Ethics vs. public records · 23 September 08
A Republican candidate for the Washington Legislature got a public slap from a state ethics board after posting legislative press releases on his campaign web site. Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, is up for re-election, according to a story in the Tri-City Herald. The press releases were written by state staffers and “pertained to legislation he had sponsored and appointments he had gained.” Some members of the state legislative ethics board disagreed with the decision to penalize Kirkland, saying press releases are public records and Kirkland shouldn’t be criticized for making them available.
Lee van der Voo
Great news for Oct. 25 training · 21 September 08
If you want to beef up your reporting skills, you need to mark your calendar to be in Eugene on Oct. 25. Particularly if you have a public-interest journalism bent.
Two great investigative minds have confirmed they will speak at the second Building A Better Journalist training conference: Steve Engelberg and Les Zaitz.
Engelberg is the former New York Times investigative czar who came to Portland to be The Oregonian’s #2 editor, and who then helped cofound the exciting nonprofit journalism venture, Pro Publica.
Zaitz, meanwhile, has been among our most popular speakers at past SPJ trainings. A longtime Oregonian reporter, he’s probably the top public records journalist in Oregon. And the seminar he’s got planned, involving an intriguing interviewing case study, sounds eye-opening and fun.
With both these guys, the more you hear them the better you get.
The training day, including talks on writing, new media and other skills, will also benefit from the excellent people and facilities of our event partner, the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications.
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Man's suit asks for video rights · 19 September 08
A man is pushing the Portland Police Bureau to take a formal position on whether citizens have the right to videotape police doing their job. According to a story in the Oregonian, Mike Tabor notified Portland he intends to sue the city. He filed his tort claim after a Portland Police officer seized a video from him, then wrote him a ticket for videotaping police as they interviewed two men on a sidewalk. Tabor is asking for $100 and a formal police bureau policy giving citizens the right to videotape cops. Oregon law currently prohibits recording conversations unless at least one party gives consent. Some, including Tabor, say the rule should not apply to video tapes made in public and that recording police officers will help keep them honest.
Lee van der VooLake Oswego and open-meetings law · 18 September 08
One veteran anti-secrecy activist has dubbed it “The Lake Oswego Outrage.”
The Lake Oswego City Council is considering a policy restricting access to executive sessions that appears to go well beyond what’s allowed by Oregon Public Meetings Law. The move could boomerang on journalists all over the state while promoting greater government secrecy.
The proposal was sparked by a blogger’s attempt, (as I noted here last month) to gain entry to the Lake Oswego City Council’s executive session. He cited, among other things, his Barack Obama campaign credentials and that he has done some reporting on his blog. He did not provide his real name, only his screen name.
Yuxing Zheng of The Oregonian did a nice piece that explains the council’s concerns with his position.
Happy Constitution Day! · 17 September 08
Here’s something to chew on as you celebrate Constitution Day.
A State of the First Amendment 2008 study by the First Amendment Center on the Vanderbilt University campus in Nashville found that most people think we have too many freedoms. Some people would even accept limits on free speech and a free press.
According to the study, 66 percent of those surveyed said the government should be able to require TV broadcasters to offer equal time to opposing viewpoints, something that hasn’t happened since 1987, when the Federal Communications Commission abolished the Fairness Doctrine.
Another 62 percent say the same fairness standard should apply to newspapers, even though that would clearly violate the First Amendment.
• 39 percent said cable and satellite TV should be subject to the same regulation as over-the-air broadcasters.
• 31 percent said musicians should not be allowed to sing lyrics that others might find offensive.
Most people knew that the First Amendment covered the freedom of speech, but only 3 percent knew about the “petition” part of the amendment. Only 20 percent knew the amendment applied to religion, press or the freedom of assembly.
The survey was released Wednesday, Sept. 17. It can be found on on the Web at www.firstamendmentcenter.org.
Jewell schools face fines over secret meetings · 24 August 08
The Daily Astorian is reporting that members of the Jewell School Board each face up to $17,000 in fines for allegedly meeting in secret for more than a year. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission said Wednesday that an early review showed cause for further investigation of 17 of 20 executive sessions in question.
Lee van der VooVolunteers honored for outing port · 24 August 08
Washougal volunteers who exposed secret dealings at the Port of Camas-Washougal were recently honored by “a nonpartisan group that bird-dogs Washington’s open meetings law,” according to a report in the Columbian. The volunteers, known as Concerned Citizens in Action, “filed public records requests that showed Camas-Washougal port leaders excluded the public from debate over the controversial, 65-acre proposed riverfront project before they signed an agreement with RiverWalk LLC in 2005.” The Concerned Citizens are set to receive an award in September from the Seattle-based Washington Coalition for Open Government.
Lee van der VooSave the Date!! Oct. 25 training · 15 August 08
On Sat. Oct. 25, SPJ of Oregon/Southwest Washington will again join with the University of Oregon journalism program to offer a web-heavy training event. The more than 100 of you who braved sketchy weather for the spring training in Portland caught an impressive array of speakers, leading to a lot of great feedback. This fall’s conference looks to be even more focused on new media, and will have the added benefit of access to some great j-profs and facilities of the U of O (the key ingredients to a very fun and action-packed event last fall). The training will be distilled to one day, making it easier to barnstorm the good stuff without springing for a hotel. Stay tuned and bookmark the SPJ training page; we’ll be posting more information as the lineup gets finalized.
Nick BudnickLO meetings get Torrid · 14 August 08
Yuxing Zheng of The Oregonian recently wrote about a development in Lake Oswego that should be of interest to every journalist that covers Oregon government.
Specifically, a blogger has demanded access to the executive session of Lake Oswego City Council meetings, citing the section of Open Meetings Law that lets reporters attend the sessions. He argues that he does reporting and has been credentialed by the Obama campaign.
The blogger is Mark Bunster, who publicly identifies himself under his screen name, “Torrid Joe” or TJ. His site is devoted to political news, issues and advocacy.
Given the potential for this situation to be exploited by pro-secrecy officials, journalists need to track this closely. Already, SPJ Oregon/SW Washington has heard several anecdotes in the last year about abuse of executive sessions to unlawfully keep the public’s business from the public. The anecdotes concern instances in which quorums of elected officials have secretly discussed contracts, public relations strategy, and just general griping— none of which had statutory justification. In at least one instance, journalists have taken action to correct the abuse. But if journalists lose any access to these sessions, restricting the ability to monitor them, it could further jeopardize the integrity of the law.
Check, please · 3 August 08
A public records request made by a Cave Junction man could save him money on fees he owes the city. The Illinois Valley News reports that Holger T. Sommer, who appealed a Cave Junction land use decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals and lost, wants to see the bills from the city’s attorney. Sommer may be asked to pay $7,600 toward the cost of fighting him in court, a sum he finds unbelievable for “a small motion.” Apparently Sommer has already paid the city of Cave Junction $7,936 for a previously failed land use appeal. He’s hoping a little sleuthing might cut his costs.
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