Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook View our profile on LinkedIn View our videos on YouTube


FIRST AMENDMENT
OF U.S. CONSTITUTION 
Congress shall make 
no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free 
exercise thereof; or 
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; 
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, 
and to petition the 
Government for a 
redress of grievances.

ABOUT NEFAC 

2015 MAJOR SUPPORTERS 









Boston Globe logo


LEARN ABOUT OUR ANNUAL NEW ENGLAND FIRST AMENDMENT INSTITUTE







NEFAC'S ANNUAL 
NEW ENGLAND FIRST AMENDMENT AWARDS


We welcome contributions 
to The NEFAC Report from journalists, lawyers, academics 
or other advocates of 
government transparency. If 
you have something to add 
to the conversation, please let 
us know. Your stories, experiences and commentaries have broad appeal and value.
 
Submissions can be emailed to: mail@nefirstamendment.org



 
 THE NEFAC REPORT | October 2015
Globe Spotlight Team Opens NEFAI 2015, Stresses Need for Watchdog Journalism 
Pulitzer Prize Winners Remind Fellows About Many Undetected Injustices That 'Await Your Good Reporting'
The fifth annual New England First Amendment Institute began on Oct. 18 with a reminder that investigative reporting is essential to democracy and there are grave injustices waiting to be exposed. The Boston Globe's Sacha Pfeiffer, Michael Rezendes and Walter V. Robinson opened the three-day institute - provided each year at no cost to 25 journalists by the New England First Amendment Coalition - and discussed their work as part of the paper's 2002 Spotlight Team investigation into the abuse of children by priests and the subsequent coverup by the Catholic Church. [More



Other NEFAI News
NEFAC and Open Government Advocates Call on R.I. Gov. to Promote Transparency 
Citing a recent "pattern of disturbingly inadequate" responses to public records requests "on truly critical matters of public import," five open government organizations have called on Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to issue an executive order that calls on state agencies to "adopt a strong presumption in favor of disclosure in addressing requests for public information." [More] [Additional Coverage]
Forty Years of FOI in Connecticut 
With eroded powers and under continuing attack, Connecticut's first-of-a-kind Freedom of Information Act turned 40 earlier this month. After being involved in the fight for government transparency and accountability since 1975, I am often asked what are the most important issues facing those working to keep the government and its information open to the public. Unfortunately, many of the most critical issues involve trying to undo damage to the law done by our politicians and courts. [More]
NEFAC Testifies in Favor of Proposed Mass. Shield Law; Bill Provides Clarity
Though Massachusetts recognizes reporter privileges through common law, it is one of only 10 states that does not have a shield law. House Bill 1533 would provide "much needed clarity to the legal standard," said NEFAC's Robert Bertsche, an attorney at Prince Lobel Tye who spoke Oct. 6 on behalf of the coalition to the state's Joint Committee on the Judiciary. "It would also protect journalists from threatened jail time who refuse to give out their sources, except in extremely rare cases." [Additional Coverage]
  OTHER FOI AND FIRST AMENDMENT NEWS
    National
    Connecticut
    Maine

            Prison Inmates, Free Speech

            Public Records Reform
            Domestic Violence, Public Records

            Private College Police Records

            Police Department Transparency
            Panhandling, First Amendment
    New Hampshire 
    Vermont