmins is a senior reporter for New Hampshire Bulletin. She previously covered state government, courts and social justice issues for the Concord Monitor for 25 years. She won a Nieman Fellowship to study journalism and mental health courts at Harvard University. Timmins has also taught journalism at the University of New Hampshire and writing at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications.
SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS
Homework Due March 18
(1) View the following lessons:
• Introduction to Open Meeting Law
• Open Meetings and Public Comment
• How Newsrooms Respond to Executive Session Secrecy
(2) Be prepared to discuss main points of each video during the first class.
March 18 | Online | 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. [Register]
Workshop Topic: Open Meetings
Instructors: Annmarie Timmins
Homework Due March 25
(1) View the following lessons:
• An Introduction to Public Records
• Public Record Appeals
• 3 Requests 3 Stories
(2) Be prepared to discuss main points of each video during the first class.
Homework Due April 8
(1) Attend or stream any public meeting in your area and complete the following:
• Find the minutes from previous meeting
• Find agenda
• Make note of what was discussed during this meeting
• Describe any any contentious issues
• What else did you learn?
March 25 | Online | 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. [Register]
Workshop Topic: Public Records Part 1
Instructor: Gregory V. Sullivan
Homework Due April 1
(1) Identify a public record you want to obtain and write a request to share during class.
(2) Watch The Keene State Five (video).
April 1 | Online | 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. [Register]
Workshop Topic: Public Records Part 2
Instructors: Gregory V. Sullivan and Annmarie Timmins
Reminder: Homework Due April 8
(1) Attend or stream any public meeting in your area and complete the following:
• Find the minutes from previous meeting
• Find agenda
• Make note of what was discussed during this meeting
• Describe any any contentious issues
• What else did you learn?
April 15 | Online | 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. [Register]
Civic Documenters Debriefing
Instructor: TBD
Date and Location TBD | 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Newsroom Meeting
Instructors: Editors of The Laconia Daily Sun
Following April 15 Meeting
Civic Documenters will meet virtually with editors on a regular schedule to discuss documenting needs.