Brechner FOI Project

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project would like your suggestions on this online form for how to make Sunshine Fest 2025 a success in identifying solutions to the most pressing issues in freedom of information.  Sunshine Fest is intended to bring together a broad array of interests to…

MuckRock and the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project are teaming up to launch a contest to celebrate Sunshine Fest 2025 in conjunction with Sunshine Week, which takes place March 16-22, 2025. We’re on the hunt for the best logos and slogans that promote freedom of information—something creative that…

CHESTER COUNTY, Penn. – The growing use of chat apps like Google Chat by school districts across the U.S. is raising concerns about transparency and public access to government meetings and records.  First reported by the Delaware Valley Journal, concern is rapidly emerging in Pennsylvania as school districts, including the…

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark 1974 amendments to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a landmark law that guarantees public access to federal government records.   To commemorate this milestone, the Center for Study of Responsive Law is hosting a special event on Dec. 19, 2024, at…

Restricting access to home addresses in public records hinders journalists’ ability to verify facts and hold officials in positions of power accountable, according to a study in the latest edition of the Journal of Civic Information published by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project.  The study, conducted by…

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sunshine Week and identify solutions to the most pressing problems in government transparency, the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications is coordinating the first in-person “Sunshine Fest” March 19-20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. …

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan lawmakers are working to expand the state’s Freedom of Information Act to include the governor’s office and state legislators, a move advocates say would strengthen government transparency and accountability.  According to reporting from the Detroit Free Press, the legislation, which passed the Senate with a 36-2…

Entries for the 2025 Brechner Freedom of Information Award are being accepted through Jan. 10, 2025, to recognize outstanding records-based news reporting aired or published during 2024.  The award has been presented annually since 1986 by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College…

The open-access online Journal of Civic Information, published by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project, celebrates its 5-year anniversary this month, publishing 36 studies and 20 editorials with 15,124 downloads. The journal was launched in September 2017 by Frank LoMonte, who directed the Brechner FOI Project, and founding…

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information (FOI) Project, is quoted in “Mayors, Teachers, Parent Push for Release of Information About Perry High School Shootings” published in the Des Moines Register on Sept. 6. The article focuses on Perry school district staff, the city’s mayor and the mother of…

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration appointed Brechner FOI Project Director David Cuillier to a third term on the Freedom of Information Act Advisory Committee, which provides recommendations to the National Archivist and Congress for improving the FOIA process. Cuillier served two previous two-year terms on the committee, from…

The Brechner Freedom of Information Project seeks an energetic and passionate individual to lead public outreach and education in freedom of information (FOI) to advance the public’s right to know. The new full-time position would be entrusted with three main missions:  Coordinate national Sunshine Week, including public communications to promote…