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California FOI ResourcesQuick Information | Contacts | Form Letters | Publications NFOIC MembersCalifornia First Amendment Coalition534 4th Street, Suite B. San Rafael, CA 94901 Contact: Peter Scheer, Executive Director Phone (415) 460-5060 Fax (415) 460-5155 E-mail ps@cfac.org Californians Aware 2218 Homewood Way Carmichael, CA 95608 Contact: Terry Francke, General Counsel Phone (916) 487-7000 Fax (916) 487-7999 E-mail terry@calaware.org First Amendment Project 1736 Franklin St., 9th Floor Oakland, CA 94612 Contact: David Greene, Executive Director and Staff Counsel Phone (510) 208-7744 Fax (510) 208-4562 E-mail fap@thefirstamendment.org QUICK FOI INFORMATIONOpen Meetings Law Brown Act: Gov't Code §54950-54960.5 Link to Brown Act guide (Adobe Acrobat file) Open Records Law Calif. Public Records Act: Gov't Code §6250-6268 Link to CPRA guide (Adobe Acrobat file) California Shield Law The California Shield Law provides legal protections to journalists seeking to maintain the confidentiality of an unnamed source or unpublished information obtained during newsgathering. California Shield Law (Adobe/PDF file) CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA CONTACTSOffice of the Attorney GeneralCalifornia Department of Justice Attn: Public Inquiry Unit P.O. Box 944255 Sacramento, CA 94244-2550 http://ag.ca.gov/ The State Bar of California (Main Office) 180 Howard Street San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone (415) 538-2000 http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_home.jsp State Sunshine Chairs Dan WeikelLos Angeles Times 5271 East Broadway Long Beach, CA 90803 Work (714) 966-5977 Home (562) 987-1039 Fax (714) 966-7716 Seth Rosenfeld San Francisco Chronicle 901 Mission St., Third Floor San Francisco, CA 94103 Work (415)777-7908 Fax (415) 243-9151 FORM LETTERS
PUBLICATIONSThe California Journalist's Legal Notebookby Terry Francke, Sacramento, CA, California First Amendment Coalition, 1998, 200 p. This is a comprehensive guide to media law affecting newsgathering, public meetings, public records, and court access in California, with an index and table of authorities. Format: Spiral desk reference plus abridged pocket version Price: $30 ($25 for members)+ $4 shipping + 7.75% in Calif. Order from: California First Amendment Coalition 2701 Cottage Way, Suite 12 Sacramento, CA 95825 (916) 974-8888 Web site: www.cfac.org The Courts and the News Media by Albert G. Pickerell. 6th ed. San Francisco, CA: California Judges Association, 1993. 238 p. Sections include California Courts, Federal Courts, Pretrial Civil Procedure, Pretrial Criminal Procedure, Trial Procedure, Legal Bibliography, Cameras in the Courtroom, Access to the Courts, Subpoenas to Journalists, Reporters' Privilege and State Shield Laws, Defamation, Right to Privacy and Access to Meetings and Records. Bibliographical references and appendices are attached. Format: Handbook. 11 1/2 in. Price: $13 Order from: California Judges Association 301 Howard St., Suite 1040 San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone (415) 495-1999 Mass Media Law in California by Wayne Overbeck and Rick D. Pullen. 2d ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1981. This textbook, both dated and out of print, still provides a valuable context for California media law. In each area of mass media law, the authors briefly summarize nationwide principles in order to place California law in perspective. The table of contents must be used to offset the rather skimpy index. Format: Textbook. 8 in. Order from: Out of print. The New Brown Act by Terry Francke, Sacramento, CA, California First Amendment Coalition, 1994, 92 p. This booklet helps citizens, journalists and public officials understand the major 1994 revisions to the California open meetings law. Format: Booklet Price: $10 ($5 for members)+ $2 shipping + 7.75% in Calif Order from: California First Amendment Coalition 2701 Cottage Way, Suite 12 Sacramento, CA 95825 Phone (916) 974-8888 Or online at www.cfac.org Paper Trails: A Guide to Public Records in California by Stephen Levine and Barbara Newcombe, Center for Investigative Reporting, San Francisco, CA, 1996, 243 p. This book identifies the local, county and state agencies that keep records in California and what kinds of records they keep. A valuable compendium for records searching in California. Format: Softcover book Price: $18 plus $3 shipping Order from: Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) 500 Howard St. Suite 206 San Francisco, CA 94105-3007 Phone (415) 543-1200 Raising Hell by Dan Noyes, Center for Investigative Reporting, San Francisco, CA, 1983, 41 p. A detailed analysis of the California Public Records Act. Format: Booklet, 8 1/2 by 5 in. (Out of print, but available in some libraries) Price: $18 plus $3 shipping For Information: Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) 500 Howard St. Suite 206 San Francisco, CA 94105-3007 Phone (415) 543-1200 Reporter's Handbook on Media Law 1994-95 ed. Sacramento, CA: California Newspaper Publishers Association, 1994-1995. 305 p. This handbook is published for members of the California press. It includes a large section on access to information obtained in public meetings, judicial proceedings and public records. It also includes information on obtaining news of patient status from hospitals and entering restricted public and private areas, as well as using restricted documents. The public records section includes information on state and local records as well as federal government records. A news-gathering section discusses use of tape recorders, cameras and radio scanners. The section also addresses use of confidential sources and protection of unpublished notes. Text of relevant statutes and sample request letters are included in appendices. Perhaps most useful is the beat index, which lists information sources by type of beat such as local government, courts, police, crime and state government. This handbook is small in size, but packed with useful information for the journalist. Format: Handbook. 8 1/2 in. Price: $16($13 members) Order from: California Newspaper Publishers Association 1225 8th St., Suite 260 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone (916) 443-5991 Open Government Guide from the |
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