NEFAC’s First Amendment and the Free Press program highlights our constitutional freedoms and the democratic role journalism plays in our country.
We discuss how the First Amendment works and how local newsrooms can best meet their obligations to the communities they cover.
In addition to providing general First Amendment education, this program brings reporters, academics and legal scholars onto campuses and into the region’s classrooms and community centers to pull back the newsroom curtain and explain how journalism works. We also provide classroom lessons on a range of First Amendment and journalism topics. Email NEFAC’s Justin Silverman at justin@nefac.org to schedule a guest speaker for your event.
Here’s a sampling of our audiences during previous years:
2023 | 2024
NEFAC President Gregory V. Sullivan explains the importance of First Amendment education and how our coalition is reaching community members throughout the region and the world.
RECENT AND UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
Jan. 29 | Online | First Amendment in the 21st Century
Feb. 4 | South Shore Charter School | First Amendment
Feb. 12 | Online | What the Government Is Up To and Your Right to Know
March 6 | Online | Your Right to Criticize: Revisiting New York Times v. Sullivan
March 28-29 | Portland, Maine | New England Newspaper & Press Convention | Fighting for Access: FOI Laws
April 29 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | First Amendment and the Free Press
May 2 | Boston University | New England Scholastic Press Association Conference
May 8 | WorldBoston – Peru | Open Government and Journalism
May 14 | Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications | Saint Anselm College | First Amendment Law: Defamation and Privacy
May 20 | MassLive | Worcester, Mass.
June 5 | WorldBoston | Open Government and Journalism
June 22 | Simmons University | New England High School Journalism Collaborative
Sept. 17 | Community College of Rhode Island | First Amendment and the Free Press
Oct. 6 | Boston University | First Amendment and the Free Press
Oct. 27 | Simmons University | First Amendment and the Free Press
Oct. 28 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | First Amendment and the Free Press
Nov. 13 | Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Fall Conference | Framingham, Mass.