McCormick Fellowship

Applications are now being accepted from law school graduates for the paid, yearlong McCormick Foundation Legal Fellowship at the Reporters Committee. Deadline is March 1. Look in the "About Us" section for details.

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Sunshine Week 2012

The Reporters Committee joins the American Society of News Editors as a national co-sponsor of Sunshine Week 2012, March 11-17, which will celebrate the importance of open government. Awards will be presented to the "Local Heroes" who have fought for access to information in their communities.

Open Government Guide

The OGG is a comprehensive overview of open records and open meetings laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Users can cross-reference and compare the laws in different states or simply get an in-depth analysis of one state.

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D.C. journalist arrested, charged with assaulting officer http://t.co/Vte53H58
Photographer wins appeal over access to horse roundup http://t.co/svGiMGhP
Judge dismisses libel suit against Virginia television station http://t.co/IdP9bHAl

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2008 RNC protesters
The Reporters Committee announced legal defense hotlines for journalists covering the upcoming political conventions.
Judge dismisses libel suit against Virginia television station
02/14/2012
A federal judge dismissed a $5 million libel lawsuit by a former tax preparer against a Virginia television station that allegedly referred to him as “unscrupulous.”
D.C. journalist arrested, charged with assaulting officer
02/14/2012
A Washington Times reporter was arrested while covering the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. and said she was struck by police, but declined to disclose whether she will file a formal complaint.
Photographer wins appeal over access to horse roundup
02/14/2012
A trial court erred when it did not weigh the First Amendment rights of a photojournalist trying to photograph a roundup of wild horses against the government’s interest in restricting her access and newsgathering rights, a federal appeals...
N.Y. has no defamation jurisdiction on out-of-state blog post
02/14/2012
New York courts do not have jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit over allegedly defamatory online statements about a rescue group's treatment of dogs that were written in Vermont by another dog welfare group, the New York Court of Appeals ruled last...
Appeals court agrees with Reporters Committee brief, finding First Amendment must be weighed in any official restriction on media
02/14/2012
The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco (9th Cir.) has ordered a trial court to reconsider its decision that a photographer’s First Amendment rights were not violated when she was prohibited from photographing the roundup of wild horses on...

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The Place to Start

The Digital Journalist's Legal Guide has the answers and links to Reporters Committee resources for all your questions about the legal issues involved in gathering and disseminating news.

FOIA Services

Find everything you need to file a public record request, including the Reporters Committtee Automatic FOIA Letter Generator and links to our federal and state Open Government Guides.

 

 

Our Mission

To protect the right to gather and distribute news; to keep government accountable by ensuring access to public records, meetings and courtrooms; and to preserve the principles of free speech and unfettered press, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.