Brechner News

A string of mismanagement scandals at university foundations across the country demonstrates the urgency of opening foundations’ financial records to public scrutiny, open-government advocates told the Virginia Supreme Court in a brief filed Monday. A coalition of government-transparency organizations led by the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information is supporting…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “College Admissions Scandal: Will the Students Stay in School? Colleges Don’t Have to Say” published in USA Today on April 12. LoMonte comments on the celebrity admissions-bribery scandal and whether…

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications announced today that the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information has been awarded $125,000 from the Hearst Foundations for the Center’s “Data Deserts” initiative. The initiative, which will be named the Hearst Data Deserts Project, is intended to improve the quality…

University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information Director Frank LoMonte’s opinion article “Finding University Presidents in Secret Helps Profiteers, Not the Public” was published in the Orlando Sentinel on April 8. LoMonte comments on legislation that recently passed the Florida House Senate Affairs…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “Edgewater’s ‘Family Affair’ Government Leads to Possible City Council Violations” published in The Daytona Beach News-Journal on March 30. In the article, LoMonte comments on a government organization’s failure to…

A team of investigative journalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, whose reporting led the City of Atlanta to overhaul its practices for responding to public-records requests, is the winner of the 2019 Brechner Freedom of Information Award. The award, presented annually by the Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “The Covington Catholic Case Could Turn on ‘Actual Malice’” published in The Atlantic on March 5. The article focuses on the lawsuit filed by Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “Where Did This Law Come From? Look back to 2008 to Understand Why It’s Illegal to Post Certain Videos to Facebook?” published in The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana) on Feb.…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in the editorial “‘The Post’ Urges OU to Re-Open Access to Title IX Records” published in The Post (Athens, Ohio) on Feb. 14. The Post staff editorial focuses on the lack…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “Denver Students Sharing Photos, Video with Media During Teachers Strike Say They’re Getting Pushback from Principals” published in The Denver Post on Feb. 12. The article focuses students who are…

In the latest legal skirmish over the ability of public universities to regulate what students post on social media pages, free-speech organizations are backing the appeal of a New Mexico medical student punished for a profane political rant on Facebook. The case presents a possible vehicle for the U.S. Supreme…

A Kentucky statute making it a crime punishable by a year in jail to speak to a school employee in a way that “interferes with” school functions faces a constitutional challenge that may end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. In a brief prepared by Brechner Center attorneys, the justices…