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news feedQUICKLINK U.S. · February 9, 2010 · Newsgathering
White House press corps criticizes lack of news conferences
Members of the White House press corps continue to voice their frustrations that the Obama administration has chosen to bypass traditional news conferences in favor of prime time interviews and question-and-answer sessions on the Internet, The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz reports.
Though President Obama has held town-hall style meetings and conversed with House Republicans before cameras, he has not held an official news conference since July. The White House press corps says . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 3:00 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Colorado · February 4, 2010 · Reporter's privilege
Colorado court says shield law protects unaired Dateline footage
A Colorado district court has denied an insurance marketing company's motion to compel NBC's Dateline to hand over unaired camera footage.
Insurance marketer Brokers' Choice of America sued NBC and its owner, General Electric, after two Dateline producers posed as insurance agents from Alabama to gain access to an educational seminar on insurance sales practices, The Denver Post reported early last year.
Brokers' Choice alleged that it needed the footage to prove its allegations against NBC, . . . [more]
— Cristina Abello, 5:40 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Texas · February 3, 2010 · State open government
Texas attorney general says no constitutional rights for cities
Four Texas cities that filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the state's open meetings law infringes on their right to free speech must withdraw as plaintiffs because government agencies cannot have their First Amendment rights violated, the state attorney general argued yesterday, according to the Associated Press.
Fifteen individual elected officials and the cities of Pfugerville, Rockport, Alpine and Wichita Falls filed suit against the State of . . . [more]
— Miranda Fleschert, 7:19 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Wisconsin · February 3, 2010 · Secret courts
Wisconsin committee passes bill restricting access to court records
A Wisconsin state assembly committee has passed a bill that would restrict public online access to court records, WQOW (Eau Claire) reported.
The proposed bill limits public access to cases where the party was found guilty of a criminal charge, liable in a civil case, evicted, or the subject of a restraining order or junction. Certain interested parties would still be able to access the records.
The vote in committee was 3-3 so committee chairman Rep. . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 6:39 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Kansas · February 3, 2010 · Reporter's privilege
Kansas high court allows reporter subpoena to stand
The Kansas Supreme Court yesterday ruled that prosecutors may force Dodge City Globe reporter Claire O’Brien to testify about her news gathering activities and materials in a murder trial.
Without ordering a hearing in the matter, the court in a two-sentence order denied the paper’s request for relief and rejected all potential friend-of-the-court briefs in the case as “moot.”
Kansas Press Association Executive Director Doug Anstaett called the ruling disappointing and said it elucidates the need for a Kansas shield law -- legislation in the state was introduced in 2008 but has not advanced past the committee stage.
“In Kansas, the reason [prosecutors issue reporter subpoenas] is because they can get away with it,” Anstaett said. “It was a $25,000 expense to file this request and we got two sentences from the supreme court.”
O'Brien previously fought on First Amendment grounds a subpoena that required her to testify in a grand jury proceeding, known in Kansas as an inquisition. After the high court granted a stay . . . [more]
— Cristina Abello, 6:15 pm · View reader comments (2)
QUICKLINK Kentucky · February 3, 2010 · Freedom of information
Kentucky's Senate passes two transparency bills
The Kentucky Senate unanimously passed two bills today that would require all government agencies -- including public colleges and universities -- to disclose financial data online, The Kentucky Post reported.
Each bill passed 37-0 after being approved by a Senate committee last week. They will now go to the state's House for consideration.
— Curry Andrews, 5:09 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Washington, D.C. · February 2, 2010 · Secret courts
D.C. Circuit temporarily prevents release of Blackwater papers
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has temporarily blocked the release of sealed court documents in the government's case against Blackwater security guards charged with killing Iraqi civilians, The BLT reported.
Judge Ricardo Urbina had ordered the release of transcripts, which detailed the closed-door hearings that led to the charges against the five guards being dismissed. The hearings detailed . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 7:15 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Pennsylvania · February 2, 2010 · Freedom of information
Penn. county orders dog license info released, with exceptions
A county in Pennsylvania plans to appeal a binding decision made by the state’s open government office last week that ordered the release of names and addresses of county dog owners, unless the dog owner is also a public school employee, the Delaware County Daily Times reported.
The “oddly specific” decision by the Office of Open Records attempted to reconcile two conflicting legal provisions—the state’s right-to-know law, which presumes that records, . . . [more]
— Miranda Fleschert, 7:13 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Ohio · February 1, 2010 · Secret courts
Ohio judge postpones trial pending high court decision
An Ohio judge has postponed the trial of a woman charged in the death of her infant daughter until the state Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of his order barring prohibiting media coverage, The (Toledo) Blade reported.
The Ohio Supreme Court last week temporarily lifted trial court Judge Keith P. Muehlfeld's order that barred journalists from reporting . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 5:08 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK New Hampshire · February 1, 2010 · State open government
New Hampshire Supreme Court extends Right-to-Know Law
The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Friday unanimously supported the state's Right-to-Know Law and ordered a private organization that represents public agencies to release its salary information, The Associated Press reported.
