Public access to schools
I have a card that shows the state law that allows me, as a journalist, the right to get on to school grounds. Districts that have stopped me usually gave me the exemption "for safety reasons or disruption of class." It's an occasional fight against some administrators who forget the public pays their salaries. Bob Sipchen, from the LA Times, has a interesting read today about the hassle getting into a Halloween party. As he rightly puts it, "aside from parents' narrow experience with their own children, reporters are the only eyes, ears and noses people have to alert them when something smells - which may be why the urge to keep journalists in the dark runs so deep."
- It's also in Spanish.
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The Times has another story about a state Supreme Court decision limiting access to police hearings now being used as a cover for others. It's a fight the legislature should take up, but doubt if they will.