public records

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Washington Tax Agency Pressured to End Controversial Secrecy Policy” published on crosscut.com on Dec. 13. The article focuses on a recently revealed policy from the State of Washington Department of Revenue that supposedly allowed it to black out…

David Cuillier, director of the  Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “WATCHDOG REPORT: Researchers say YSU’s Secret President Search May Not Have Been the Best Option” published on wfmj.com, the NBC television affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio on Dec. 4. The story focuses on Youngstown State University’s (YSU) search…

David Cuillier, director of the  Brechner Freedom of Information Project, will provide a national overview of the ability for people to access government information at the Newspaper Association Managers conference on Dec. 4 in Washington, D.C. The organization represents directors of state, regional, national and international press associations, which assist community newspapers…

The November 2023 edition of the Journal of Civic Information, published by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Freedom of Information Project, features a new study “Owning the Police: Crime Data, Copyright, and Public Information” by Jay Wagner of Marquette University. The study indicates that about half of…

People seeking government information to make their communities better face frustrations and obstacles because of high copy fees, according to a new study “To Fee or Not to Fee: Requester Attitude Toward Freedom of Information Charges, co-authored by David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the…

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information (FOI) Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications partnered with the Student Press Law Center to launch the 2023 Student Freedom of Information (FOI) Awards. The two inaugural recipients in the college and high school divisions received cash awards of $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. In…

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Access to Public Records is ‘Deteriorating Terribly’” published on route-fifty.com on Oct. 31. The article focuses on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recommendation to change Florida’s records law to exempt the governor’s travel records. Not only would the…

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Closed-Door Sessions Endure at County, City Meetings” published on nogalesinternational.com on Oct. 13. The article focuses on a closed-door meeting by Arizona’s Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors involving a legal discussion between the county and South32,…

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “What Are They Hiding? State Agency Quotes High Fees to Bog Down Requests” published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sept. 8, 2023 The article focuses on public records requests made by the Las Vegas Review-Journal to…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, has developed the online course “Open Records Success: Strategies for Writing Requests and Overcoming Denials” for poynter.com. LoMonte and Barbara Allen, Poynter director of college programming, created a video lecture tutorial offering strategies…

Police who exercise arrest powers at private universities should abide by the same transparency standards as all other law-enforcement agencies, a coalition of open-government advocates argues in a brief filed with the Utah Supreme Court. In a brief filed Friday, the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and nine other…

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…