Brechner News

Posted: March 9, 2024

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Volusia Sheriff’s Office Leaves News-Journal Off Invitation List to Press Conference” published in The Daytona Beach News Journal on March 5. The story focuses on Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood who has repeatedly not invited The Daytona Beach News Journal to an important press conference. According to Cuillier, Chitwood is wrong to blackball a member of the press. “On the surface, it just seems really petty and contrary to good public policy,” Cuillier said. “The idea is to get information out to the public, and public officials shouldn’t be…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, David Cuillier, Florida, Freedom of the Press

Posted: March 9, 2024

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Patchwork of ‘Broken’ Systems for Resolving Open Records Disputes Exists Across U.S. States” published on The Huntsville (Alabama) Item’s website on March 7. The article focuses on nurse Dana Holladay-Hollified’s quest to find out the salaries of hospital executives where she works. The hospital is governed by a public board and therefore subject to Alabama’s open records law. After months of no response to her public records request, she had to decide if she would sue to the get the information or give up. “Unfortunately, in the United…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Alabama, Brechner Freedom of Information Project, Dave Cuillier, public records

Posted: February 19, 2024

More than half of college student news organizations have major financial ties to their university, which can be problematic for student journalists who risk losing their independence if there aren’t several safeguards in place. That was one of the findings in a new report from the University of Florida Brechner Freedom of Information Project, which studied the financial state of college newspapers, focusing on the editorially independence of student-run media, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the operations of many of these outlets. The report, “Freedom in College Newsrooms: An Assessment of Financial and Editorial Independence,” summarizes three years of research done…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, David Cuillier, Jessica Sparks, Student Press Law Center

Posted: February 15, 2024

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “’I Like Mexicans’ Omitted from San Fran State Crime Announcement” published in The College Fix on Feb. 14. The article focuses on the actions of officials at San Francisco State University who won’t explain why they redacted a witness statement to the police concerning purportedly offensive graffiti discovered on campus. According to Cuillier, “Oddly, [California] is one of the most secretive states in the nation when it comes to the ability for people to find out what police are up to. I think a big part of that…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, California, conflict-of-interest, Dave Cuillier, public records, secrecy

Posted: January 9, 2024

Jan. 9, 2024 Contact: David Cuillier, Brechner FOI Project, cuillierd@ufl.edu Jeff Roberts, NFOIC president, jroberts@coloradofoic.org The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information (FOI) Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications is joining the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) in promoting research in access to government information. The two organizations will co-sponsor the annual Freedom of Information Research Competition, which, for the past five years, has encouraged and awarded top research on the ability of the public to acquire and use civic data. The Brechner FOI Project will provide $1,000 toward the competition prize money, matching…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, David Cuillier, Freedom of Information Research Competition, NFOIC

Posted: December 30, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Locked Out of Local Government: Residents Decry Increased Secrecy AmongTowns, Counties, Schools,” published by The Associated Press on Dec. 18. The article focuses on the lack of disclosure regarding a major property-tax hike in a small Pennsylvania town. It’s an example of the trend toward government secrecy and how access to public records is worsening. “It’s been going on for decades, but it’s accelerated the past 10 years,” said Cuillier. Few states compile data on public records requests, and laws governing open records differ by state, making a…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: David Cuillier, MuckRock, public records, secrecy, The Associated Press

Posted: December 29, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Washington Tax Agency Pressured to End Controversial Secrecy Policy” published on crosscut.com on Dec. 13. The article focuses on a recently revealed policy from the State of Washington Department of Revenue that supposedly allowed it to black out certain public records with a controversial secrecy exemption claimed by state lawmakers. The legislative privilege claim has raised questions about the separation of government powers. According to Cuillier, around the U.S., notions of privilege are increasingly being used to conceal taxpayer-funded records from the public. “As Washington’s Democratic-controlled Legislature pursues…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: David Cuillier, public records, Washington

Posted: December 15, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the  Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “How Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers in Florida Get Taxpayer Funds With Almost No Oversight” published on revealnews.org on Dec. 13. The story focuses on the Florida Pregnancy Care Network, a nonprofit in charge of distributing state funds to qualifying agencies. However, financial troubles at one pregnancy center highlight gaps in its review of organizations that receive money. According to Cuillier, outsourcing the alternatives-to-abortion program’s operations creates barriers around the public’s ability to scrutinize how taxpayer funds are spent – a practice he equated to “laundering public information through…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Anti-Abortion Center Funding, David Cuillier, Florida Pregnancy Care Network

Posted: December 11, 2023

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications will educate Americans about the right to public records by coordinating national Sunshine Week, starting in March 2024. The News Leaders Association (NLA), which has led Sunshine Week since 2005, is transferring the public awareness campaign to Brechner. The Brechner FOI Project has provided education and research in acquiring civic information since its inception in 1977. Sunshine Week, to be held March 11-15, 2024, highlights the importance of open government and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy. Dave Cuillier “It is an honor to carry on this…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: David Cuillier, Sunshine Week

Posted: December 7, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the  Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “WATCHDOG REPORT: Researchers say YSU’s Secret President Search May Not Have Been the Best Option” published on wfmj.com, the NBC television affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio on Dec. 4. The story focuses on Youngstown State University’s (YSU) search for a new president. Rather than conducting an open search, they chose a private firm to find and vet candidates. “If you or I apply for a job, we may not want our employer to know, [but] there are other times where we want them to know and it ends…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: #governmentgagged, Dave Cuillier, Ohio, public records, secrecy, Youngstown State University

Posted: December 1, 2023

David Cuillier, director of the  Brechner Freedom of Information Project, will provide a national overview of the ability for people to access government information at the Newspaper Association Managers conference on Dec. 4 in Washington, D.C. The organization represents directors of state, regional, national and international press associations, which assist community newspapers in improving their news coverage and ability to remain financially viable. Cuillier is scheduled to discuss trends in public records legislation and increased government secrecy in the states, based on the Brechner Project’s research, as well as tools to help press associations better monitor secrecy.

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: David Cuillier, Newspaper Association Managers, public records, secrecy

Posted: December 1, 2023

The November 2023 edition of the Journal of Civic Information, published by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Freedom of Information Project, features a new study “Owning the Police: Crime Data, Copyright, and Public Information” by Jay Wagner of Marquette University. The study indicates that about half of the nation’s police departments that post crime data online through commercial companies grant the websites exclusive control of that public information – curtailing the ability for other people to acquire and analyze that information for themselves. Wagner examined 250 of the nation’s largest police departments and found that about two-thirds…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: copyright, David Cuillier, Jay Wagner, Journal of Civic Education, Police, public records