Information
- Founded:
- 1970
Notes
A state appellate court in Hawaii has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a suspected serial killer against two publications. Waldorf Roy Wilson sued Honolulu Magazine and The Garden . . .
The Louisville Courier-Journal is suing the Louisville city government over an anti-litter ordinance the paper says violates its constitutional rights. The ordinance, which was approved in June, . . .
A documentary filmmaker in Hawaii who has covered native burial practices might be the first person to assert the state's new shield law, The Associated Press reported Wednesday. Land developer . . .
A federal appeals court has decided for the first time that the 2007 amendments to the Freedom of Information Act dealing with attorney’s fees are not retroactive. The decision, by the . .
A freelance reporter writing a book about a psychiatrist's child molestation case has been called as a witness in the trial and kicked out of the courtroom, according to the San Mateo County Times. . . .
A Kentucky woman is seeking the identity of an Internet commenter who she says defamed her on a newspaper forum, The Courier-Journal of Louisville reports. The newspaper is trying to use Kentucky's . . .
The Massachusetts Legislature passed an overhaul of the state’s ethics laws Thursday, which supporters lauded as much-needed reform. But the bill, now before Gov. Deval Patrick, weakens . .
A bill that would alter access to the Louisiana governor's official records received final approval from the state Senate Monday, and is on its way to the governor's desk. The public records law now . . .
A Washington Examiner columnist and former CIA employee believes the agency's delays in approving his articles for publication amount to "low-level harassment," Congressional . . .
Posting private information about someone on the Internet is enough to allow an invasion-of-privacy claim no matter how many people actually see it, the Minnesota Court of Appeals held this . . .
A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a regulation barring prisoners on death row in the federal system from meeting with reporters. In doing so, a majority of Seventh Circuit judges set a low . . .
Much of the information the Office of Management and Budget refused to give a public watchdog group as requested must be released because it is not covered by FOIA exemptions, the U.S. Court of . . .
The Supreme Court will decide next year whether the First Amendment applies to recordings and pictures that depict animal cruelty. But the implications of the case go well beyond the issue of animal . . .
A reporter for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes has been banned from returning to his embedded post with an Army unit in Mosul, Iraq, on the grounds that he "refused to . . .
In a court filing Monday, the Detroit Free Press accused former U.S. prosecutor Richard Convertino of conducting a "quintessential fishing expedition" as the paper continued to . . .
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 . . .
A request from a Minnesota boy and his parents for a court order sealing his medical records was denied last week, The Associated Press reports. According to the AP, Brown County Judge John . . .
The U.S. Senate passed a bill Wednesday night allowing the president to withhold the controversial photos of detainees being tortured while in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. The . .
A trade group went to court this week trying to block the Federal Aviation Administration from going forward with a planned Freedom of Information Act release of information about corporate jets, . . .
A California judge on Friday sealed the identity of a San Francisco State University photojournalism student who was taking pictures when his subject was slain in April, the San Francisco Chronicle . . .
A reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune will have to testify as a defense witness in a court-martial, a military judge ruled Monday. The issue arose in the case of U.S. Marine Pvt. Gary Maziarz , . . .
The more things change, the more they stay the same: The Obama administration is refusing to tell who visits the White House -- just like the Bush team did. MSNBC.com reports that its request for . . .
Former U.S. prosecutor Richard Convertino insisted in papers filed Tuesday that the Detroit Free Press must testify in his Privacy Act lawsuit over a leak from the Department of Justice. Free Press . . .
House Democrats who strongly objected to a legislative measure banning the release of detainee abuse appear to have succeeded in getting the provision removed from the appropriations bill to which it . . .
The Rhode Island legislature is considering a bill that would block release of the names of police officers who are involved in shootings until after investigations are complete. The bill to amend . . .
The Las Vegas Review-Journal is facing a federal subpoena for identifying information about people who commented on its Web site, the newspaper disclosed Sunday. Review-Journal Editor Thomas . . .
The National Archives announced Wednesday it has filled the newly created position of FOIA ombudsman for the federal government, a role open government advocates hope will help resolve access . . .
Legislation aimed at blocking the release of photos depicting detainee abuse in American-run prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan is facing a tough battle in the House of Representatives, as a bloc of . . .
College sports programs across the country are facing media scrutiny after a Columbus Dispatch report last month revealed inconsistent interpretations of the secrecy provisions in the Family . . .
Two American journalists were sentenced to 12 years hard labor in North Korea Monday after they were detained March 17 by North Korean soldiers while crossing the border between China and North . . .
