Northeastern Launches First Amendment Center

Northeastern University and the New England First Amendment Coalition have teamed up to launch the New England First Amendment Center, a project designed to focus public attention on access to public records and meetings. From Friday's announcement:

The First Amendment Center will continuously update its website with news about public access and First Amendment issues from across New England and around the nation. It will offer a wealth of information for citizens, journalists and public policy organizations that depend on open access to government. The Center will maintain a Hotline to advise citizens who are seeking public documents, and will conduct original research into issues of government transparency. The Center plans to host seminars on public records statutes and open meeting laws for journalists, municipal officials and lawmakers.

Coordinating the work of the center will be Walter V. Robinson, the former editor of the Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize winning Spotlight investigative team. The center will also maintain a blog with contributions from Robinson; Dan Kennedy, assistant professor of journalism at Northeastern and author of the blog Media Nation; Doug Clifton, director of the New England First Amendment Coalition; and Tom Heslin, president of the coalition and interim executive editor at The Providence Journal.