Volume 9 Number 3
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Bulletin Spring 2004
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Citing Family Members’ Privacy, Supreme Court Allows Government to Withhold Foster Photos
The United States Supreme Court has rejected a narrow reading of the federal Freedom of Information Act’s personal privacy exemption for law enforcement records, allowing the government to withhold information about deceased persons by invoking the privacy rights of surviving family members.
Information Security Oversight Office Publishes Its Annual Report
Executive branch agencies classified more than 14 million new secrets last year, according to the latest annual report by the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), the agency responsible for the U.S. government’s security classification system.
9-11 Commission Reveals Failure to Communicate
In November 2002, President Bush established the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, or “9-11 Commission.”
Polls Show Support Strong for PATRIOT Act
Opinions regarding the USA PATRIOT Act have been divided along Party lines, but recently the Act has become a focal point of the president’s reelection campaign.
Leak Investigation Turns to White House Staff
In April 2004, the investigation into whether individuals in the Bush administration leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame expanded to include possible charges that the White House has mishandled information related to the investigation.
“Family Privacy” Concerns Result in Ban on Coffin Photos
The unauthorized publication of photos depicting flag-draped coffins carrying the remains of U.S. soldiers has touched off a debate over whether the public has a right to see these images.
ABC’s “Nightline” Honors Iraqi War Dead Despite Protests
On April 30, 2004, in a special expanded version of ABC’s “Nightline,” host Ted Koppel read the names of 721 Americans who have lost their lives in the war with Iraq.
Supreme Court’s Ruling in Favish Prompts Florida Newspapers To Drop Suit Challenging Law Sealing Autopsy Photos
The Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun-Sentinel announced in April that they were dropping their legal challenge to a Florida law barring the public release of autopsy photographs.
U.S. Marshal Orders Reporters to Erase Scalia Speech Tapes
When Antoinette Konz of the Hattiesburg (Mississippi) American and Denise Grones of the Associated Press sat in the front row of the auditorium of Hattiesburg’s Presbyterian Christian High School on April 7, 2004, where U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was about to speak about preserving the Constitution, they hoped their tape recorders would aid them in accurately reconstructing Scalia’s speech when they wrote their stories for their respective news organizations.
The Media and Weapons of Mass Destruction: The New York Times
On May 26, 2004, The New York Times published a “From the Editors” article admitting that many of the newspaper’s articles about Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction had “depended at least in part on information from a circle of Iraqi informants, defectors and exiles bent on ‘regime change’ in Iraq, people whose credibility has come under increasing public debate in recent weeks.”
The Media and Weapons of Mass Destruction: The BBC
On May 29, 2003, reporter Andrew Gilligan stated on BBC’s “Today” program that the British government had “sexed up” an intelligence dossier by claiming Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes.
The Media and the Photos from Abu Ghraib Prison
On April 28, 2004, CBS’s “60 Minutes II” aired controversial photos of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
State Access to Information: Age Restriction on Access to Information in Louisiana Challenged
Prompted by a persistent teenager, a Louisiana legislator has introduced an amendment to the state’s public records laws that would eliminate the requester’s age as a factor in determining whether to release public information.
State Access to Information: Maine Enacts Law Reforming Access to Public Documents
Governor John Baldacci signed a bill on May 11, 2004 making it easier to obtain public records in Maine. The Maine Senate passed the bill just days before in a unanimous vote during the final hours of the legislative session.
State Access to Information: South Carolina Judge Rules that Public Records Used in Criminal Investigation Remain Public
Public records used in criminal prosecutions are not exempt from South Carolina’s open-records law and must remain available to the public, a state circuit court judge ruled in March 2004.
State Access to Information: Kansas Governor Signs New Bill Expanding FOIA Access
On May 17, 2004, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed Senate Bill 552 into law, expanding public access to government records under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA), K.S.A. § 45-215, et seq.
Anti-War Demonstrators Come Under Federal Surveillance
On Feb. 10, 2004, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Iowa withdrew its subpoenas ordering Drake University administrators and antiwar activists to provide information to and appear before a federal grand jury, respectively.
Chicago Media Want Senate Candidate’s Divorce Records
The sealed divorce files of a Republican Senate candidate and his actress ex-wife were the talk of Chicago-area politics in the days leading up to the March 16, 2004 Illinois primary.
19th Annual Silha Lecture Focuses on Journalism Ethics
On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, Geneva Overholser will deliver the Nineteenth Annual Silha Lecture, “High hopes and dire warnings: In search of a credo for today’s journalists.”