The program — provided by NEFAC each year at no cost to those who attend — will occur Oct. 31 through Nov. 6. Sessions will be in the morning with optional and state-specific classes scheduled each day.
“Providing the Institute remotely again this year allows us to teach local journalists in new and exciting ways,” said Justin Silverman, NEFAC’s executive director. “While we look forward to hosting NEFAI in-person again soon, we have a very special week planned for all those invited to join us this fall.” [...]
The coalition recently argued for the release of an investigation into allegations of excessive force by a police officer in New Hampshire.
“Transparency and accountability lead to trust between the citizenry and the government,” explained NEFAC in an Aug. 2 amicus brief. “The need for such trust is critical when the governmental actors are authorized to effectuate arrests and to use force when necessary.” [...]
Attorney Gregory V. Sullivan discusses a public records dispute over a report on excessive force allegations against a Canaan police officer. Sullivan filed an amicus brief on behalf of NEFAC and Union Leader Corp. arguing that the report should be made public.
This is the second of two introductory lessons taught by NEFAC’s Maggie Mulvihill, an investigative journalist and professor at Boston University, about collecting online data through web scraping. By viewing this class, you will learn:
• Additional ways to scrape websites for information.
• How to use free online tools for web scraping.
• How to scrape data from PDF documents for use in spreadsheets.
The New England First Amendment Coalition is serving as a mentor for local reporters as part of the recently-launched FOI Bootcamp for Journalists of Color program.
The National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Society of Professional Journalists began the FOI Bootcamp in June to assist reporters of color in acquiring and analyzing government documents and data. As part of the program, participants are paired with an open government or press organization to begin a long-term mentorship. [...]
The New England First Amendment Coalition is providing educators throughout the region a variety of resources to incorporate into their classroom lessons this academic year.
The materials and services address a range of First Amendment topics, journalism skills and freedom of information laws.[...]
The organizations are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify for all jurisdictions that the constitutional right to record public officials in public areas is “clearly established” under a qualified immunity analysis.
“It should be clear beyond cavil by now that first-hand accounts of police conduct are essential to the public conversation about police accountability,” according to an Aug. 13 amicus brief filed in the case Frasier v. Evans. “The contours of the right to document police conduct, have been ‘clear’ for the better part of a century,” amici wrote. [...]
Gabe Rottman at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press explains the legal principle of “qualified immunity” and a recent effort to have the U.S. Supreme Court declare the First Amendment right to record police as clearly established.
NEFAC Leads First Amendment and Open Government Workshops for Local Newsrooms
As part of its commitment to local journalism, the New England First Amendment Coalition provided in-house workshops on freedom of information laws this month to Hearst Connecticut Media Group and Connecticut Public Radio. NEFAC's Dan Barrett, legal director at the ACLU-Connecticut, provided lessons on the state's public records and open meeting laws.
Our coalition is available to provide in-person and online presentations on any First Amendment and open government topic. Please email justin@nefac.org to learn more.
NEFAC appreciates the support of all its donors and volunteers. In particular, we would like to thank the following Leadership Circle donors ($10,000+) and Major Supporters ($2,500-$9,999) for their contributions: