Journalists from a variety of media and all six New England states will locally, remotely and from Oct. 24-26 at Boston University to learn the latest investigative and database reporting techniques and public records access skills. The fellows chosen for this 15th annual Gloria L. Negri First Amendment Institute reflect today’s diverse news media and come from daily and weekly newspapers, television and radio stations and online publications. Learn more about the 2025 Negri First Amendment Institute.
Local FOI Workshops
Local FOI workshops will be scheduled prior to meeting at Boston University. These workshops will address each state’s respective public records and open meeting laws. Fellows are expected to attend and discuss specific access challenges they are experiencing.
▶ Connecticut
Oct. 10 | 10 a.m.
ACLU of Connecticut
765 Asylum Avenue, Hartford
Dan Barrett | ACLU of Connecticut
Mike Savino | NBC Connecticut
Workshop Materials:
Required Viewing:
▶ Maine
Oct. 7 | 12 p.m.
Preti Flaherty
45 Memorial Circle #401, Augusta
Judith Meyer | MFOIC
Sigmund Schutz | Preti Flaherty
Workshop Materials:
Required Viewing:
▶ Massachusetts
Oct. 15 | 2 p.m.
The Boston Globe
One Exchange Place, Suite 201, Boston
Peter J. Caruso, Sr. | Caruso & Caruso
Laura Crimaldi | The Boston Globe
Workshop Materials:
Required Viewing:
▶ New Hampshire
Oct. 9 | 12 p.m.
ACLU of New Hampshire
18 Low Avenue, Concord
Gilles Bissonnette | ACLU-NH
Annmarie Timmins | NHPR
Workshop Materials:
Required Viewing:
▶ Rhode Island
Nov. 19 | 10 a.m.
Oliverio & Marcaccio LLP
30 Romano Vineyard Way, North Kingstown
Raymond Marcaccio | Oliverio & Marcaccio
Tim White | WPRI-Providence
Required Viewing:
▶ Vermont
Oct. 16 | 10 a.m.
Seven Days
255 So. Champlain Street, Burlington
Courtney Lamdin | Seven Days
Hillary Rich | ACLU-VT
Required Viewing:
Remote Programming
Online programming will be scheduled prior to meeting at Boston University and will be accessible via Zoom.
▶ Meet and Greet
All Fellows
Grab your beverage of choice and join us for a round of Two Truths and Lie. Never played this icebreaker? It’s easy. We’ll all take turns making three statements about ourselves to the group. Two of the statements should be true. The third, a lie. Once you’re done, we’ll all guess which one you made up. It’s an easy and a fun way to get to know each other.
Oct. 1 | 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Zoom Link to Be Provided
Host: Megan Sherman | Westside Events
▶ Introduction to R – Prep Session
Mandatory for Fellows Attending Introduction to R Class
Fellows will have the option of attending either Basic Database Analysis or Introduction to R during the Institute. Those choosing Introduction to R must attend this prep session prior to the Institute.
Oct. 15 | 11:30 a.m. | Zoom Link to Be Provided
Maggie Mulvihill | Boston University
Prep Materials:
Required:
- Install Base R and R Studio prior to class
- Review Introduction to R and Getting to Know the R Environment
- Download “babynames” (.xlsx / .csv) and “Intro to R with Baby Names Data – Student Version“
October 24
5:00 Registration [Hotel Commonwealth – Fenway Ballroom Foyer]
5:30 – 8:30 Dinner Program [Hotel Commonwealth – Fenway Ballroom]
All fellows will be meeting at the Hotel Commonwealth to network and enjoy NEFAC’s annual awards ceremony.
October 25
8:15 – 8:30 Announcements [COM 209]
8:30 – 10:00 Common Pitfalls with FOI Requests and How to Respond [COM 209]
Lau Guzmán | New Hampshire Public Radio
Ryan Kath | NBC10 Boston
Judy Meyer | Maine Freedom of Information Coalition
Moderator: Jenifer McKim | GBH News
10:00 – 10:30 Break
10:30 – 12:00 Effective Sourcing [COM 209]
Cindy Galli | Investigative Reporters & Editors
Jenifer McKim | GBH News
Brad Petrishen | Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Moderator: Meghan Irons | Boston University
Suggested Viewing: (1) How to Diversify Your Sources (2) How to Find People Online (3) How to Interview Hostile Sources
12:00 – 12:30 Break
12:30 – 2:45 Break-Out Classes [Assignments]
Fellows will be attending two separate 60-minute classes with a working lunch provided at 12:30. The first class is 12:30 to 1:30 and the second class is 1:45 to 2:45. Class locations below.
