The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) is a
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
public interest organization committed to
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
, more open and
accountable government, and public participation in civic affairs. Founded in 1988, FAC's activities include "test case"
litigation
A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...
, free legal consultations on
First Amendment
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
issues, educational programs, legislative oversight of bills in California affecting access to government and free speech, and
public advocacy. In 2016, lawyer and journalist David Snyder
became the organization's executive director.
History
FAC co-authored and sponsored Proposition 5
the
Freedom of information law (California)#California's Constitutional Sunshine Amendment, Sunshine Amendment to the
California State Constitution, enacted by voters in 2004. FAC since then has enforced Prop. 59, suing Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
to force him to make public his and his staff's calendars of appointments, pressuring state agencies to be more transparent in their decision-making, and filing lawsuits to strengthen existing protections and establish new rights of access.
Recent suits have involved public access to government databases; greater disclosure by
CalPERS
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is an agency in the California executive branch that "manages pension and health benefits for more than 1.5 million California public employees, retirees, and their families".CalPERSFa ...
(the state pension system) of its investments in hedge funds, the release of
Department of Justice memos analyzing drone strikes to kill American citizens abroad, private equity deals and other alternative investments;
extending government access requirements to the California court system; and curbing agency use of the most abused FOI exemptions.
FAC's "Legal Hotline"
provides legal information and assistance to
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
s,
blog
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
gers,
ethnic media
Ethnic media is media fashioned with a particular ethnic minority group or ethnic minority community in mind.
Definition
Academic Yu Shi tenders an operational definition for ethnic media: “Ethnic media are often regarded as media ''by and fo ...
, and ordinary citizens. FAC's web site is a key resource for statutes, cases, "FAQs," news and analysis on First Amendment and freedom of information issues in California. Many portions are available in Spanish and
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
for use by ethnic media.
FAC holds regular events across California to discuss free speech issues and has hosted annual conferences with its partners the
USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism is a part of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
It has 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students. Willow Bay is the dean. Prof. Hector Amaya is the Director of the Sc ...
and the
. Past speakers have included
Jeffrey Toobin,
Stuart Taylor, Jr.,
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (; , ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of ''HuffPost'', the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, and the author of fifteen books. She ha ...
,
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg (April 7, 1931June 16, 2023) was an American political activist, economist, and United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, he precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released th ...
, NSA General Counsel
Robert Deitz, former NY Times reporter
Judith Miller
Judith Miller (born January 2, 1948) is an American journalist and commentator who is known for writing about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program both before and after the 2003 invasion, but her writings were later discov ...
, First Amendment lawyer
Floyd Abrams, investigative reporter
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an American investigative journalist and political writer. He gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer ...
, Commentary Magazine editor
Gabriel Schoenfeld, Internet journalism pioneer
Dan Gillmor
Dan Gillmor is an American technology writer and columnist. He was director of News Co/Lab, an initiative to elevate news literacy and awareness, at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Dan Gill ...
, and leading media lawyers from around the country. FAC has also published "The Right to Know: A Guide to Public Access and Media Law," (2007), a comprehensive handbook on FOI, First Amendment and news-gathering law.
FAC's members are news organizations, law firms, libraries, civic organizations, academics, freelance journalists, bloggers, community activists, and ordinary citizens. Members and supporters are kept abreast of legal issues through FAC's newsletter—a combination of original commentaries and summaries of news and legal developments. FAC's views reach a larger audience through republication of its commentaries in newspapers across the state, as well as television and radio appearances by its executive director.
FAC is nonpartisan and politically non-ideological. Membership spans the political spectrum, from liberals who worry about excessive government secrecy to conservatives who see big government as a threat to
individual liberties. All support freedom from
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
, whether from the left or the right, and
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
transparency.
The Coalition receives significant institutional support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, the Craig Newmark Philanthropic Foundation, Will Hearst, and the Central Valley Foundation in California. FAC and Peter Scheer, its former executive director, were acknowledged both regionally and nationally through receipt of the
Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Awardand the
James Madison Freedom of Information Award
The James Madison Freedom of Information Award is a San Francisco Bay Area honor given to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the advancement of freedom of expression, particularly freedom of information (as in ...
in 200
FAC's board of directors is led by Duffy Carolan, partner at Jassy Vick Carolan LLP. Members consist of representatives of "old" media (e.g., Carol Melamed, former vice-president of Government Affairs at the Washington Post (retired), Martin Reynolds, co-founder of Oakland Voices, which trains residents to serve as community correspondents, and Hal Fuson, Attorney, Former Executive Vice President, The Copley Press, Inc.), "new" media (e.g.,
Richard Gingras
Richard Gingras is an American Internet executive and entrepreneur who has focused on emerging digital media since 1979, including efforts at Google, Apple Computer, Salon Media Group and the Public Broadcasting Service. He has been an outspoke ...
, Sr Director of News & Social Products, Google and Dan Gillmor, Knight Center, Cronkite School of Journalism, University of Arizona, Phoenix), representatives of public interest organizations (e.g.,
Nate Cardozo, Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation), as well as academics and First Amendment lawyers.
See also
* ''
County of Santa Clara v. California First Amendment Coalition''
References
{{Reflist
External links
http://www.firstamendmentcoalition.org/
Government watchdog groups in the United States
Civil liberties advocacy groups in the United States
Freedom of expression organizations
Organizations established in 1988
Transparency (behavior)
Freedom of information in the United States