Missouri Recording Law

Note: This page covers information specific to Missouri. For general information concerning the use of recording devices see the Recording Phone Calls, Conversations, Meetings and Hearings section of this guide.

"Newsgathering in Massachusetts" Guide Now Available Online!

The Digital Media Law Project is pleased to announce the online release of its new legal resource, Newsgathering in Massachusetts, co-produced with the Harvard Law School

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Massachusetts

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Arizona Recording Law

Note: This page covers information specific to Arizona. For general information concerning the use of recording devices see the Recording Phone Calls, Conversations, Meetings and Hearings section of this guide.

Strong FOI Laws Expose More Than Just A Governor’s Diet

Perhaps it’s the nightly lobster tails and whoopie pies. Or maybe it’s the Pumpkinhead Ale. Whatever it is that graces his dinner table, Maine Gov.

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Maine

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Massachusetts High Court Applies Fair Report Privilege to Anonymous Account of Closed Meeting

As both a journalist and a techie, I'm pretty keen on the free flow of information, and thus pretty keen in turn on the importance of protecting journalists, both professional and citizen, who are in the business of facilitating that flow. So it was reassuring to see that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on the side of the angels this week in the case of Howell v. Enterprise, granting protection from libel claims to reporters who fairly and accurately report official government proceedings.

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Massachusetts

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National Freedom of Information Coalition to Create FOI Litigation Fund With Help From Knight Foundation

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reports that the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) has received a $2 million, three-year grant from the John S. and James L.

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Citizen Journalist's Guide to Open Government

J-Lab, the Institute for Interactive Journalism at American University's School of Communication, just announced the launch of "The Citizen Journalist’s Guide to Open Government," an extensive multimedia module to help citizen media creators understan

Jurisdiction:

United States

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Boston City Council: What Are They Hiding?

Journalism professor Dan Kennedy has a great post today at Media Nation about the Boston City Council's review of an 80-page report that it commissioned urging the state legislature to exempt it from the Massachusetts open meetings laws.

Jurisdiction:

Massachusetts

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Open Meetings

New York Legislature Passes Open Records and Open Meetings Reforms

The New York Legislature recently passed several open records and open meetings reforms, adding New York to the long list of states that have taken steps to revamp their open government laws this year.

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New York

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NY Law Would Allow Citizens to Record and Broadcast Government Meetings

A bill pending in the New York Legislature would allow the public to photograph, videotape, and audio record public meetings in New York, providing better access to government deliberations and information. It would impose two minor conditions: the photographing or recording activity must not be disruptive, and the public body holding the meeting can regulate where equipment and personnel are located in the room.

Jurisdiction:

New York

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Subject Area:

Open Meetings

Bill Will Revamp Tennessee Open Records Law

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen is expected to sign into law a recently passed bill that would provide a much-needed overhaul of the state's open records practices.

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Tennessee

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Access to State and Local Government Meetings

All fifty states and the District of Columbia have enacted open meetings laws. These laws generally require state and local agencies, commissions, boards, and councils to provide advance notice to the public of their meetings, to permit any member of the public to attend them (although not necessarily to participate), and to provide minutes, transcripts or recordings of meetings upon request at little or no cost.

Access to Federal Advisory Committee Meetings

The Federal Advisory Committee Act ("FACA"), located at 5 U.S.C. App. 2, gives you a right of access to the meetings of federal advisory committees. Advisory committees are groups formed by the government to give advice or make recommendations to the the President of the United States or a federal agency.

Access to Federal Agency Meetings

The Government in the Sunshine Act ("Sunshine Act") governs the right of access to federal agency meetings. Congress passed the Sunshine Act motivated by the idea that citizens have a right to know how the government makes decisions that affect the public interest. The Sunshine Act allows you to attend meetings in which federal agency heads deliberate on agency business.

Access to Government Meetings

Federal, state, and local governments often act through agencies, boards, committees, and other government "bodies." The most familiar examples of these kinds of government bodies are found at the local level -- they include school boards, city councils, boards of county commissioners, zoning and planning commissions, police review boards, and boards of library trustees. At the state level, examples include state environmental commissions, labor boards, housing boards, and tax commissions, to name a few.

Access to Government Information

This section of the legal guide outlines the wide-array of information available to you from government sources. These sources range from your local city council all the way up to the largest agencies in the federal government. In fact, you might be quite surprised at how much information is available to you. And the best part is that you generally don't need to hire a lawyer or file any complicated forms -- you can access most of this information simply by showing up or filing a relatively simple request.

It's Sunshine Week!

Jurisdiction:

United States

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Washington Recording Law

Note: This page covers information specific to Washington. For general information concerning the use of recording devices see the Recording Phone Calls, Conversations, Meetings and Hearings section of this guide.

Virginia Recording Law

Note: This page covers information specific to Virginia. For general information concerning the use of recording devices see the Recording Phone Calls, Conversations, Meetings and Hearings section of this guide.

Texas Recording Law

Note: This page covers information specific to Texas. For general information concerning the use of recording devices see the Recording Phone Calls, Conversations, Meetings and Hearings section of this guide.

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