The Florida Society of News Editors and the University of Central Florida are partnering to produce a three-day workshop on writing and journalism Feb. 16-18 in Orlando. The Florida Writers Project features writers from Florida and around the country. Come hear expert advice on writing and publishing narrative, mass-market fiction, screenplays and anthologies. Bring your…
Read more
After a five-year fight, TEAM Santa Rosa, an organization working without a contract, operating outside of the sunshine and allotting members grants, is being dismantled and a new entity will be formed to take its place — evidence of how citizen activism works. BY LOUIS COOPER Pensacola News Journal The group charged with designing an…
Read more
FIRST AMENDMENT FOUNDATION 336 E. College Avenue, Suite 101 Tallahassee, FL 32301-1554 (800) 337-3518 or (850) 222-3518 LEGISLATIVE ALERT 26 January 2012 We’re still sing-sing-singing along on HB 1305 and SB 1464! A couple of weeks ago, we sent out an ALERT on these two VERY GOOD bills sponsored by Representative Janet Adkins (HB 1305)…
Read more
The Gainesville Sun: ‘It stinks’ In an editorial just a few days ago we noted the tendency of state lawmakers to impose Government-in-the-Sunshine mandates on city and county commissions that they wouldn’t dream of following themselves. Since we made that observation, Tallahassee’s “do as we say, not as we do” contempt for the principles of…
Read more
Sunshine Week “Local Heroes” Award Across America, people are making a difference in their communities by utilizing information gleaned from freedom of information laws. To recognize these “Local Heroes,” Sunshine Week is seeking nominations for its annual awards to individuals who have played a significant role in fighting for transparency in government. The award is…
Read more
From floridafaf.org The following is a list of the bills we will be tracking throughout the 2012 Legislative Session. As usual, we have selected those bills with open government and first amendment implications we think will be of interest to our members. After the summary of each open government bill, you will find an easily…
Read more
EDITORIAL Gov. Scott has named a new director of his Office of Open Government, a department that in the early days of his administration seemed a misnomer but lately has gotten better marks from journalists and open-government advocates. Bonnie Hazelton will be responsible for providing the best public access to government records, but to deliver…
Read more
EDITORIAL Gaetz, of Niceville, near Pensacola in the Panhandle, is laying his power on the line to make an important point. That point is that emails are public records, just like paper files, and they are to be protected and stored for public inspection — even during transitions of power from one governor to the…
Read more