In coordination with Sunshine Week, a nationwide celebration of open government and community access to information, Carolina Public Press is hosting two meetings on accessing public records and data from local government.
The first event is a free open forum on local government practices in Western North Carolina, and will feature live interviews and question-and-answers periods with Jon Elliston of CPP, Quintin Elliston of the Sylva Herald, and Jonathan Jones of NC Open Government Coalition. Part of Carolina Public Press’s Newsmaker forum series, the meeting will be held on March 17th at the Jackson County Public Library at 6:30 pm.
The second event is an educational workshop on navigating state and federal laws surrounding public records and data. It will feature Elliston and attorney Charles Coble in two sessions on Friday, March 20th in the Carolina Public Press training room on S. French Broad Ave.
From Carolina Public Press:
Press Release
Sunshine Week, which will be held March 15-21, is the annual nationwide celebration of what accessing public information and open government means to you and our community.
This year, the Asheville-based nonprofit online news service, Carolina Public Press, will hold two events during Sunshine Week for anyone interested in essential tools and information needed in pursuing open government and access to information.
“We believe that accessing information and government meetings is not just important for working journalists across North Carolina — it’s essential to a working and vibrant democracy,” said Carolina Public Press Executive Director Angie Newsome. “These events will bring people together — from journalists and community leaders to students and public officials — for conversation and training so we can all learn more about openness issues facing local and statewide government and the impact those issues have on our communities.”
Carolina Public Press’s first Sunshine Week event will be a forum, “The Best and Worst of WNC’s Open Government,” to be held on Tuesday, March 17, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Jackson County Public Library, 310 Keener Street, in Sylva. Part of the organization’s nonpartisan Newsmaker forum series, the event will feature a live interview and question-and-answer session with Jon Elliston, investigations and open government editor at Carolina Public Press; Quintin Ellison, reporter at The Sylva Herald; and Jonathan Jones, director of the NC Open Government Coalition. The forum will coincide with a Carolina Public Press investigative report looking at how often and for what reasons county commissions across Western North Carolina go into closed meetings to conduct the public’s business. The event is free and open to the public.
Carolina Public Press will also hold a training workshop for working journalists, students, community organizations, elected officials and residents on understanding state and federal laws dictating what is considered public records and data at local, state and federal levels. The Full Disclosures training will bring Elliston and Charles Coble, an attorney for Brooks Pierce, one of North Carolina’s largest media law firms, together to discuss current North Carolina case law dictating the release of public records laws and techniques anyone can use to obtain public information. The workshop will be held on Friday, March 20, at the Carolina Public Press training room at 50 S. French Broad Ave. in Asheville. Two sessions are available: 9 a.m. to noon or 1:30-4:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 until March 9 and $35 afterwards. Students tickets are $15 with a current student ID. Materials and refreshments are included.
Launched in 2011, Carolina Public Press is the state’s only regional nonprofit news service providing unbiased, in-depth and investigative reporting as well as educational opportunities to journalists, students and others. Since the organization launched, it has trained more than 200 students, working journalists and community residents on understanding state and federal open records laws. The award-winning news organization has also published 1,400 news stories and investigative reports on topics ranging from the state budget to education and the environment, from fracking and coal ash to jobs and the economy.
To reserve your seat at the forum or to purchase tickets to the training, please visit www.carolinapublicpress.org or call 828-279-0949 for more information.
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