A firefighters' union had asked an organization that represents schools and municipalities to release its salary information so it could track the way the organization uses tax-dollars to pay for health insurance. The umbrella organization, Local Government Center, Inc., refused, . . . [more]
— Curry Andrews, 5:06 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Ohio · January 29, 2010 · Prior restraints
State high court suspends prior restraint on news coverage
The Ohio Supreme Court has temporarily lifted a judge's order that would have barred journalists from reporting on a public trial that begins next week. The stay, issued after the Toledo Blade petitioned the high court, will remain in effect until the appeal is fully briefed and argued, which according to the court's schedule could take 50 days.
Two defendants facing charges over the death of a child are slated to . . . [more]
— Gregg Leslie, 3:45 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK North Carolina · January 29, 2010 · Reporter's privilege
North Carolina newspaper editor vows to fight subpoena
A North Carolina newspaper editor will fight a subpoena for his notes and testimony in an obstruction of justice case against a county sheriff, news@norman reported.
Ken H. Fortenberry, editor of news@norman, received the . . . [more]
— Nadia Tamez-Robledo, 3:10 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK California · January 29, 2010 · Privacy
Rolling Stone wins anti-SLAPP decision in misappropriation suit
A California appellate court yesterday found that a lawsuit by "indie" rock musicians against Rolling Stone over a feature article inside fold-out advertising pages should be dismissed under the state anti-SLAPP statute.
A San Francisco appeals court held that the article in question, a visual representation of a variety of bands in the “Indie Rock Universe,” was noncommercial speech protected by the First Amendment.
A group of musicians sued Rolling Stone over . . . [more]
— Cristina Abello, 3:05 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Ohio · January 28, 2010 · Prior restraints
Newspaper asks state high court to overturn prior restraint
The Toledo Blade has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to overturn a judge's order barring journalists from reporting on a public trial.
Two defendants facing charges over the death of a child are slated to have separate nonconcurrent trials. The judge did not want publicity from the first trial to be seen and heard by potential jurors in the second trial, which was scheduled to start one week later. The order came at the request of the second . . . [more]
— Gregg Leslie, 6:36 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Wisconsin · January 28, 2010 · Secret courts
Proposed Wisconsin bill would restrict access to court records
A state representative in Wisconsin has proposed legislation that would severely restrict online access to court records, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Under the bill proposed by Democratic Rep. Marlin Schneider, the public would only have access to cases where a party was found guilty of a criminal charge, liable in a civil case, evicted or the subject of a restraining order or injunction. Currently, any member of the public can access court records online for most civil and criminal case . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 6:34 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK U.S. · January 28, 2010 · Secret courts
Federal court records, proceedings sealed in alleged terrorism plot
A terrorism suspect was arrested, arraigned and indicted on a felony charge but the proceedings were closed and the sealed court docket lists him only as John Doe, The New York Times reported.
Naqib Jaji, the uncle of indicted Al Qaeda terror suspect Najibullah Zazi, was arraigned in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Jan. 14. Because the courtroom was closed and the records are sealed, information regarding Jaji's indictment and plea is not available, but it could indicate he is . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 6:26 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Michigan · January 28, 2010 · Freedom of information
Appeals court says 'private' work e-mail not public records
A Michigan appeals court ruled yesterday that the state's Freedom of Information Act does not apply to so-called "personal" e-mail messages sent from government work accounts, AnnArbor.com reported.
The ruling, which stemmed from a FOIA request for e-mail messages exchanged between public school teachers and members of the education association and school board in Howell, Michigan, concluded . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 6:22 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Kentucky · January 28, 2010 · Freedom of information
Kentucky Senate to consider transparency bill
A Kentucky Senate committee unanimously approved on Wednesday a bill that would require all government agencies -- including public colleges and universities -- to post spending and financial data online, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
A bill that would extend the state's open meetings laws and require government agencies to adopt ethics policies and anti-nepotism rules was also approved.
Both bills were sparked by a story in the The Lexington Herald-Leader last year that . . . [more]
— Curry Andrews, 6:19 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Pennsylvania · January 27, 2010 · Freedom of information
Pennsylvania city sues public records office, newspaper
A Pennsylvania city is suing its newspaper, a reporter at the newspaper and the state public records office that granted the reporters records request, Allentown's The Morning Call reported.
The Call's Jarrett Renshaw had requested the e-mail messages and schedules of Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski and other city officials under the state's year-old Right-to-Know Law. The city said it would need nearly $900 to fulfill Renshaw's request because it would be several thousand pages . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 6:33 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK U.S. · January 26, 2010 · Freedom of information
More public records litigation under Obama than Bush
Despite the Obama administration’s directive that agencies presume openness unless the law mandates otherwise, there have been more lawsuits against the government for failing to release federal records during the first year of this administration than during previous years under the Bush administration, The Washington Post reported.
The Post's analysis of electronic court records show there were 319 lawsuits filed since January 2009, compared with 278 . . . [more]
— Miranda Fleschert, 6:12 pm · View reader comments (1)
QUICKLINK Washington, D.C. · January 26, 2010 · Freedom of information
Proposed bill would extend public records law to private prisons
Proposed legislation that would apply existing public records laws to all prisons housing federal inmates was discussed during a congressional briefing on Monday.
The bill, H.R. 2450, was crafted to extend the Freedom of Information Act to private prisons that contract with government agencies. If the bill is passed, publicly financed private prisons, which house more than 100,000 federal inmates, would be subject to the same reporting standards as the Bureau of Prisons.
The companies that run private prisons say they are not required to disclose basic information about the . . . [more]
— Curry Andrews, 5:56 pm · View reader comments (1)
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