Save the Date: 2011 MNPA Annual Meeting Dec. 1

Block out your calendars for the MNPA’s annual meeting and luncheon on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, at Anthony’s Pier Four in Boston. The luncheon offers an opportunity to meet with newspaper publishers, editors, reporters and business staff from throughout Massachusetts.

The luncheon begins with a reception at noon. Earlier in the day, at 10 a.m., the MNPA will hold its annual business meeting and election of officers and members. At 11 a.m., there will be a panel discussion on a timely topic of interest.

Registration materials will be available in the fall. Watch this site for further information. Meanwhile, if you have any questions about the event, please address them to MNPA Executive Director Robert Ambrogi, (978) 546-3400 or info@masspublishers.org.

MNPA Joins SJC Amicus Brief to Unseal Inquest Materials in Amy Bishop Murder Case

The Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association has joined with Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, the Citizen Media Law Project and a coalition of New England media and advocacy organizations to file an amicus curiae brief to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court seeking to unseal inquest documents in the Amy Bishop case. After a Superior Court judge refused the Boston Globe’s request to unseal the documents, the newspaper filed this appeal.

Bishop was a professor at the University of Alabama who allegedly shot and kiled three of her colleagues during a faculty meeting in 2010. The shooting sparked a new inquiry by prosecutors in Massachusetts into the 1986 fatal shooting of Bishop’s brother Seth. The Norfolk County district attorney initiated an inquest to investigate the shooting, which resulted in a grand jury issuing an indictment against Bishop for first-degree murder.

After the inquest was concluded, the Globe sought release of the inquest transcript and report. The Superior Court denied the request.

A more detailed description of the case and the legal issues it involves is available from the Citizen Media Law Project. A PDF copy of the brief is available for download.

Gov. Patrick to Speak at MNPA Annual Meeting

Gov. Deval Patrick, who was recently elected to his second term as Massachusetts governor, will be the featured speaker at the annual luncheon of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association Dec. 2.

This will be Gov. Patrick’s second appearance at the luncheon. Shortly after his election in 2006, the then governor-elect addressed the annual luncheon. It was his first major public appearance after the election.

The Dec. 2 luncheon takes place in conjunction with the MNPA’s annual meeting. The luncheon, which is held at Anthony’s Pier Four in Boston, is open to anyone who registers.

For information on registering, see the 2010 Annual Meeting page.

Registration Now Open for MNPA Annual Meeting

Registration is now open for the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010, at Anthony’s Pier Four in Boston.

Follow this link to download the registration form (PDF).

The luncheon is your annual opportunity to meet with newspaper publishers, editors, reporters and business staff from throughout Massachusetts. As in past years, the luncheon will feature a prominent speaker, good food and good company.

The day’s agenda is as follows:

  • 10 a.m.: Annual business meeting and election of 2010 officers and executive board.
  • 11 a.m.:  Panel discussion: “The New Open Meeting Law: Change for the Better?”
  • Noon:  Networking reception (open bar).
  • 12:30 p.m.: Luncheon and keynote.
  • 1:30 p.m. Adjourn.

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.

If you have any questions about the event, please address them to MNPA Executive Director Robert Ambrogi, (978) 546-3400 or info@masspublishers.org.

We look forward to seeing you on Dec. 2.

MNPA Annual Meeting and Luncheon Set for Dec. 2

Mark your calendars for the MNPA’s annual meeting and luncheon on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010, at Anthony’s Pier Four in Boston.

The luncheon is your annual opportunity to meet with newspaper publishers, editors, reporters and business staff from throughout Massachusetts. As in past years, the luncheon will feature a speaker drawn straight from your newspapers’ headlines. The luncheon begins at noon.

At 11 a.m., a panel discussion will considers the pros and cons of the state’s new open meeting law, which took effect July 1. The panel will include the director of the Attorney General’s new Division of Open Government, a representative of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and a reporter who has experience covering meetings under the new law.

The MNPA’s annual business meeting and election of officers and members begins at 10 a.m. Coffee and muffins will be served.

Registration materials will be sent shortly. The meeting is open to anyone who would like to attend. We hope to see you there and urge you to invite your colleagues to join you.

If you have any questions about the event, please address them to MNPA Executive Director Robert Ambrogi, (978) 546-3400 or info@masspublishers.org.

New Open Meeting Law Commission Sets First Meeting

A representative of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association will be among those in attendance when the new Massachusetts Open Meeting Law Advisory Commission holds its first meeting this Friday, Sept. 10, at 10 a.m., at the Attorney General’s office in Boston. The AG’s office posted the meeting notice and agenda today.

The five-member commission was created as part of the new open meeting law that took effect July 1. The MNPA is expressly authorized to designate one of the five members. MNPA President Oreste D’Arconte named executive director Robert Ambrogi to fill the seat.

Section 19(c) of the law says:

There shall be an open meeting law advisory commission. The commission shall consist of 5 members, 2 of whom shall be the chairmen of the joint committee on state administration and regulatory oversight, 1 of whom shall be the president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association or his designee, 1 of whom shall be the president of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association or his designee, and 1 of whom shall be the attorney general or his designee.

The commission shall review issues relative to the open meeting law and shall submit to the attorney general recommendations for changes to the regulations, trainings, and educational initiatives relative to the open meeting law as it deems necessary and appropriate.

The law also provides that the AG is to report to the commission annually on the enforcement of the open meeting law.

Survey of Media Access to Mass. Courts

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.

SJC Issues Key Open Meeting Ruling

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:

  • It affirms that discussions of a government employee’s “professional competence” must be conducted in public.
  • It affirms that an exchange of e-mails among the members of a public body can constitute “deliberation” and therefore violate the open meeting law.
  • It clarifies a seeming conflict between the open meeting law and the public records law. While the discussion of an employee’s performance evaluation must take place in an open meeting, once the evaluation is reduced to a written evaluation document, that document need not be made public.

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.

Federal Reserve President to Keynote Annual Meeting

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:

  • 10 a.m.   Annual business meeting and election of 2010 officers and executive board.
  • 11 a.m. Panel discussion: “Protecting Your Newspaper in the Digital Age”
  • Noon Networking reception (open bar)
  • 12:30 p.m. Luncheon and keynote.
  • 1:30 p.m. Adjourn.

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.