FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org After calls for disclosure by the New England First Amendment Coalition and other transparency advocates, the Vermont State Police recently ended more than two weeks of secrecy and provided the name of a teen driver involved in a fatal crash last month. “While the state […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org The New England First Amendment Coalition salutes the staff of The Mercury, a student-run high school newspaper at Bellows Free Academy-St. Albans (Vt.), for recently helping its local school board update the district’s student expression policy. NEFAC, along with the Vermont Press Association, served as […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org Applications are now available for fellowships to the 2019 New England First Amendment Institute (NEFAI). This ninth annual institute will be held from Sept. 22-24 at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. Application materials can be obtained here. All applications must be received no later than […]

At the highest levels of government, the press is denounced as “the enemy of the people,” and media outlets are derided as “fake news.” But we’re fighting back. The New England First Amendment Coalition is the region’s leading advocate for the First Amendment. We fight every day to protect press freedom, enhance access to public […]

Can you name the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment? According to a recent survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, more than a third of Americans are unable to name a single one. That abysmal statistic should worry any democracy-loving citizen. Religion. Speech. Press. Assembly. Petition. Every citizen should know our First […]

NEFAC Supports Effort of WCAX-TV Ownership to Provide Transparency, Reasoning Behind Ruling FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org The Vermont Supreme Court today heard arguments about a sealed Superior Court ruling that addresses the state’s newly enacted reporter’s shield law. Gray Television, Inc., is seeking to unseal the decision which protected […]

Freedom of the press — a cornerstone of American democracy protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution — is under attack. At the highest levels of government, the press is denounced as “the enemy of the people,” and media outlets are derided as “fake news.” This has eroded public trust in the press and […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org The New England First Amendment Coalition denounced today the arrest of a Hearst Connecticut Media reporter during a recent demonstration in Bridgeport, Conn. A Bridgeport Police officer arrested reporter Tara O’Neill last night as she observed from a public sidewalk a gathering to commemorate the […]

Why support the New England First Amendment Coalition? Because freedom of the press is a cornerstone of American democracy protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. And it’s under attack. At the highest levels of government, the press is denounced as “the enemy of the people,” and media are derided as “fake news” outlets. […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org The New England First Amendment Coalition recently argued that a New York fair report privilege protects the publication of unverified allegations that are part of official proceedings, protects reports on non-public official investigations and protects reporting on documents subject, even in part, to government investigation. […]