Lawyers for a Montana State University professor are renewing their bid to force the Bozeman Daily Chronicle to hand over information related to its reporting on her discrimination lawsuit . .
An Oakland Tribune photographer who was arrested while taking pictures at an accident scene lost his civil rights case against the City of Oakland and several police officers on . .
A Virginia woman can continue posting public officials' Social Security numbers on her Web site, in her protest against what she sees as lax personal privacy .
A federal judge in New York has refused to bar Newsday and a local television station from running photos of a local lawmaker taken while he was under arrest, the paper reports. Lawyers for Roger . . .
The former mayor of Raleigh, N.C. and a candidate for chairman of the state's Republican party has sued a local radio show host for libel, The Associated Press reports. Fetzer stated in his . .
Two journalists covering protests of mountaintop removal mining in rural West Virginia did not have a privilege to be on the mining company's property without permission, a county judge ruled this . . .
Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio's office will indeed have to pay more than $25,000 to cover a newspaper's attorney's fees in a public records case. The Arizona Supreme Court . .
The public has a right to know the details of pending charges and the government's evidence against Guantanamo Bay detainees who are challenging their detention, a federal judge ruled on . .
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 . . .
In a ruling due to be formally published this week, the Connecticut Supreme Court has found that documents filed in more than two dozen civil lawsuits against the Roman Catholic . .
Many colleges are using the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to hide a wide range of information about their athletes and sports programs, The Columbus Dispatch . . .
Several news organizations are asking a federal judge to release prosecution evidence on the eve of a terrorism trial in Atlanta, The Associated Press reports. The AP, The Atlanta . . .
People seeking records under New Jersey's Open Public Records Act do not need to use official request forms, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court . .
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records said last week that a request for emergency response dispatch logs should have been granted with the addresses of where the dispatched police or fire units . . .
A Texas blogger accused in a defamation and conspiracy lawsuit was jailed over Memorial Day weekend for contempt of court after failin
The Illinois state House of Representatives voted unanimously on Wednesday in favor of the latest draft of amendments to its open government law. According to The Southtown Star, the new . .
President Obama asked his national security adviser on Wednesday to review how the country classifies its secrets. He also asked agency heads to lean toward leaving documents unclassified unless . . .
The newly enacted Texas shield law is already being put to use, with a reporter for a Corpus Christi television station successfully invoking it to avoid having to testify in a sexual assault . . .
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 . . .
We're compiling a full report on the record of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, in the areas of First Amendment and media law, and expect to post our findings here . . .
The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously ordered a school board to make public a former superintendent's contract, the Chicago Tribune reports. The Wheaton .
Two Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced a shield law in the legislature, The Associated Press reports. State Sen. Pat Kreitlow -- a former television and radio reporter -- and Rep. Joe Parisi are . . .
The White House has launched a Web site in response to President Obama's Transparency and Open Government memorandum, calling for suggestions from the public on open .
President Obama said today in a speech on the Guantanamo Bay detainees and national security that he remains committed to transparency in government despite his recent about-face on the release of . . .
A federal judge in New York has set a hearing next week to consider a defense attorney's request that Newsday and a local television station be barred from publishing photos taken of his client while . . .
At a hearing today on Capitol Hill, members of Congress focused on the increasing need for the National Archives and Records Administration to have a leader who understands electronic . .
A student journalist who witnessed a killing in San Francisco is trying to use California's shield law to protect his work., the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The 22-year-old San . .
A federal judge in Denver has denied without public comment a request for a broad restraining order aimed at The Pueblo Chieftain and reporter Robert Boczkiewicz. The order would have prohibited any . . .
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. said Tuesday that records of missing e-mail from the Bush White House do not have to be turned over because the office that created them is not subject to . . .
The Privacy Act saga continues between Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter and former prosecutor Richard Convertino. Ashenfelter filed court papers on Tuesday in response to . .
A $7,500 fine levied against a political activist in Kansas for speaking about an ethics complaint he filed was reversed last week after the state attorney general said gag orders . .
A potentially misleading Fox News caption did not provide a sufficient basis for a finding of false and defamatory meaning when viewed as just one part of an entire broadcast, a California appeals . . .
The (Newport, Va.) Virginian-Pilot reports that local judges have been sealing the names of all jurors in all criminal cases since November. The decision was made after the state legislature passed a . . .
New York Gov. David Paterson has shot down a plan to boost enforcement provisions of the state's open meetings law, in particular by setting up fines of up to $500 for government . .
The names of individuals buried in a state cemetery are death records, the Nebraska Supreme Court said today, ruling that they must be released in accordance with the state's open . .
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press