Brechner News

Reporters Hannah Dreier and Andrew Ba Tran won for their coverage of hidden inequities in the way FEMA administers aid to victims of national disasters.

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “WRAL Investigates: Payments Now Legal to College Athletes, But They’re Still Hidden” posted on wral.com on Feb. 28. The article focuses on the ability of student-athletes to make money off their name, image…

Entries are now open for the 2022 Brechner Center for Freedom of Information Award, recognizing excellence in news reporting across all media platforms that was aired or published during 2021. The $3,000 cash award seeks to reward journalism published by a U.S.-based news organization, or collaborative of organizations, that advances…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, joined CNN in Atlanta on Feb. 1 as a new counsel. He joined the Brechner Center as director in 2017 after serving for 10 years as executive director of the Student Press Law Center in…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “In the Dark: Florida Lawmakers Creating New Ways to Keep Public Records Private” published in the Tallahassee Democrat on Jan. 20. The article addresses the cumulative effect of adding dozens of new exemptions…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is the co-author of “Smartphone Security for the Mobile Journalist: Should Reporters Give Police the Finger?” published in the North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology, Vol. 23, Issue 2. LoMonte and UF Levin College of…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is the author of “Student Journalism and Civic Education” published in the American Bar Association’s Human Rights online magazine on Jan. 4. In the article, LoMonte focuses on the importance of offering high-quality journalism opportunities in…

One of the very few unifying propositions across all U.S. ideologies is that young people need more effective civics education. Given that widespread consensus, it might be expected that educators and policymakers would be tightly embracing the curative of scholastic journalism. But that is rarely the case.

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “The Philadelphia School District is Proposing a New Media Policy. It’s a ‘Gag Order,’ Said One Board Member” published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Nov. 8. The article focuses on a possible Philadelphia…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “Magistrate Fired Over Comments to Times” published in the Alexandria (Virginia) Times on Oct. 21. In the article, Magistrate Elizabeth Fuller, who filed a complaint that led to the bondsman in a homicide…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, is quoted in “ACLU Lawsuit Looks to Take Down Oklahoma’s CRT Teaching Ban as Free Speech Violation” published on the74million.org website on Oct. 25. The article focuses on an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit challenging Oklahoma’s…

Clay Calvert, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project and Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communication at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC), and Frank LoMonte, UFCJC Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, were quoted in “Alachua County Not Violating First Amendment by…