FOIFT joins transparency, news media groups in court briefs to protect journalists
The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas is working with other open government and news media organizations in filing briefs in federal court cases aimed at ensuring newsgathering rights. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Texas Association of Broadcasters and more than two dozen other groups, including FOIFT, are part of an amicus brief filed this month urging a federal appeals court to uphold a lower court's [...]
VIDEOS: FOIFT State Conference 2022
The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas state conference Sept. 29, 2022, in Austin featured expert panelists and lively discussions. Watch videos from the conference sessions and luncheon program by clicking the links below. Session 1: The First Amendment and public schools: Today’s challenges https://youtu.be/LRbND_Tu2Ec Session 2: A fresh look at Texas transparency https://youtu.be/8kLRW3b5WrM Luncheon keynote panel: State Rep. Todd Hunter and Sen. Nathan Johnson, moderated by Josh Hinkle of [...]
Scholarship honors Ralph Langer, longtime FOI Foundation president and news executive
For Immediate Release Sept. 29, 2022 Scholarship honors Ralph Langer, longtime FOI Foundation president and news executive AUSTIN – The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas announced Thursday the creation of a journalism scholarship honoring Ralph Langer, a guiding light as the foundation became the state’s leading voice on transparency and the First Amendment. The $5,000 scholarship will be awarded in early 2023 to a journalism or photojournalism undergraduate student [...]
KXAN and Corpus Christi Caller-Times win 2022 Spirit of FOI Awards
For Immediate Release Sept. 29, 2022 KXAN and Corpus Christi Caller-Times win 2022 Spirit of FOI Awards AUSTIN – Two Texas news organizations that scrutinized government programs using transparency laws and in-depth analysis have won this year’s Spirit of FOI Awards presented by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. KXAN in Austin and the Corpus Christi Caller-Times were honored Thursday at the FOI Foundation’s state conference in Austin. The [...]
FOI Column: Times of trouble remind us Texas open government laws are here for everyone
By Kelley Shannon Across the state, Texans are keeping a closer eye on their government. They’re asking questions and demanding information. There’s a renewed awareness of our transparency laws. Times of trouble can remind us all that the people have a right to know, and Texas certainly has been enduring months of difficulty following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Parents, community residents, journalists and others want [...]
Veteran journalist and FOI proponent Ross Ramsey to receive James Madison Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 30, 2022 Veteran journalist and FOI proponent Ross Ramsey to receive James Madison Award AUSTIN – Ross Ramsey, a Texas journalist for more than 40 years and longtime champion of the people’s right to know, will be honored with the prestigious James Madison Award. The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas bestows the award on those who demonstrate outstanding commitment to the principles of the First [...]
FOI Foundation of Texas state conference set for Sept. 29
AUSTIN - Transparency issues surrounding the Uvalde mass shooting, First Amendment rights in school libraries and journalism classrooms and news leaders' and legislators' views on the current open government landscape are the focus of the upcoming FOI Foundation state conference, "New Takes on Texas Transparency." The event will be Thursday, Sept. 29, at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, 1900 University Ave., in Austin. Individual tickets and sponsorships are available [...]
Katy ISD police ‘investigated’ a library book after complaint alleged it was ‘harmful to minors’
By Hannah Dellinger Houston Chronicle Originally published Aug. 23, 2022 A Katy ISD police officer temporarily removed a copy of a book from a high school library last month as part of an investigation after a woman filed a criminal complaint alleging the district was providing “harmful” material to minors. The book, “Flamer,” by Mike Curato, had been formally reviewed by a committee and deemed appropriate for high school students [...]
Coalition of news organizations sues Texas DPS over withheld records on Uvalde shooting
By Zach Despart The Texas Tribune Originally published Aug. 1, 2022 More than a dozen news organizations filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Public Safety on Monday, accusing the agency of unlawfully withholding public records related to the May school shooting in Uvalde. The organizations — which include The Texas Tribune and its partner ProPublica and other local, state and national newsrooms — have each filed requests under [...]
