March 16: What can journalists do when public information officers restrict access to information? Join NPCJI and SPJ panel during Sunshine Week

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- America's public schools are coming under unusually strong attention from the general public — scrutiny communities typically rely on journalists to provide.

The issues are as disparate as masking mandates and COVID-19 testing; decisions around the spending of federal pandemic relief funds; the pros and cons of virtual vs. in-person learning; gun threats; and a rising trend of lawmakers and parents' demanding that schoolchildren not be taught certain subjects such as human sexuality and the history of racism.

Journalists face multiple barriers, many government- or district-imposed, to covering these complex topics. Practices like filtering all interviews through public information officers seriously impairs journalists' ability to cover these weighty subjects, while prohibiting teachers, school staff and other key education officials from sharing their stories. Add in policies that limit access to key education-related data-sets, and answering the public's questions in a timely, thoughtful, and detailed manner becomes exceedingly difficult.

In honor of Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of access to public information and what it means for communities, expert panelists will explore the impact of these government restrictions on press coverage of public schools and how to work around them. Produced by the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Press Club Journalism Institute in coordination with the Club's Press Freedom Team, the discussion will offer strategies and tools to overcome these barriers.

Registration is now open for this program, which will take place on March 16 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Panelists include:

• Eva-Marie Ayala, Education Lab editor for The Dallas Morning News
• Frank LoMonte, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information
• Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
• Moderator: Delece Smith-Barrow, education editor at POLITICO

About the speakers
Eva-Marie Ayala is the Education Lab editor for The Dallas Morning News, where she oversees coverage of how state and local policies impact students, what schools are doing to address inequities in classrooms, and how educators are addressing the great needs brought on by the pandemic. She is a veteran journalist who previously reported for her hometown paper the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. As a member of the Dallas area chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, she served as a vice president and scholarship chair, working to boost diversity in newsrooms and coverage. Eva is a data nerd, clumsy ukulele player and slow cyclist.

Since 2017, Frank LoMonte has been the director of the Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida, an incubator for ideas and initiatives that give the public timely and affordable access to the information necessary for informed, participatory citizenship. Previously, he was the executive director of the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) in Washington, D.C. since 2008. During his tenure, he launched a number of major programming initiatives, including the "New Voices" initiative that has resulted in enactment of fortified legal protections for student journalists in 13 states, and the "Active Voice" fellowship program for college undergraduates to design "press freedom service projects" amplifying the voices of young women, who experience the brunt of school censorship. Prior to embarking on his legal career, he was an investigative journalist and political columnist.

Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early childhood educators. Prior to her election as AFT president in 2008, Weingarten served for 12 years as president of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2, representing approximately 200,000 educators in the New York City public school system, as well as home child care providers and other workers in health, law and education.

Delece Smith-Barrow is the education editor at POLITICO. She's previously worked at The Hechinger Report, U.S. News & World Report and The Washington Post. She spent the 2016-2017 school year as a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan, where she studied how top-tier universities were increasing the number of underrepresented minority faculty.

If you have questions about this program, please email Beth Francesco, Institute senior director, at [email protected].

About the Institute

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute serves thousands of people daily with our newsletter, online programming, writing group, and other support. The Institute depends on grants, foundation funds, and contributions from individuals like you. Your donation today allows the Institute to offer the majority of its programming at no cost. If you value the Institute's services, please donate today. Any amount helps.

Press contact: Julie Moos, Executive Director, National Press Club Journalism Institute, [email protected]

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SOURCE National Press Club Journalism Institute