Brechner Center

A new study has found that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the independence of college media outlets both during and after the pandemic. The findings by University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications doctoral student Jessica Sparks, former Brechner Center for Freedom of Information Director Frank…

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) and Levin College of Law announced today that First Amendment scholar and teacher Jane Bambauer has been named UFCJC’s  Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communication and professor of law at Levin. Bambauer also will assume leadership of the Marion B.…

ProPublica reporter Brett Murphy is the winner of the 2023 Brechner Freedom of Information Award for “Words of Conviction,” his investigation into the use of a technique used by police and prosecutors to treat people who called 911 for help as criminals themselves. Murphy first learned about “911 call analysis”…

Janet Coats, managing director of the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology (CTMT) at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, will speak about the College’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the Alachua County Library District’s Freedom of Information Day on March 16 at 5…

David Cuillier, incoming director of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Freedom of Information Project, will be speaking at the 2023 Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) Sunshine Week Symposium. . The online webinar will be on March 16 at 1 p.m. Cuillier will be one of…

David Cuillier, incoming director of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is the author of “Overclassification Overkill: The U.S. Government is Drowning in a Sea of Secrets” published in The Conversation on March 1. According to Cuillier, the U.S. has an overclassification…

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications today announced that David Cuillier has been named director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project. He will join the College on July 1, 2023. The Freedom of Information Project is part of a newly named Brechner Center for…

The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information today announced that the entry period for the 2023 Brechner Center for Freedom of Information Award, recognizing excellence in news reporting across all media platforms that was aired or published during 2022. Applications are due March 1, 2023, and there is no fee…

The second season focuses on secrecy in the criminal justice system and on the ways that government agencies fail to gather and share information essential for public safety and welfare.

Frank LoMonte, former University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, received the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Washington, D.C. Pro Chapter 2022 Distinguished Service in Local Journalism Award at the chapter’s 2022 Dateline Awards and Hall of Fame dinner on June 14. LoMonte, currently legal…

Sara Ganim, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information Hearst Journalism Fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is the host and producer of “’Gag Order’ Against Sexual Assault,” the latest episode of “What Don’t We Know” recorded at SXSW EDU in Austin and posted…

The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida announced today the winners of the 2021-2022 Journal of Civic Information Law School Writing Competition. The honors include $2,000 and $1,000 first and second place cash prizes, respectively, and the opportunity to publish in the Journal of Civic…