The Art of Access: Strategies for getting public records to improve your reporting and life

Stretched thin with daily stories, Web postings, and extra responsibilities? Feel like you can’t do the kind of depth reporting you want? Or maybe you just want to improve your reporting skills and bolster your already stellar stories? Then make sure to attend this special session on strategies for acquiring public records by Society of Professional Journalist Freedom of Information Committee Chairman David Cuillier.

When: Tuesday, May 11 | 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Where: Murphy Hall Room 100 | University of Minnesota | 206 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 [Parking info]

Cost: Cost: $10 (SPJ Members) | $15 (non-members)

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What: Annual FOI Day Celebration

When: Tuesday, March 16 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Where: Minneapolis Central Library

This event is free and open to the public.

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson will deliver the keynote speech and Reed Anfinson, publisher of the Swift County Monitor-News, will receive the 2010 John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award.    More »

The Minnesota News Council congratulates long-time board and council member Reed Anfinson on receiving the 2010 John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award.

The Minnesota Coalition on Government Information (MnCOGI) announced Feb. 8 that Reed Anfinson, publisher of the Swift County Monitor-News, will receive the 2010 John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award.    Anfinson will be honored at the annual Freedom of Information Day recognition event, on Tuesday, March 16, noon-1:00 at the Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. More »

Minnesota Pro Chapter
Society of Professional Journalists

Minneapolis (Aug. 29, 2008) – Police confiscating reporting equipment, prohibiting journalists from covering news events, and hassling photographers are definite warning signs as we head into the Republican National Convention. The Society of Professional Journalists is discouraged to learn of such tactics recently in the name of public safety. We hope these are isolated missteps by local law enforcement officials before the big event arrives and police have more important matters to attend to.

Three out-of-town citizen journalists, here to document events happening outside the Xcel Energy Center, had their belongings–including cameras and notebooks–confiscated by Minneapolis police while in Northeast Minneapolis.  Police claim the three were trespassing, but no charges have yet been filed. The three who where detained maintain there was no such trespassing and their interaction with police was an attempt to intimidate them because the group they represent has documented police abuse in the past. More »