BUSINESS REPORTING [COM 206]
Robert Gavin | The Boston Globe
Required Viewing: (1) Business Reporting 101
CLIMATE [COM 208]
Beth Daley | The Conversation
Required Viewing: (1) Climate Reporting
TRAUMA REPORTING [COM 213]
Naseem Miller | The Journalist’s Resource
Required Viewing: (1) Interviewing Traumatized Sources
EDUCATION [COM 211]
Marina Villeneuve | The Hechinger Report
POLICE REPORTING [COM 215]
Brad Petrishen | Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Suggested Viewing: (1) Access to State Courts (2) Police Misconduct Records
STUDENT JOURNALISM [COM 214]
Meghan Irons | Boston University
2:45 – 3:15 Break
3:15 – 4:45 Introduction to Copyright Law and Newsroom Legal Q/A [COM 209]
Robert Bertsche | Klaris Law
Gregory V. Sullivan | Malloy & Sullivan Lawyers Professional Corporation
Introductions: Justin Silverman | New England First Amendment Coalition
Required Viewing: (1) How to Respond to a Subpoena (2) How to Avoid Libel in Your Reporting (3) How to Balance Newsgathering with Privacy (4) How to Invoke the Fair Report Privilege
Suggested Viewing: (1) HIPAA and Public Records (2) FERPA and Public Records
5:45 – 6:45 Networking [Hotel Commonwealth Fenway Ballroom Foyer]
6:45 – 9:00 (or later) Dinner and Keynote Presentation [Hotel Commonwealth Fenway Ballroom]
Frank Koughan | FRONTLINE
Moderator: Shirley Leung | The Boston Globe
October 26
8:15 – 8:30 Announcements [COM 209]
8:30 – 10:00 How AI Can Support Local Journalism [COM 209]
Nikita Roy | Newsroom Robots Lab
Introduction: Justin Silverman | New England First Amendment Coalition
Laptop Required for this Class. Required Viewing: (1) How Journalists Can Begin Using AI
10:00 – 10:30 Break
10:30 – 12:30 Database Analysis Break-Out Classes [Assignments]
Using database technology to analyze publicly available or FOI-request-won data to understand societal, financial, and economic trends is an important tool for the seasoned reporter.
BASIC DATABASE ANALYSIS [COM 213]
Brooke Williams | Boston University
Andrew Botolino | Boston University (Assistant)
Laptop Required for this Class.
Required Viewing: (1) Class Introduction and Database Basics
Suggested Viewing: (1) Microsoft Excel 101 (2) Microsoft Excel 102 (3) Finding High Quality Data for Stories (4) Data Cleaning 101 (5) Data Cleaning 102 (6) Data Visualization 101
INTRODUCTION TO R [COM 215]
Maggie Mulvihill | Boston University
Akanksha Goyal | Boston University (Assistant)
Dhairya Lalwani | Boston University (Assistant)
Only those who attended the Introduction to R – Prep Session are permitted to attend this lesson. Please download all necessary software and files prior to attending.
12:30 – 2:00 Lunch [COM 209]
1:00 Keynote Speaker
Geeta Anand | VTDigger
Introduction: Gregory V. Sullivan | New England First Amendment Coalition
2:00 – 2:45 Photo/Break [Location TBD]
2:45 – 4:15 Break-Out Classes [Assignments]
CONFRONTATIONAL INTERVIEWS [COM 213]
Jim Hummel | The Hummel Report
WRITING WORKSHOP [COM 215]
Dick Lehr | Boston University
4:15 – 4:30 Break
4:30 – 5:30 Former Fellows Discussion [COM 209]
Grace Ferguson | The New Bedford Light
Chris Shea | Rhode Island Current
Moderator: Justin Silverman | New England First Amendment Coalition
5:30 – 5:45 Concluding Remarks [COM 209]
Justin Silverman | New England First Amendment Coalition