Brechner Center

Jessical Sparks, a University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) doctoral student and graduate student researcher for the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, will be a panelist for the Student Press Law Center online discussion “The Challenges and Future of College Press Freedom” on Feb. 20 at 1…

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “’Certainly Intimidation:’ Louisiana Sues EPA for Emails of Journalists and ‘Cancer Alley’ Residents” published in The Guardian on Feb. 2. The article focuses on Louisiana’s fight against environmental protection with the rare use of public record laws to…

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information (FOI) Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications is joining the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) in promoting research in access to government information. The two organizations will co-sponsor the annual Freedom of Information Research Competition, which, for…

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Locked Out of Local Government: Residents Decry Increased Secrecy Among Towns, Counties, Schools” published on apnews.com on Dec. 18. The article focuses on the lack of disclosure regarding a major property-tax hike in a small Pennsylvania town. It’s…

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 “How Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers in Florida Get Taxpayer Funds With Almost No Oversight” published on revealnews.org on Dec. 13. The story focuses on the Florida Pregnancy Care Network, a nonprofit in charge of distributing state funds to…

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information (FOI) Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications will educate Americans about the right to public records by coordinating national Sunshine Week, starting in March 2024. The News Leaders Association (NLA), which has led Sunshine Week since 2005, is…

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…

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…

A leading journalism scholar from Cameroon, Africa, will spend the next nine months at the University of Florida developing laws to foster democracy in his home country. Kingsley Ngange, a former broadcast journalist and current deputy vice-chancellor of research at the University of Buea, began studying this month 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…

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…