links for 2006-03-13

• We're All Gatekeepers (Micro Persuasion)
  "We all are gatekeepers depending on where the news thread starts. As long as there's news, there will be gatekeepers. Gatekeeping is just much more flat now. Anyone can join in if they have high-value information."
  (tags: tidbits+fodder mycomments media media+evolution influence+ecology info+access)
• Big Credit Card Payment = Inquisition? (Transparent Grid)
  Excellent example of a citizen journalism role: performing fact-checking and editorial oversight on stories that break first in mainstream media. I'll be writing about this in I, Reporter later, after some digging.
  (tags: accuracy accountability citizen+journalism editing fact+checking corroboration)
• Pay too much and you could raise the alarm (Scripps Howard News Service)
  Source story (column) for DHS-banking privacy flap. I've got an inquiry in to the columnist (Bob Kerr) on this.
  (tags: journalism fact+checking corroboration accuracy editing citizen+journalism government mainstream+media newspapers problem+solving)
• One man's mission: Open government (The Saratogian)
  Profile: Robert Freeman, head of the Committee on Open Government. "NY state Assembly is considering a bill requiring courtsto award attorneys' fees to people who prevail when taking legal action to obtain information from a government agency."
  (tags: sunshine+week info+access government nonprofits organizations NewYork)
• SEJ: Sunshine Week Special Features
  A slew of resources and special features highlighting open government concerns and initiatives affecting coverage of the environment beat.
  (tags: sunshine+week journalism resources mainstream+media media nonprofits organizations info+access government)
• Sunshine will open meetings (The Leaf Chronicle, Clarksville, TN)
  "How often are open government rules being defied in Tennessee? The TN Coalition for Open Government reports 115 alleged violations Jan2003 - Oct 2005. And those are just the ones that were reported. Who knows how many others simply slipped by?"
  (tags: government info+access law sunshine+week Tennesee)
• AP Review: Gov't Missing Deadlines, Limits
  "Many federal agencies fall far short of the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act, repeatedly failing to meet reporting deadlines while citizens wait ever longer for documents, an Associated Press review has found."
  (tags: FOIA government info+access sunshine+week)
• States narrow public access to information (AP, via SouthCoastToday.com)
  State "Legislatures have passed more than 1,000 laws changing access to information, approving more than twice as many measures that restrict information as laws that open government books."
  (tags: sunshine+week government info+access analysis mainstream+media)
• Sunshine Week: Are We Safer in the Dark? (Open The Governmen)
  March 13 event: "A panel of experts from around the country will kick off a lively discussion from Washington, DC about open government and secrecy -- the problems, the impact on communities, and what the public can do."
  (tags: sunshine+week events government info+access problem+solving society)

Comments

[Wieland]

Thanks for the kind words about my "Big Credit Card" payment post at Transparent Grid. I still haven't found anything that verifies the story.