Every year, many newspaper thieves go unpunished because local and campus authorities cannot locate a suspect, or because they choose not to investigate the incident.
Tag: Fall 2004
Commercial radio station could bump student station off the air
WASHINGTON
Private university's police refuse to release records
The Washington University Police Department told Student Life that because it is an agency of the private university, it is not required to follow the Missouri Sunshine Law.In a letter to editor in chief Jonathan Greenberger, a university official stated, “Washington University ...is not a ‘public governmental body.’ Therefore, the University is not subject to the Missouri Sunshine Law and other laws expressly applicable to public bodies, and the reports you seek are not open to public inspection,” Student Life reported.
What records should I request?
Experts say auditors must be sure that the requested records are public records.
Mont. ruling opens meetings of high-level college officials
In a 5-2 decision, the Montana Supreme Court found that the officials’ closed-door discussions of university policy and other matters violated requirements for public meetings in the state constitution.
Minn. court shines light on presidential searches
In a 4-2 decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court on July 15 ordered the public university's board of regents to reveal information about candidates interviewed during the 2002 search. The Supreme Court upheld rulings in two lower courts.
It's a jungle out there
Georgia Dunn was not surprised when she learned that Ohio school districtsperformed poorly in an Ohio Coalition for Open Government study gaugingcompliance of the state’s open-records law.
The audit’sresults, released in June, showed school districts released records the same dayor the next less than 30 percent of the time -- the lowest rate of any typeof public body included in the statewide audit.
Dunn, Ohio JournalismEducation Association state director, said compliance with open-records laws hasnot been a high priority for schools.
Kan. adviser fights removal by suing
Courts have consistently ruled that media advisers at public colleges cannot exert any editorial control on student publications. However, Johnson was criticized for content in the newspaper that he had no direct control over.
Editors sue student council for closed meetings
The Mirror’s former editor in chief Jessica Perciante, current editor in chief Heath Urie and current managing editor Christopher Marcheso allege that the university’s Student Representative Council and its president, Steve Gustafson, knowingly violated state open-meetings laws when they conducted closed-door meetings on Sept. 24, 2003, Nov. 19, 2003, and Feb. 4, 2004.
'Sunshine' forecast for La. minors
When a 16-year-old Michael Wayne Barker requested records from his school district about computer- and technology-related purchases, he had no intention to start a yearlong journey to change state open-records laws -- he just wanted to make a few money-saving suggestions.