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2007:
For the Public
In
2006, AP worked internally and in partnership with other news
organizations and FOI advocacy groups to prevent strong new
pressures for secrecy from threatening the First Amendment
values that guarantee freedom for all. Here are some of those
actions:
In Iowa,
a nonprofit group tasked with examining teacher pay in Iowa
acknowledged it violated open meetings laws when it held a
closed-door meeting to discuss the hiring of consultants.
The admission by
the Institute for Tomorrow's Workforce was part of a settlement
announced to a lawsuit filed in Polk County by six media organizations,
including The Associated Press.
The media organizations
had sued the institute after the group met in private on July
27 to discuss the hiring of consultants. According to the
organization's meeting minutes, in open session the board
hired Learning Point Associates, of Naperville, Ill., to study
Iowa's educational system and performance pay, agreeing to
pay the firm $606,450.
According to the media organizations' lawsuit, the closed
session deprived the public of access to "meaningful
information that relates to the expenditure of more than $600,000"
of mostly public money as well as the "setting of educational
standards ... for the next generation."
See details in the
Sept. 14, 2006 AP story
here.
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In Ohio, a federal
judge struck down a 2004 directive by Ohio's elections chief
against exit polling within 100 feet of a voting place. The
judge ruled that a verbal order by Secretary of State Ken
Blackwell before the 2004 presidential election violated the
press' rights under the First Amendment.
The lawsuit was brought by five television networks -- ABC,
CNN, CBS, Fox News and NBC -- and The Associated Press, which
had formed a consortium to collect exit-polling data in Ohio
and other states.
See details in the
Sept. 26, 2006 AP story here.
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In Florida, a federal judge threw out a Florida
law that prohibits exit polling within 100 feet of a voting
place, finding there was no evidence that such surveys were
disruptive or threatened access to voting.
The judge said Florida's law was unconstitutional and ordered
state officials not to enforce it in the Nov. 7 election.
He left intact the 100-foot limit for other activities such
as distributing campaign material or peddling.
The ruling came on a lawsuit brought by The Associated Press
and five television networks which sought to conduct exit
polls at about 40 Florida polling places.
The 2005 law, the judge concluded, violated the First Amendment's
free speech and freedom of the press protections. The judge
also said the law was too broad.
See details in the Oct. 24, 2006 AP story
here.
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In Colorado, the AP and Colorado Press Association
tested the Colorado Open Records Act.
Colorado's public records law is fairly simple. With some
exceptions for personnel or proprietary commercial information,
the public is entitled to see any record -- on paper or otherwise
-- made, maintained or kept by any public entity for use in
carrying out its duties or involving the receipt or spending
of public money.
Yet the way Colorado local government agencies handle public
records requests varies sharply, according to a statewide
survey conducted by 23 newspaper members of The Associated
Press and Colorado Press Association over the summer.
The results show that obtaining records can be an intimidating
and disheartening process for members of the public, said
Ed Otte, executive director of the CPA.
"Although this project was organized by the Colorado
Press Association and The Associated Press, the intent was
to show how easy or difficult it is for the public to access
public records," Otte said. "In some situations
where there are obstacles to getting copies of records, or
the fees seem unusually high, that can serve as a deterrent."
The survey included requests for records in 21 counties from
the Western Slope to the eastern Plains. It covered municipal
and county agencies, school districts and special districts.
To request the records over two days in June, newspapers recruited
members of the public, interns and reporters who identified
themselves when asked.
See details in the Oct. 25, 2006 AP story here.
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In Pennsylvania,
the state's student-loan agency violated the state's Right-to-Know
Law in withholding information about its spending on retreats
for board members and other financial data, a state court
ruled.
Aa Commonwealth Court panel ordered the Pennsylvania Higher
Education Assistance Authority to disclose a variety of records
and pay a portion of the legal fees incurred by media organizations
whose reporters sought the documents -- The Associated Press,
The Patriot-News of Harrisburg and Pittsburgh television station
WTAE.
"PHEAA failed to comply with its duty and responsibility
under the Right-to-Know Law," Judge Doris A. Smith-Ribner
wrote on behalf of the majority. "The Right-to-Know Law
favors public access regarding any expenditure of public funds."
Sally Hale, the AP's Pennsylvania bureau chief in Philadelphia,
called the decision "a small step forward for freedom
of information in Pennsylvania."
See details in the Nov. 16, 2006 AP story here.
SUNSHINE WEEK 2007
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