Brechner News

Veteran journalist Miranda Spivack has spent decades reporting on state and local government, first in regional newspapers and later during a 20-year career at The Washington Post. But her new book, Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back, shifts the spotlight from pressrooms to ordinary citizens who’ve taken on entrenched systems of secrecy. 

A recent article in the Wyoming Law Review examines copy fee provisions in the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, Wyoming law, and Colorado law, concluding that vague laws allowing “reasonable” copy fees are prone to abuse by agencies.

Washington state House lawmakers have reinstated a controversial email auto-deletion policy, allowing most legislative emails, including those about bills and communications with lobbyists, to be permanently erased after 30 days. The move has drawn criticism from transparency advocates who say it weakens the public’s ability to scrutinize how laws are made. 

A recent study reveals that confusion over the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) isn’t limited to students or parents. It extends to university officials themselves. 

A new study from the Brechner Freedom of Information Project finds that states with weaker newspaper environments are associated with greater government secrecy. 

A new study led by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project indicates widening disparity of Americans acquiring government information through public record laws.  

Brechner Freedom of Information Project director David Cuillier is questioning Florida’s decision to remove detailed contract records tied to its new $250 million detention camp from a public website. 

As federal agencies increasingly use artificial intelligence to process public records requests, new research calls for stronger transparency requirements. In the Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary, Ronald Capaldi argues that the U.S. government should implement algorithmic audits to monitor how AI is used in the FOIA process. 

The Journal of Civic Information is launching a Research Competition and Special Issue to mark the upcoming 60th anniversary of FOIA.

A study from the Hong Kong University Business School suggests that Freedom of Information Act requests aren’t just tools for transparency – they can also move markets.

A new partnership led by MuckRock and involving the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC), the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Brechner Freedom of Information Project is working to help journalists acquire the information they need to inform the public. 

Watchdog group, American Oversight has filed a lawsuit in federal court to compel the United States Justice Department to release records related to Emil Bove, a senior DOJ official and federal judicial nominee facing multiple controversies.