Brechner News

Miranda Spivack, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information Journalism fellow and veteran Washington Post journalist, will be one of two instructors for the National Press Club Journalism Institute’s “Keeping Public Records Public: Strategies for Getting Access During the Pandemic” session on Aug.…

Media innovator Rebecca Harris has joined the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information as the Center’s first Civic Tech Fellow, working to identify solutions to make local-government data more accessible and useful to journalists and the general public. Harris is the founder and former CEO of Purple, a messaging CMS…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is the author of  “Everybody Out of the Pool: Recognizing a First Amendment Claim for the Retaliatory Closure of (Real or Virtual) Public Forums” published in the University of Florida Journal of Law…

Sara Ganim, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information Hearst Journalism fellow, is the recipient of the Best Documentary Feature award from the June 2020 Festigious International Film Festival for her film “No Defense: The U.S. Government’s War on Water.” The film examines…

The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information today launched a new podcast series, “Why Don’t We Know,” focusing on the ways that government agencies fail to gather and share information essential for public safety and welfare. The podcast is produced by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sara Ganim, currently Hearst Journalism Fellow…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “Snapchatting Cheerleader Wins Free-Speech Case at 3rd Circuit” published in courthousenews.com on June 30. The article focuses on a Philadelphia Third Circuit Court ruling that a school violated a cheerleader’s…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “’Not a Stretch:’ Reality Dictates COVID-19 May Hit College Football Programs” published in The Buffalo News on June 29. The article focuses on the possible effects COVID-19 may have on…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, comments in “As Jacksonville Faces Police Shootings and Coronavirus, Protesters Call for Transparency” posted on firstcoastnews.com on June 14. The article focuses on how daily protests show the importance of transparency from the…

Under a newly enacted state law, long-secret police personnel files and misconduct complaints are now a matter of public record in New York, home to the nation’s largest police force. The Brechner Center is partnering with MuckRock, a nonprofit transparency and investigative-reporting organization, to secure as many of those records…

Ten journalists from across the country have been awarded grants to pursue in-depth reporting projects about government secrecy through the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida. The inaugural Brechner Reporting Fellowships were created to benefit journalists who have lost jobs or experienced furloughs resulting from…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is the author of “The ‘Social Media Discount’ and First Amendment Exceptionalism” published in the University of Memphis Law Review, Volume 50, Book 1. In the article, LoMonte argues that speech that would…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was quoted in “A Clearwater Law Firm and a Pinellas Retiree Spar Again Over Public Records” published in the Tampa Bay Times on June 1. The article focuses on Madeira Beach retiree Bill…