Brechner News

Posted: April 17, 2023

ProPublica reporter Brett Murphy is the winner of the 2023 Brechner Center Freedom of Information Award for “Words of Conviction,” his investigation into the use of a technique used by police and prosecutors to treat people who called 911 for help as criminals themselves. On April 10, 2023, we sat down with Brett to discuss his investigation and the use of freedom of information requests. The video runs 4:21.   The Brechner Freedom of Information Award has been presented annually since 1986 by the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Award, FOIA, ProPublica

Posted: April 4, 2023

ProPublica reporter Brett Murphy is the winner of the 2023 Brechner Freedom of Information Award for “Words of Conviction,” his investigation into the use of a technique used by police and prosecutors to treat people who called 911 for help as criminals themselves. Murphy first learned about “911 call analysis” when investigating a botched murder case in Louisiana. The technique was developed by a retired police chief, who touted it as a way to determine if 911 callers reporting a death were in fact guilty of the crime themselves. Most experts agree that 911 call analysis is junk science. But…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner Award, ProPublica

Posted: March 16, 2023

Janet Coats, managing director of the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology (CTMT) at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, will speak about the College’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the Alachua County Library District’s Freedom of Information Day on March 16 at 5 p.m. in downtown Gainesville. Coats will discuss public policy and laws relating to free access of information. She will focus on the role of the Brechner Center and its commitment to advance understanding, appreciation, and support for freedom of information and to foster open government and a participatory democracy. Coats, who became the managing director of the…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner, Sunshine Week

Posted: March 16, 2023

David Cuillier, incoming director of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Freedom of Information Project, will be speaking at the 2023 Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) Sunshine Week Symposium. The online webinar will be on March 16 at 1 p.m. Cuillier will be one of six panelists discussing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other transparency laws that have made a lasting impact on American political culture and the legal landscape. Participating panelists have written essays published during the week-long symposium focusing on how government transparency and FOIA have transformed society. Cuillier’s essay, Strengthening FOIA: Time for Teeth,” was…

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

Posted: March 3, 2023

David Cuillier, incoming director of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is the author of “Overclassification Overkill: The U.S. Government is Drowning in a Sea of Secrets” published in The Conversation on March 1. According to Cuillier, the U.S. has an overclassification problem which can threaten national security. “I have seen the secrecy creep – more classification and more withholding of information by the government – growing for decades, as a scholar who studies freedom of information,” said Cullier. “While classification is intended to protect the national security of the nation – such as weapons data,…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: classified, FOIA, secrecy, security

Posted: February 24, 2023

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications announced on Feb. 21 that David Cuillier has been named director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project. He will join the College on July 1, 2023. The Freedom of Information Project is part of a newly named Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment, which incorporates the current Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project.  A new director for the First Amendment Project will be named in the near future. The Freedom of Information Project is dedicated to protecting a robust,…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner, Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Dave Cuillier, David Cuillier

Posted: February 23, 2023

The Brechner Freedom of Information Project is proud to partner with the Student Press Law Center for Student Press Freedom Day 2023: Bold Journalism and Brave Advocacy. Student journalists across the country practice Bold Journalism and Brave Advocacy every day. But most still aren’t afforded their full First Amendment press freedom rights. For Student Press Freedom Day on Feb. 23, student journalists across the U.S. are raising awareness of the challenges they face, celebrate their contributions, and take action to protect and restore their First Amendment freedoms. Avery Lotz, a senior studying journalism at the University of Florida, is the…

Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: FOIA, Freedom of the Press, student, Student Journalists, Student Press, Student Press Law Center