Open to New England Reporters, Editors and Producers; Deadline July 24
The New England First Amendment Coalition will host its 16th annual investigative journalism institute from Sept. 18-20 at Boston University’s College of Communication.
Named after the late trail-blazing Boston Globe journalist, the Gloria L. Negri First Amendment Institute (formerly the New England First Amendment Institute) is an intensive training program on freedom of information law and investigative reporting techniques.
The Institute is offered each year tuition-free and exclusively to 25 working New England journalists and a select group of student journalists from local colleges and universities. Nearly 400 journalists from 100 local news organizations have benefited from the program since it began in 2011.
The deadline to apply is July 24. Application materials can be obtained here.
View video to learn more about the Negri Institute.
Speakers and faculty for this year’s Institute will be announced in the coming months. Previous speakers and faculty — among them multiple Pulitzer Prize and Emmy award winners — include:
Eric Meyer, publisher of the Marion County Record; Sisi Wei, editor-in-chief at The Markup; Mark Walker of The New York Times; NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer; Tracy Jan of The Washington Post; Astead Herndon of The New York Times; Stephanie McCrummen and Scott Higham of The Washington Post; Terence Smith, contributing columnist for the Capital Gazette (Annapolis, Md.); David Barboza of The New York Times; Pulitzer Prize winner Carol Leonnig of The Washington Post; ESPN’s Don Van Natta, Jr.; the 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning Spotlight Team from The Boston Globe; as well as Anna Schecter, a Peabody Award winning producer for NBC; Cindy Galli of ABC News; and Bill Buzenberg, former executive director of the Center for Public Integrity.
Fellows learn the latest investigative and database reporting techniques, state-specific public records and open meeting laws, and how to best obtain documents through the federal Freedom of Information Act, among other skills.
This year’s institute is made possible by the generosity of the Estate of Gloria L. Negri, the Academy of New England Journalists, the Rhode Island Foundation and Boston University.
NEFAC is the region’s leading defender of the First Amendment and open government. The coalition began 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 coalition is funded through contributions made by those who value the First Amendment and who strive to keep government accountable. Please make a donation here.
NEFAC appreciates the support of all its donors and contributors. In particular, we would like to recognize the Estate of Gloria L. Negri, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the following Leadership Circle donors: Rhode Island Foundation, The Boston Globe, Paul and Ann Sagan, The Harbus Foundation, Boston University and the Robertson Foundation. Major Supporters of NEFAC’s work include Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Gravel & Shea PC, the Academy of New England Journalists, and Truro News.