Brechner News

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was quoted in “#317 – Making Access to Public Records a Public Priority” published on itsalljournalism.com on Aug. 2. The article focuses on how to get the average person to care about open…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was quoted in “Campus Newsrooms Rethink Their Approach to Race” published in The Christian Science Monitor on July 25. The article focuses on how student newspapers are now leading the effort to bring…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is the author of the opinion piece, “Who’s Willing to Bet that State Lotteries are Free of Manipulation?,” published in The Washington Post on June 12. In the article, LoMonte raises the concern…

Responding to high-profile cases in which law enforcement agencies’ failure to timely inform the public about police shootings and aggravated public distrust, the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information is issuing guidelines for agencies to consider in informing the public when officers use force. The report, “Transparency and Media Relations…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was the quoted in “Does Morgan Freeman Have a Defamation Case Against CNN for Misconduct Story?” published on TheWrap on May 30. The article focuses on Morgan Freeman’s claim that CNN committed “journalistic…

In a case reminiscent of the dispute over President Trump’s blocking of critics from his Twitter feed, UF’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project are supporting the free-speech case of a Texas police critic who was forbidden from posting to the Facebook page…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was the co-author of “Don’t Expect Professors to Get Fired When They Say Something You Don’t Like” published in The Conversation on May 7. In the article, LoMonte and co-author David Jadon, a…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was the author of “Beyond the Hashtag: Saving Student Newsrooms” published on Medium on April 25. LoMonte discusses the UF-born #SaveStudentNewsrooms awareness campaign created in response to First Amendment issues at U.S. colleges…

Frank LoMonte, director of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, is the author of “The Law That Made Facebook What It Is Today,” published in The Conversation on April 11. In the article, LoMonte discusses the impact of the Communications Decency…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was quoted in “Clear Backpacks Another Target in the Widening War on Kids,” published in the Sun-Sentinel on April 3. The article focuses on a survey asking people to weigh in on whether…

The Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information announced that Bethany Barnes, education reporter at The Oregonian in Portland, is the winner of the annual Brechner Freedom of Information Award. Barnes won for her dogged coverage of teacher sexual misconduct in Portland schools, which required her to battle repeatedly…

Confusing federal privacy laws are regularly misapplied to obstruct journalists’ and parents’ access to essential safety information about public schools, the Brechner Center’s Frank LoMonte writes in an opinion column for Education Week magazine. In the March 16 article — “Student Privacy Laws Have Been Distorted (And That’s a Problem)”…