by Trevor Timm, Freedom of the Press Foundation, May 25, 2023

In honor of a whistleblowing legend: Announcing the Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy. In one of his final public talks, addressing a room of more than 200 journalists, Daniel Ellsberg was asked how the media could better support whistleblowers. In a passionate response, Ellsberg urged the audience—and the press at large—to investigate the U.S. government’s classification system.

By Emry Dinman, The Spokesman-Review, Sept. 2, 2024

Spokane fails a basic public records test 24% of the time. An audit and new hire aims to improve. The city of Spokane is struggling to meet its obligations under the state Public Records Act, a tool meant to allow everyone, whether they’re reporters, lawyers, cranks or concerned citizens, to crack open Washington governments and understand how decisions get made.

By Juan Pablo Ripamonti, Science Digest, Volume 41, Issue 3, 9 August 2024

Citizens' trust in government is associated with many positive outcomes, including increased productivity, compliance with policies, and reduced tax evasion. To strengthen trust, governments have often implemented various transparency policies and legislation.

However, empirical studies conducted in the past reveal mixed outcomes from these efforts. Some research has identified positive effects on trust, while other studies have reported negative or negligible impacts.

A state Supreme Court’s decision reversing a lower court’s ruling that a private contractor was exempt from the Georgia Open Records Act is being hailed as a win for open government.

A New Jersey appellate panel struck down a regulation Monday that shields from disclosure documents submitted to the state body that oversees public record disputes, finding the rule has no basis in law and runs counter to the transparency legislation the Government Records Council is tasked with enforcing.

Public Health data collection and communication proved to be crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government has announced a $255 million program to improve public health agency’s ability to improve in this area. The monies are made available through the CDC with the goal of developing strong, secure data exchanges between public health agencies.

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG) filed this as their first-ever lawsuit — and believes the county has been withholding public information. FOG says The Albuquerque Journal tried to request multiple records — but was denied. The Journal was looking into the death of an inmate at MDC. The inmate's estate accused a former jailer of using excessive force, resulting in death.

The city of Tarpon Springs broke Florida’s public records law when it withheld documents requested by its former city attorneys and manufactured excuses of confusion for “bad faith” delays, a judge has ruled. For nearly two years, the city created “unquestionably unjustifiable delays” in producing records while illegally withholding others, Pinellas County Circuit Judge George Jirotka wrote in his July 10 ruling.

A $100 million project that’s moving North Carolina’s court documents online is “saving time and providing transparency,” the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts says. But in Mecklenburg County it’s taking far longer for some public records to actually reach the public.

A new law aimed at protecting judges and their families by prohibiting personal information from being disclosed on state, county and local websites upon request could impact county resources. Supervisor Randy Cook asked how does one prevent that data from being obtained elsewhere on sites online. “You don’t,” Scott Moore of Fidlar Technologies replied. That’s why the law has been dubbed “feel good legislation,” because it makes them feel protected while in reality that is not the case.

North Carolina Democratic lawmakers proposed a constitutional amendment to open up the legislature's communications as public records. It's a response to a new state law Republicans passed, increasing secrecy around their communications and other records. The proposal is almost guaranteed to fail at the legislature; Republican leaders have been clear they support the changes they made last year increasing secrecy and have no intent of undoing those changes now.