RCFP News Releases
Items: 829 (42 pages)
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PRESS RELEASE · October 21, 2009 ·
Reporters Committee mourns the loss of co-founder Jack Nelson
Jack Nelson, retired Washington Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times and a co-founder in 1970 of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, died early this morning of pancreatic cancer. He celebrated his 80th birthday on Oct. 11.
Nelson was one of 30 Washington and New York journalists who met in March 1970 at Georgetown University’s law library out of concern about a federal grand jury subpoena served on New York Times reporter Earl Caldwell. After the three-hour meeting, Nelson and two New York Times reporters, Fred Graham and the late J. Anthony Lukas, went to the New York Times’ Washington Bureau, where they coined the organization’s name. Lukas wrote a press release expressing the group’s concern over subpoenas . . . [more]
— Posted at 10:50 am · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE · September 30, 2009 ·
Reminder: "Barbecue with a View" benefit
Don't miss the annual "Barbecue with a View" on Sunday, October 11, 2009. Reserve your space now!
This year's benefit is hosted by the law firm of VInson & Elkins LLP. Tickets are $75 and all proceeds benefit the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
See you there!
— Posted at 6:29 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE U.S. Supreme Court · September 8, 2009 · Freedom of information
FOIA does not shield images of detainee abuse, RCFP argues
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press asked the U.S. Supreme Court Friday to decline review of an appeals court decision that found the Freedom of Information Act requires release of images of alleged abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan carried out by U.S. troops.
In urging the court to allow the lower court rulings to stand, the friend-of-the-court brief filed by the Reporters Committee and 16 other news media organizations argued that FOIA was properly interpreted below and that the Supreme Court need not hear the case because the law is clear and settled.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as well as the . . . [more]
— Posted at 10:25 am · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE 5th Cir. · September 3, 2009 · Freedom of information
Reporters Committee urges upholding open meetings law
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press today urged the entire 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the constitutionality of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
In a first-of-its-kind decision earlier this year, a three-judge panel of that court found that because the law restricted certain elected officials from communicating about public business in secret, it violated their First Amendment rights. The Reporters Committee's friend-of-the-court brief, joined by 23 other news media organizations, pointed out to the court that open meetings laws like the one in Texas are actually further the First Amendment rights of citizens by assuirng they have access to and . . . [more]
— Posted at 5:39 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE Florida · August 13, 2009 · Freedom of information
Reporters Committee asks court to award attorney's fees
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a friend-of-the-court brief today in a Florida open records dispute urging the award of attorney's fees in a case where government officials had clearly flouted open government laws.
The brief was filed in support of a citizen activist and non-profit group, Citizens for Sunshine, whose lawsuit brought to light violations of Florida’s open records and open meetings laws by the City of Venice. Venice settled the case after admitting it had violated the open government laws, in part by failing to maintain and archive e-mail accounts for elected city . . . [more]
— Hannah Bergman, 5:19 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE Georgia · August 13, 2009 · Secret courts
Reporters Committee asks high court to keep jury selection public
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision that allows Georgia judges to bar the public from courtrooms during jury selection.
The judge overseeing Eric Presley’s drug trial ordered the public to leave the entire courthouse floor where jury selection (called voir dire) was taking place. The judge reportedly often conducted jury selection in secret, concerned that members of the public would speak to prospective jurors and unaware that the First and Sixth Amendments each create a presumption of public access to jury . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 4:32 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE · July 24, 2009 ·
Reporters Committee urges Wisconsin to adopt shield bill
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press urged passage of a proposed reporter’s shield law in comments filed this week with Wisconsin Legislature’s Committee on Judiciary and Ethics.
Assembly Bill 333 would provide an absolute privilege for confidential sources and information and a qualified privilege for all other information.
"The Wisconsin Legislature should be applauded for considering an absolute privilege for confidential sources," said Reporters Committee Executive Director Lucy A. Dalglish.
"The law would provide much of the protection needed for journalists to carry out their essential role of informing the people of . . . [more]
— Posted at 4:27 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE U.S. Supreme Court · July 24, 2009 · Prior restraints
Press groups urge protection of animal cruelty coverage
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press today filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a federal statute that criminalizes the possession, creation or sale of a wide variety of depictions involving animals. The Reporters Committee filed the brief on behalf of itself and 13 media organizations.
