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First Amendment Committee
The APME First Amendment Committee seeks to preserve and promote freedom of the press and transparency in government. The committee is currently focused on two projects: Expanding APME's new Freedom of Information Roundtable Discussion program, and encouraging newspapers to participate in the second annual national Sunshine Week in March 2006.
The FOI Roundtable Discussions build on the success of APME's Credibility Roundtable Discussion program. The new project was launched in 2005 and encourages and provides a template for newspapers to engage in conversations with readers and others in their communities about FOI topics. The goal is to help newspapers educate citizens about the value of transparency in government in a democracy, while helping journalists gain a better understanding of citizen concerns about privacy and security.
APME partnered with five newspapers to organize demonstration FOI Roundtable discussions in 2005 in Dayton, Ohio; Wilmington, Del.; Albany, N.Y.; and Phoenix. APME plans to expand the program in 2006.
The committee also is assembling examples of projects newspapers can undertake in support of Sunshine Week next March. These examples will be posted on APME.com.
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Members of the First Amendment Committee are:
Otis Sanford
Chair: Otis Sanford, Editor/Opinion and Editorials, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, sanford@gomemphis.com
Vice-Chair: Teri Hayt, Managing Editor, Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Ariz., thayt@azstarnet.com
© 2008 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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