The Open Meeting Law Advisory Commission is meeting Monday, Oct. 25, at 9 a.m., at the Office of the Attorney General, One Ashburton Place, 21st Floor, Boston. The AG has posted the notice of meeting and meeting agenda. The meeting is open to the public.
The Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association holds one of the five seats on the commission.
The Judiciary/Media Committee of the Supreme Judicial Court is considering revisions to the Guidelines on the Public’s Right of Access to Judicial Proceedings and Records. In order to evaluate whether the guidelines should be amended or expanded and what other initiatives the committee might wish to pursue, the committee is asking members of the news media to complete a survey on media access to the courts.
As a member of the Judiciary/Media Committee, the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association is helping to disseminate the survey and compile its results. If you are a journalist who covers the Massachusetts courts, please take a moment to complete the survey and return it promptly to the address indicated.
You can download the survey here, in Microsoft Word format: Survey of Media Access to Courts.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today issued its ruling in a key open meeting law case, District Attorney for the Northern District v. School Committee of Wayland. The SJC ruled that the School Committee violated the law when it met in a closed session to discuss the performance evaluation of Wayland’s superintendent of schools and when it exchanged private e-mails regarding the evaluation in advance of the meeting.
In so ruling, the SJC sides with the position taken by the district attorney and by the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association in an amicus brief it filed in the case. The case was initiated by a complaint filed by a reporter for the Wayland Town Crier.
The ruling is significant for three reasons:
The School Committee had argued that the evaluation was a prelude to contract negotiations with the superintendent and therefore was exempt as a strategy session in preparation for negotiations. But the SJC said that there was no evidence that the committee discussed strategy.
This is an important ruling for affirming the right of the public to know how their local officials are performing in their jobs. The public has a right to know when a local official is performing well or performing poorly.
Please join us for the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009, at Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston.
Our annual luncheon will feature an address by Eric S. Rosengren, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Mr. Rosengren will speak about the economic climate in the region and the nation.
Our morning panel, “Protecting Your Newspaper in the Digital Age,” will focus on what newspapers need to know about protecting their content, brands and businesses online. A panel of speakers will address common questions about copyright and trademark law, offer advice on how to protect against infringement, and discuss whether you should have a written social-media policy for your newsrooms.
The day’s agenda is as follows:
The meeting is open to anyone who would like to attend. Registration, which includes lunch, is $75 for MNPA member newspapers and their employees, $85 for all others.
To register, fill out this form (PDF) and send it, along with your payment to the address shown on the form.
If you have any questions about the event, please address them to MNPA Executive Director Robert Ambrogi, (978) 546-3400 or info@masspublishers.org.
Coverage of this week’s legislative hearing on public notices: Gov’s ad plan riles newspaper group. See also this editorial from Gatehouse News: Don’t reduce access to state contract information.
Oreste P. D’Arconte, publisher of The Sun Chronicle, was elected president of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association during the group’s annual meeting Dec. 5 at Anthony’s Pier 4. D’Arconte has been publisher since 1998 and has been with The Sun Chronicle and a predecessor, The Attleboro Sun, for 39 years. He succeeds Larry McDermott, publisher and chief executive officer of The Republican in Springfield.
Elected with D’Arconte were:
Retired Supreme Court justice John M. Greaney, now with Suffolk Law School, was the luncheon speaker.
In addition to the MNPA, D’Arconte is board secretary for the New England Press Association and chairman of its annual convention in February, and is contest committee chairman for the New England Newspaper Association.
Oreste P. D’Arconte, publisher of The Sun Chronicle, was elected president of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association during the group’s annual meeting Dec. 5 at Anthony’s Pier 4. D’Arconte has been publisher since 1998 and has been with The Sun Chronicle and a predecessor, The Attleboro Sun, for 39 years. He succeeds Larry McDermott, publisher and chief executive officer of The Republican in Springfield.
Elected with D’Arconte were:
Retired Supreme Court justice John M. Greaney, now with Suffolk Law School, was the luncheon speaker.
In addition to the MNPA, D’Arconte is board secretary for the New England Press Association and chairman of its annual convention in February, and is contest committee chairman for the New England Newspaper Association.
The annual meeting of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association is this Friday, Dec. 5. There is still time to register and you can do so using the 2008 registration form.
Our luncheon speaker is retiring Supreme Judicial Court Justice John M. Greaney, longtime cochair of the SJC’s Judiciary-Media Committee. Today is his last day at the court before he joins the Suffolk University Law School faculty. (See Saturday’s profile of Justice Greaney by AP writer Denise Lavoie.)
Our morning panel will explore the legal issues surrounding blogs and comments on newspaper-hosted Web sites. Three experts will share their insights and advice:
The day begins with the MNPA’s annual business meeting at 10 a.m., followed by the panel discussion at 11, a reception at noon and the luncheon at 12:30. The event is being held at Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston.
Questions? E-mail info@masspublishers.org.
The Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association is honored to announce that retiring Supreme Judicial Court Justice John M. Greaney will address its annual luncheon Dec. 5. Justice Greaney, who retires from the bench Nov. 30, has played a special role in helping to improve the relationship between the courts and the news media, having been co-chair of the SJC’s Judiciary-Media Committee since its establishment in 1995. Upon his retirement, Justice Greaney will join the Suffolk University Law School faculty and serve as director of the Macaronis Institute for Trial and Appellate Advocacy housed at Suffolk.
As a justice on the highest appellate court in Massachusetts, Justice Greaney authored numerous significant opinions on a range of important issues, including several of importance to the news media. He served in the military and engaged in private practice before joining the judiciary in 1974 as the presiding judge of the Hampden County Housing Court. He later served as a justice the Massachusetts Superior Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court. He was chief justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court before his appointment to the Supreme Judicial Court.
He has taught law at Western New England College Law School and Westfield State College; lectured and written extensively for continuing legal and judicial education programs; edited books on the law of deceptive and unfair practices and appellate practice and procedure; and co-authored books on civil jury instructions and summary judgment.
Justice Greaney received his bachelor’s degree with honors in 1960 from the College of the Holy Cross, and his law degree in 1963 from New York University School of Law, where he was a Root-Tilden scholar and chairperson of the Annual Survey of American Law. He has received the Robert B. MacKay and Public Service Awards from N.Y.U. School of Law, the Haskell Cohn Distinguished Judicial Service Award from the Boston Bar Association, Western New England College’s Presidential Medallion, and the Massachusetts Judges Conference President’s Award for Judicial Excellence.
The annual luncheon begins at noon on Dec. 5 at Anthony’s Pier Four in Boston. Prior to the luncheon at 11 a.m., a panel of lawyers and editors will discuss the legal and practical issues surrounding blogs and comments on newspaper-hosted Web sites. To register for the meeting, download the 2008 registration form.
From the March 23 Cape Cod Times, Sunshine law could see brighter days:
“When someone complains that a local official has violated the state’s Open Meeting Law, it’s up to the district attorney to investigate.
“That leads to different interpretations of the law all over the state, and there is a lack of enforcement provisions built in, said Robert Ambrogi, executive director of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers’ Association.”
Read the rest of the story.