Brechner News

Posted: June 29, 2024

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications is training hundreds of journalists during the summer of 2024 on how to more effectively acquire government records for helping their communities better self-govern. On June 29, Director David Cuillier spoke at the Arkansas Press Association conference in Jonesboro about increasing secrecy in the South and beyond. The week before, Cuillier taught more than 300 journalists at the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference strategies for requesting public records. In July, he will lead two training sessions at the National Association of Hispanic…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, Dave Cuillier, FOI, FOIA, government records, Government Transparency, journalism training, journalists, public records

Posted: June 27, 2024

An article by Benjamin W. Cramer, Ph.D. of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University analyzes American regulations, legislation, and executive orders that address the matter of critical infrastructure, primarily in communications. Published in the June 2024 edition of The Journal of Civic Information, the article conducts policy-oriented research into the relevant government documents, plus theoretical research on the framing of geopolitical disputes and the transparency of regulatory actions. This article argues that existing definitions of critical infrastructure are indistinct and tautological, while they perennially get mixed up with national security. The article concludes that a distinct American…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Government Transparency, security, The Journal of Civic Information

Posted: June 18, 2024

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Would Direct Payments to College Athletes be Public Records?” posted on deseret.com on May 31. The article focuses on direct payments that college athletes will be able to receive from Name Image Likeness endorsements (NIL). Under question is whether the players will now be considered university employees and if their payments will be public information. “Certainly, in most states, payments by government agencies to anyone are subject to public records laws, whether faculty, staff or student workers. That wouldn’t include private universities, but payments from public universities to…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, college athletics, college sports, David Cuillier, FERPA, name image likeness, NIL, public records

Posted: May 23, 2024

The spread of “confidentiality” laws throughout the states threatens to lock up government employees for potentially unconstitutional reasons, according to a new study by the Brechner Freedom of Information Project. The Brechner FOI Project is located at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The paper, “Secrecy on Steroids: How Overzealous State Confidentiality Laws Expose Leakers and Whistleblowers to Retaliatory Prosecution,” was published May 16 in the University of Miami Law Review, co-authored by former Brechner FOI Project Director Frank D. LoMonte and UF law and journalism graduate Anne Marie Tamburro of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, who…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, classified, Florida, FOI exemption, Frank LoMonte, Texas, whistleblowers

Posted: May 9, 2024

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC)  and Democracy Fund today announced a $225,000 grant to support a multi-university research project that will aid government agencies in handling unduly burdensome public records requests without restricting the flow of civic information. In recent years, some state and local government agencies have been deluged with more public records requests than they can respond to consistent with state sunshine laws, leading legislatures to pass harmful laws in some states that allow agencies to delay, charge extra fees, or even fine, sue and blackball citizens for asking for too much information. One such bill was considered this spring in Colorado. Dave Cuillier “We…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, David Cuillier, Democracy Fund, Hub Brown, public records

Posted: May 9, 2024

Most police departments in the United States employ constitutionally questionable policies prohibiting their officers from expressing concerns publicly on social media about misconduct, according to a new study by Frank D. LoMonte, former director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, and UF Levin College of Law alumna Jessica Terkovich. The article, titled “’Twitter jail’ for the jailer: The precarious First Amendment rights of police officers to share workplace concerns on social media,” was published in the latest issue of the Nevada Law Journal. Terkovich, who is now an assistant commonwealth attorney in Norfolk, Virginia, and LoMonte, who…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, Frank LoMonte, Gag orders, Government Gagged, Jessica Terkovich, Police, police misconduct

Posted: May 6, 2024

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Out-of-State Public Records Experts Weigh in on a Louisiana Bill that is Drawing Lots of Criticism” published on fox8live.com on April 19. The story focuses on a bill that would exempt Louisiana’s public records law of “any records reflecting advisory opinions, recommendations and deliberations” that comprise part of a process that results in governmental decisions and policies. “I think it’s a big mistake, it would propel Louisiana frankly to the bottom in the country in transparency with the public,” said Cuillier. “Already Louisiana ranks very low in its…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, David Cuillier, Louisiana, public records

Posted: May 3, 2024

Photograph archives maintained by newspapers are disappearing as legacy media go out of business, eradicating valuable historical artifacts for communities throughout the United States, according to a new study by Frank D. LoMonte, former director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, and UF law student Lila Greenberg, B.S. Telecommunication 2022. The study, titled “Photographic memory: Expanding ‘news deserts’ threaten to erase the visual record of contemporary American history,” was published in the latest issue of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal. LoMonte, who left UF in…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, Frank LoMonte, Lila Greenberg, newspaper closures, photo archives

Posted: May 1, 2024

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Lombardi Puts A Gag on City Employees” published in the Lockport (New York) Union-Sun & Journal on April 25. The story focuses on Lockport mayor John Lombardi III’s written directive to all city employees to refrain from contact with the press. Cuillier suggested Lombardi’s order puts Lockport city taxpayers at risk. “Mayor Lombardi has not done his legal research and is putting the city at risk of paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted settlement and legal fees,” he said. Cuillier referenced the newly announced settlement…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, David Cuillier, Gag orders

Posted: April 16, 2024

Journalists, average Americans, and others seeking government records in the public interest are more likely to be denied information than for-profit requesters, according to a new study titled “Tale of two requesters: How public records law experiences differ by requester types,” co-authored by David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida. The study was published in March in the peer-reviewed journal Journalism. Cuillier and co-author A. Jay Wagner of Marquette University surveyed 330 people across the United States who have requested public records from the government through state and federal freedom of information laws.…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, David Cuillier, Government Transparency, open records laws, public records

Posted: March 27, 2024

Members of the Miami Herald project team that produced “Shakedown City,” which won the 2024 Brechner Freedom of Information Award will discuss their work at a luncheon in Gainesville, Florida, on Monday, April 8. All are welcome. The event takes place from 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m. at the Cone Park Library, 2801 E. University Ave. The talk is sponsored by the Florida Free Speech Forum. Attendees can pay $20 for lunch or attend for free without lunch. Register here by April 1. “Shakedown City,” an investigation into government corruption within the city of Miami that spawned a series of investigations…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Award, Brechner Freedom of Information Project, Florida Free Speech Forum, FOI, FOIA

Posted: March 25, 2024

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC)  and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announced the establishment of the Knight Sunshine Fund at the University of Florida, an endowment of $575,000 to help expand the reach and impact of Sunshine Week and increase public awareness of the importance of open government. Since its launch, millions of Americans have participated in Sunshine Week, the nation’s largest annual celebration of freedom of information. This year, the week ran from March 10-16 with events ranging from a foundation networking meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to national events in Washington, D.C., run by open…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, David Cuillier, FOI, FOIA, Hub Brown, Knight Foundation, Knight Sunshine Fund, Sunshine Week