From Boise to Sioux Falls, student-run college radio stations are going on the auction block, a casualty of tight campus budgets that at times is rationalized by reference to declining listenership and the availability of online-only broadcasting alternatives.If your college radio station gets sold without advance warning -- especially if you are at a state institution that must obey public-records laws -- then it's time to go into document-gathering mode.First, find out whether your state has a law governing colleges and universities that requires competitive bidding before valuable state assets, such as the license and equipment of a radio station, are sold.
Author: Frank LoMonte
Gym, tan … FOIA? Jersey lifts secrecy of government lobbying groups — for Shore.
New Jersey's Supreme Court has struck a decisive blow for the transparency of government spending, ruling that lobbying groups created by government agencies cannot hide behind their "private" corporate status to conceal their records.The Aug.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Who’s throwing a fiesta at taxpayer expense? FOI tips for covering the college bowl game.
It's college football season again, and the start of competition should also be the kickoff for sports journalists to start asking questions about the business side of major college sports.In Arizona, the Fiesta Bowl -- one of four major bowls that alternate hosting college football's Division I national championship -- is facing tough questions about its finances thanks to some aggressive public-records crunching by the Arizona Republic newspaper.Bowl organizers already were under scrutiny by Arizona's attorney general, who is looking at whether the bowl's organizing committee broke any laws by spending money on expensive gifts and entertainment for VIP's and on campaign contributions.
Why Time Magazine is wrong about New Jersey’s cyberbullying law
In the latest edition of Time Magazine, author and Yale law professor Adam Cohen presents an overly simplistic portrayal of New Jersey's new "cyberbullying" law as a "model" for the nation.Cohen's method of analysis, which typifies the reasoning of many state legislators, can be reduced to this: "Bullying is a big problem.
Hey kids, want greater First Amendment rights? Try getting arrested!
It's been something of a rueful joke in the free-speech community that the First Amendment rights of students in public schools are on par with those of criminals.As it turns out, the joke is increasingly unfunny -- because the rights of the criminals may very well be superior.A pair of recent U.S.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Is your school passing or flunking? Accreditation reports grade the graders.
At least once a decade, virtually every degree-granting college -- public or private -- goes through the equivalent of a full-body MRI scan: Accreditation by a regional nonprofit inspection team.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: School, college legal bills can reveal more than just attorneys’ fees
People enjoy bashing lawyers for the handsome hourly rates they charge, and stories about how much government agencies spend on legal fees can give the lawyer-bashers endless hours of "$250 an hour for WHAT?" enjoyment.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: College activity fees add hundreds to tuition bills; state laws may offer a peek under the hood
Student activity fees can be like those last-minute mystery charges tacked onto the bottom line when you're buying a new car.
Fighting censorship: A life-changing decision, vindicated by history
This item jumped out from today's New Orleans newspaper, a remembrance of a journalist and civic leader whose trajectory was charted by a principled decision made as a college student editor.As the Times-Picayune describes, Carl Corbin was one of seven Louisiana State University journalism students, including three editors at The Reveille newspaper, who faced discipline for standing up to Gov.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Stun-gun death of Cincinnati college student invites questions to your local campus police
Campus police often are secretive with information, but there are times when public records are a matter of life and death.