Thursday, September 10, 2009

Tim Nickens

Tim Nickens is a reporter, editorial writer, political editor, and an assistant managing editor, who came to talk to the Public Affairs Reporting class about the Sunshine laws.


Nickens talked about two main areas: the public meeting requirements and Chapter 119: Public Record laws. He did an exceptional job explaining how both are important to journalists and if you don't know about either of these subjects, then you better start!! (Go to a seminar!)


His lecture caught my attention when he spoke about the First Amendment Foundation. This particular foundation has set standards and is still fighting for journalists. One issue that the foundation is fighting for is the right for telephone calls and e-mails to be considered public. Many public officals find loop holes and make their meeting via phone or e-mail, which to journalists is difficult to report to the public what actual is going on.


Okay, so personally on one hand I feel, hey if your a public person dicussing issues about the community, then yeah, journalists should have those records. However, I do understand the devil side to this issue. Personal information may surface that the public doesn't need to know about.


It is that old dinner table question: how far can the government stick their nose into our lives. Well, the same is vice versa. How far should we stick our nose in their business?





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