Bexar County, city of Elmendorf fight to keep body cam footage of police killing secret
By Paul Flahive Texas Public Radio Originally published July 25, 2022 Two years ago, Bexar County Sheriff’s deputy Brandin Moran killed Jesus Benito Garcia in a rain of gunfire while a sergeant with the Elmendorf Police Department looked on. TPR requested body cam footage for both officers in an attempt to answer questions around Moran’s use of deadly force and the significant differences in narratives between Garcia’s family and law [...]
AG Ken Paxton’s office weighs whether to keep Uvalde records secret
By Caroline Ghisolfi Austin American-Statesman Originally published July 15, 2022 Newsrooms across the country are waiting on the Texas attorney general’s office to decide if records that could reveal crucial information about law enforcement’s botched response to the Uvalde school shooting should be released. But if the office's track record with such cases is any indication, there could be little chance that many of the records will be released any [...]
Austin American-Statesman and KVUE publish full video from Uvalde mass shooing
By Manny Garcia Austin American-Statesman Editor Originally published July 12, 2022 The Uvalde mass shooting at Robb Elementary School happened on May 24, seven weeks ago. Here is the video from the tragedy for transparency and a column by Austin American-Statesman editor Manny Garcia on why his newspaper and KVUE decided to publish the footage. Authorities could have easily released it already, Garcia notes. We have to bear witness to [...]
Tarrant Appraisal District Board violated open meetings act by locking doors, attorney says
By Sandra Sadek Fort Worth Report Originally published June 30, 2022 Tarrant County residents’ frustrations with property tax appraisals boiled to the surface June 30 when so many people showed up that officials locked the doors to a public meeting. ... Joe Larsen, a media attorney and a Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas board member, said the meeting was a violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act because a [...]
FOI Foundation statement demanding transparency in Uvalde shooting investigation
June 22, 2022 Statement from Kelley Shannon, executive director of Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, urging transparency in Uvalde mass shooting investigation: The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas continues to urge law enforcement and other government officials at all levels – school, city, county, state and federal – to promptly release critical information related to the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Uvalde [...]
In Texas, a legal loophole may block access to Uvalde shooting records
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 [...]
Texas agencies fight releasing records that could clarify Uvalde school shooting response
By Lexi Churchill ProPublica co-published with The Texas Tribune June 15, 2022 A growing list of state and local officials are fighting the release of records that could help bring clarity to how the emergency response unfolded during last month’s deadly shooting in Uvalde. The governor’s office strayed from that broader opposition Monday, granting a request under the Texas Public Information Act from a Houston television station that sought the [...]
FOI Foundation of Texas to hold Open Government Seminars in San Antonio, Edinburg
By Kelley Shannon Executive Director Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas Perhaps you’ve heard the saying that information is power. It’s a fundamental principle in the founding of our nation. James Madison, pivotal in writing and ratifying the U.S. Constitution, spoke of the importance of information – of the knowledge people need to govern themselves. The “advancement and diffusion of knowledge” is the only true guardian of liberty, Madison warned. [...]
Wuhan lab can delete data in ‘explosive’ legal agreement with Texas lab
By Emily Kopp U.S. Right to Know April 20, 2022 The Wuhan Institute of Virology has the right to ask a partnering lab in the U.S. to destroy all records of their work, according to a legal document obtained by U.S. Right to Know. A memorandum of understanding between the Wuhan lab and the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch states that each lab can ask [...]
Federal judge rules Texas drone law violates First Amendment
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.
At the root of democracy: Free flow of information
By Kelley Shannon Executive Director Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas As Ukrainians fight and die for democracy, Russia is arresting its own citizens who are protesting the war and threatening prison for journalists who report the truth. The attempt to crush a democratic government and stop the flow of information comes as American news organizations and transparency advocates observe Sunshine Week from March 13-19, a time for highlighting government [...]