The case, U.S. v. Stevens, involves a statute which makes it a felony to create, sell or possess “a depiction of animal cruelty with the intention of placing that depiction in interstate or foreign commerce for commercial gain.” Congress passed the law in order to prohibit “crush videos," a type of fetish pornography involving the death of . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 3:49 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE New Hampshire · June 22, 2009 · Reporter's privilege
Reporters Committee asks court to apply reporter's privilege to Web site
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is urging the New Hampshire Supreme Court to protect the identity of a confidential source used by an online news Web site that covers the mortgage industry.
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed jointly by the Reporters Committee and the Citizen Media Law Project in The Mortgage Specialists v. Implode Explode Heavy Industries, the organizations argued that news Web site Implode-O-Meter, which aggregates news coverage of the mortgage industry, should have the same First Amendment protections as traditional media.
"There's no question that Implode-O-Meter was doing journalism when it published the . . . [more]
— Posted at 5:23 pm · View reader comments (3)
PRESS RELEASE 2nd Cir. · June 1, 2009 · Freedom of information
Prisoner abuse images should come out, RCFP argues
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press today asked a federal court to affirm its commitment to the release of images depicting detainee abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison despite the government's persistence in avoiding the court-ordered release.
Last week, the government asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for what is essentially a "time-out" in the court's order to release the images while it pursues other avenues to keep the images from being released to the American Civil Liberties Union and the . . . [more]
— Posted at 2:53 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE U.S. Supreme Court · May 27, 2009 ·
Reporters Committee releases summary of Sotomayor decisions
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has released a report summarizing the First Amendment and freedom of information opinions of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
The report notes that while Sotomayor has an abundance of judicial experience, "it is surprising to see that no clear standard on First Amendment issues has emerged from her many cases." However, this is primarily due to the small number of such cases that she has heard. When confronted with the question of public and press access to the judicial system, she has favored the right of access. But her Freedom of Information Act cases tend to favor withholding records from . . . [more]
— Posted at 7:51 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE Texas · May 14, 2009 · Reporter's privilege
Reporters Committee applauds new Texas shield law
The Reporters Committee applauds Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s signing of a reporter’s shield law that will protect a journalist’s confidential sources.
The bill, H.B. 670, was signed by the governor on Wednesday, making Texas the 37th state to enact a shield law.
“Popular wisdom had it that Texas would never pass a shield law,” said Reporters Committee Executive Director Lucy A. Dalglish. “It is remarkable that the Texas media, local prosecutors, state legislators and statewide elected officials agreed upon an innovative bill that will ensure information flows to the people of Texas.”
The bill provides a qualified privilege for reporters, meaning that the protections can be overcome under certain . . . [more]
— Posted at 2:51 pm · View reader comments (1)
PRESS RELEASE 2nd Cir. · May 13, 2009 · Freedom of information
White House decision on prison abuse photos wrong
The White House's stunning reversal today of its decision last month to comply with a court order to release photos of prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan flies in the face of President Barack Obama’s promise to increase government transparency and accountability, according to a statement released by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
"Withholding the photos from the public eye leaves the historical record incomplete and leaves the decision on what is reported in news accounts in the hands of the government," said Reporters Committee Executive Director Lucy A. Dalglish. "Such secrecy flies in the face of democracy and the ability of a free press to hold the government accountable for its actions."
The . . . [more]
— Posted at 5:01 pm · View reader comments (1)
PRESS RELEASE · May 11, 2009 · Freedom of information
Reporters Committee urges review of case restricting open meetings law
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans (5th Cir.) to rehear a case in which a panel of the court questioned the constitutionality of the Texas Open Meetings Act. The Reporters Committee filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Texas Attorney General, who is defending the law.
