Texas Legislature

By David Martin Davies Texas Public Radio Originally aired and published June 14, 2022 Since the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, officials have given out contradictory information. To get the facts, reporters often turn to public information, such as 911 calls, police dispatch recordings and body cameras. But in Texas, those records are tough to obtain. As Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies reports, the state can invoke something called the dead suspect loophole. Read or listen to the full story here.

Federal Judge Robert Pitman struck down Texas' drone photography law, ruling it violates the First Amendment. The law prevented journalists from gathering news. As attorney Jim Hemphill, an FOI Foundation of Texas board member, explains in this article by Alicia Calzada, the decision confirms drone photography is "an integral tool in 21st-Century journalism.” Read Calzada's full article here, published by the National Press Photographers Association, the plaintiff in the lawsuit.