In recognition of Sunshine Week, the New England First Amendment Coalition, the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communication and the Granite State News Collaborative will host a free, hands-on workshop focused on the state’s Right-to-Know and public records laws.
Sunshine Week is a national, nonpartisan collaboration among groups in journalism, civic, education, government, and private sectors that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government.
Join us from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on March 19 at the NH Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. Led by journalists and community experts, this interactive session is designed to help residents better understand how open government works and how to access public information themselves. Registration required.
Participants will learn:
- The basics of New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know laws.
- How to draft a public records request.
- How journalists locate and use public records.
- How advocacy plays a role in government transparency.
There is no cost to attend. Please bring a laptop or mobile device. We also recommend you review these Right-to-Know resources prior to attending.
Instructors
Anna Brown is Executive Director for Citizens Count and has been with the organization since 2011. She is responsible for tracking, analyzing, and summarizing the roughly 2,000 bills and 1,000 candidates that move through New Hampshire every two years. She gathers legislators’ voting records as well as a wide variety of hard-to-find metrics on each elected official’s work in office, such as partisanship. Brown has her hand on the pulse of the New Hampshire General Court in a way that few others do, which makes her a valuable resource on our team. She is a familiar voice on New Hampshire’s radio waves, serving as a go-to policy expert for NHPR, NH PBS and other media outlets. She received her master’s degree in justice studies from the University of New Hampshire.
Lau Guzmán covers Latino and immigrant communities at NHPR. Her goal is to report stories for New Hampshire’s growing population of first and second generation immigrants, particularly folks from Latin America and the Caribbean. She hopes to lower barriers to news for Spanish speakers by contributing to our WhatsApp news service,¿Qué Hay de Nuevo, New Hampshire? She also hopes to keep the community informed with the latest on how to handle changing policy on the subjects they most care about — immigration, education, housing and health.
Annmarie Timmins writes about youth and education in New Hampshire for NHPR. She believes the experts for a news story are the people living the issue being written about so she focuses on how students and their families are navigating challenges in their daily lives — including childcare, bullying, academic demands and more. Timmins is also interested in exploring how changes in technology and funding are affecting education in New Hampshire, as well as what young Granite Staters are thinking about their experiences in school and life after graduation.
NEFAC was formed in 2006 to advance and protect the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment, including the principle of the public’s right to know. We’re a broad-based organization of people who believe in the power of an informed democratic society. Our members include lawyers, journalists, historians, academics, and private citizens.
The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications promotes and defends the First Amendment and fosters interest, integrity, and excellence in journalism and other forms of communication by educating people from all backgrounds and providing them with the tools and knowledge to improve their skills. Learn more about the School at loebschool.org.
The Granite State News Collaborative is a statewide nonprofit network of more than 20 local news, education, and community organizations working together to strengthen journalism in New Hampshire. We share stories, data, training, and resources to expand coverage of critical issues like healthcare, housing, education, and civic life. Through innovative projects such as collaborative investigations, community journalism programs, and public education campaigns, GSNC’s mission is to ensure all Granite Staters have access to trusted, local news that reflects and serves their communities.