In the case, Rangra v. Brown, two Alpine City Council members were prosecuted under the Texas Open Meetings Act for exchanging e-mail messages about the time and content of a meeting. The council members were accused of violating a provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act that requires all deliberations and actions of government officials to be taken with a quorum in a public meeting. In response, they brought a lawsuit against . . . [more]
— Posted at 4:16 pm · View reader comments (1)
PRESS RELEASE West Virginia · April 29, 2009 · Freedom of information
E-mail records in West Virginia should be released
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a friend-of-the-court brief Tuesday asking the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to review a decision barring the release of e-mail messages between a justice and the head of a coal company with a pending case.
The records case, The Associated Press v. Canterbury, was filed after the AP’s request for the e-mail messages under the West Virginia Freedom on Information Act was denied. The AP won access to some e-mail messages, but not others, at the trial court level. West Virginia's judicial branch is subject to its freedom of information law, under which e-mail messages are treated the same as any other . . . [more]
— Hannah Bergman, 2:52 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE · April 21, 2009 · Reporter's privilege
Reporters Committee says Ashenfelter case shows need for shield law
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press issued the following statement after a federal judge in Detroit ruled today that Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Ashenfelter does not have to reveal confidential sources for a story he wrote about a failed terrorism prosecution:
Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter successfully invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at a deposition today in which former assistant U.S. attorney Richard Convertino sought the identities of Ashenfelter’s confidential government sources to boost his Privacy Act lawsuit against the government.
It is unusual for a reporter to invoke the Fifth Amendment when fighting a federal court subpoena, yet U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland correctly ruled . . . [more]
— Posted at 6:42 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE U.S. · April 10, 2009 · Reporter's privilege
Reporters Committee objects to VA seizure of reporter's recording
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sent a letter today to Department of Veterans Affairs officials objecting to the illegal seizure of a radio reporter's sound card earlier this week.
The letter, sent to Veterans Affairs Secretary Erik Shinseki and Washington VA Medical Center Director Fernando Rivera, said the VA illegal seized WAMU-radio reporter David Schultz's reporting equipment and demanded its swift return. It also asked for an apology to Schultz and the VA patient he was attempting to interview.
Schultz learned of a public forum at the Washington, D.C., VA hospital through a press release. He went to the public event, where at least one patient at the hospital was . . . [more]
— Posted at 5:16 pm · View reader comments (1)
PRESS RELEASE Tennessee · March 23, 2009 · Secret courts
Press groups push for access to records on nursing home fire
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a friend-of-the-court brief today asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to review a decision that allowed court records related to a high-profile nursing home fire to be sealed for four months.
The case, In re NHC-Nashville Fire Litigation, deals with a tragic nursing home fire that killed at least sixteen people. The parties filed documents obtained through the discovery process along with their briefs on a motion for summary judgment. Though the discovery documents were court records, the court refused to provide them to The Tennessean until after the motion was decided. An appellate court affirmed that decision last . . . [more]
— Posted at 6:10 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE · March 19, 2009 · Freedom of information
Holder's FOIA memo is a "refreshing change"
Attorney General Eric Holder issued his much-anticipated memorandum today advising executive branch agencies how the Obama Administration wants the federal Freedom of Information Act to be interpreted. In it, he expressly rescinds the Bush Administration's standard favoring withholding information, and orders that government agency records should be presumed public.
The memo -- traditionally issued by an attorney general several months into a new administration -- sets the tone for executive branch agencies in how they interpret and administer FOIA. Holder's memo parallels many components of the 1993 memo issued by then-Attorney General Janet Reno under President Bill Clinton. The memo states that:
- FOIA denials will . . . [more]
— Lucy Dalglish, 4:15 pm · View reader comments (1)
PRESS RELEASE · February 17, 2009 ·
Federal Open Government Guide aids reporters on federal access
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press announces the release of the 10th edition of its guide to federal open government laws, now titled the “Federal Open Government Guide.”
The guide, previously called the “How to Use the Federal FOI Act,” provides resources to navigate the federal Freedom of Information Act — the 43-year-old law that provides the public with access to government agency records. The new edition also addresses the federal open meetings law — the Government in the Sunshine Act — as well as the Privacy Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which provides a right of access to records and meetings of advisors outside the government.
“Every newsroom should have a copy of this guide to assist . . . [more]
— Posted at 5:15 pm · Comments: 0
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