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A&A: Can I use audio clips of solicitors refusing to be interviewed?

FAC May 12, 2014

Q: I’m a journalist at a radio station doing a story about people who are soliciting money pledges for various causes on the local university campus, outdoors, in public.   I approached them with a recorder, identified myself as a radio reporter and started asking them questions. Their response was, “I dont want to answer any questions!” Is it legal to include that audio clip in my story, which would air on the radio? Or am I not allowed to, since they did

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Ken Bunting, Editor and FOI Champion has died

FAC April 23, 2014

Kenneth Bunting, long-time professional journalist and, most recently,Executive Director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, died in Columbia, MO Sunday following a heart attack. He was 65. “Ken was totally committed to open-government, freedom of the press and freedom of speech,” said FAC’s Peter Scheer, who was on NFOIC’s board of directors during Ken’s tenure there. “He was also an extremely supportive boss and mentor to many young newspaper reporters over the years.” Bunting held senior positions at

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Prop. 42 Background from the Legislative Analyst’s Office

FAC April 23, 2014

California has thousands of local governments. Californians receive services from thousands of local governments—counties, cities, school and community college districts, and special districts (such as fire districts, flood control districts, and water districts). Each local government has a local governing body (such asa city council or county board of supervisors) that makes decisions about its programs, services, and operations. Public Access to Local Government Information. The State Constitution requires that meetings of governing bodies and writings of public officials and agencies

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Federal Judge rules in FAC case: US can keep secret a legal memo on drone strikes targeting US citizen

FAC April 15, 2014

In a national security case brought by the First Amendment Coalition, a federal judge has ruled that the Obama administration does not have to disclose a Justice Department legal memo explaining the legal rationale for drone strikes and, in particular, drone strikes abroad against suspected terrorists who are also US citizens. FAC’s suit, based on federal FOIA, was filed shortly after a September2011 drone strike in Yemen that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim cleric

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California Legislature’s feel-good resolution on openness

FAC March 23, 2014

The state Senate voted unanimously last week to honor “Sunshine Week” by declaring its “long tradition in support of open government and access to government records,” but in an editorial the San Francisco Chronicle observes that words aren’t always accompanied by action. The paper cites two current examples in which the Legislature turned its back on transparency. Democrats and Republicans were both culpable. Full story

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