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NPC Supports Amicus on Texas Open Meetings Act
The National Press Club has joined 22 other news organizations in an amicus brief filed Thursday by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press urging the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the Texas Open Meetings Act. A three-judge panel earlier this year ruled the law unconstitutional, finding it violated public officials' First Amendment rights because it bars them from communicating secretly about public business. The brief argues that open meetings laws extend First Amendment rights by assuring that citizens have access to deliberations and oversight of decisions made by…
Type: News
NPC Statement on White House Policy to Disclose Visitor Logs
"The National Press Club applauds President Obama's decision to give the public greater access to White House visitor logs," NPC President Donna Leinwand said Friday. "Although the president has limited the disclosures, it is a step toward more transparency in government and a reversal of this administration's previous policy. We hope in time that the administration will allow more timely and broader access."
Type: News
Media Shield Legislation to be Debated Sept. 17
The Senate Judiciary Committee will debate the Free Flow of Information Act, a media shield bill sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., on Thursday, Sept. 17. Last week, the Judiciary Committee adopted a substitute amendment supported by the National Press Club and 69 other media organizations that creates qualified privilege to protect journalists from being forced to reveal confidential sources except in cases of national security and criminal conduct. "A free and vibrant press is essential to a free society," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Sept. 10. "…
Type: News
Appeals Court Dismisses Challenge to Texas Open Meetings Law
A federal appeals court has dismissed a case brought by Alpine, Texas, city council members, preserving the Texas Open Meeting Act. The former city council members asserted the law violated their rights to exchange e-mail messages discussing city business in secret. The U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans dismissed the case as moot.This amounts to a victory for journalists because it preserves the Texas Open Meetings Act. The National Press Club had joined 22 other news organizations in an amicus by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in support of the Texas Open Meetings Act.…
Type: News
Coalition Advocates New Transportation Bill Ahead of Administration Schedule
With the current surface transportation bill scheduled to lapse Sept. 30, a coalition of transportation suppliers and users accepted the bill’s extension as inevitable but advocated a new bill sooner than the administration’s proposed 18-month target at a Sept. 14 Newsmaker. The challenge, according to Janet Kavinoky, director of transportation infrastructure for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is that “health care has sucked the oxygen out of the room.” She urged Congress to “multi-task” by addressing an issue that, she said, should be on the nation’s top priority list but is not. She…
Type: News
700 in NPC 5K; Best Time was 16:26
Nearly 700 walkers and runners participated in the NPC's 12th annual 5K race Saturday. Matt Straughn, 32 of Glen Dale, Md., took first place overall with a 16:26 finish, while Phebe Ko, 26 of Baltimore, led the women with a time of 17:25. Leading the Press Club members were Andrew Sullivan, 39 of Washington, D.C., who ran the 3.1- mile course in 19:49. Neisa Condemaita, 35 of Washington, D.C., proved the fastest female NPC member, with a time of 23:22. A complete list of times can be found at http://tinyurl.com/myoguq The silent auction also brought in several winners, who won everything…
Type: News
J-School Dean/Author Portrays Colorful Past of Foreign Correspondents
The first “high water” mark of foreign reporting in what is now the United States was the colonial era, when Benjamin Franklin republished articles from foreign newspapers that arrived by ship, John Maxwell Hamilton, dean of Louisiana State University's Manship School of Mass Communication, said at the Club Sept. 14 . But Hamilton, author of " Journalism's Roving Eye: A History of American Foreign Reporting," also expressed optimism about the future of foreign reporting in the United States. His own history includes reporting from 50 countries over a long career. His appearance was jointly…
Type: News
Panel Offers Reminiscences of Cronkite, Hewitt
Walter Cronkite, the anchor of the CBS Evening News, and Don Hewitt, the creator and executive producer of “60 Minutes,” were remembered and feted Wednesday at a Club panel by four giants of television news: moderator Marvin Kalb, Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer and Daniel Schorr. The panel shared fond, personal stories about working with Cronkite and Hewitt, who died this summer, to an audience of more than 200.Cronkite was the first recipient of the NPC's lifetime achievement award, the Fourth Estate Award. The panel remembered Cronkite, dubbed “The most trusted man in America” as a man who had…
Type: News
Governor Urges Congress to be Mindful of States in Health Care Reform
Congress should focus on comprehensive health care reform that includes the states as partners and keeps spending in line, Gov. Jim Douglas, R-Vt., said Thursday. “We need to make sure Congress gets it right from the stand point of the states,” Douglas, chairman of the bipartisan National Governors Association, told a Press Club luncheon crowd. Any federal overhaul of the nation’s health care system will fail if it burdens states with unfunded and inflexible mandates, he said. “States will be where the rubber meets the road. It’s critical from my standpoint that governors be given the time…
Type: News
Argonne Lab Chief Applauds Up-Tick in Research
Basic science research would benefit from collaboration toward a common mission, Eric Isaacs, the head of Argonne National Laboratory, said at a Sept. 15 Newsmaker. Isaacs pointed to the Bell Laboratories research center as an example of success that stemmed in large part from the freedom researchers experienced to follow promising leads and try new things. Isaacs and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu both worked at Bell. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology-educated physicist, Isaacs focused most on lithium battery challenges for electric vehicles and how to solve them. Isaacs also said…
Type: News