NEFAC Asks Justice Department to Withdraw the Subpoena of James Risen, Hamblett Award Honoree

New England First Amendment Coalition (NEFAC) sent a petition today to the United States Justice Department requesting that it withdraw its subpoena of New York Times reporter James Risen to testify in the trial of former CIA employee Jeffrey Sterling as to his confidential source for information published in Risen's 2006 book State of War.  The petition reminds Attorney General Eric Holder that press freedom "has been extremely important to our society from colonial times to the present; 'The freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments,'" wrote George Mason.  "'The truth is hard to take sometimes.  It isn't always convenient.  It can be disappointing.  It can be ugly.  But knowing--having information about ourselves and the world we live in-- is part of our national identity.  Our democracy relies on an informed citizenry.  Thoughtful, fair, balanced comprehensive reporting in print and in photos or video may be the best way to know what's going on -- the way to best inform ourselves.  Information is what keeps us free from tyranny,'" wrote Nancy Conway in Salt Lake City Tribune.  [More]

Should Citizens Have Access to

Public Relations Work?

 A high-powered public relations company and the biggest law firm in Connecticut have teamed up to keep residents of Darien, Conn., in the dark about aspects of an ongoing crisis in the public school district's special education program. While the district has taken tremendous and costly steps toward rebuilding its special education program, the work of Duby McDowell Communications to help the schools manage its public image is being withheld from the people who are paying for this service. [More]