North Carolina Open Government Coalition

University must release sexual assault records after U.S. Supreme Court denies appeal

Posted Wed, 01/13/2021 - 7:21am

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied UNC-Chapel Hill’s appeal regarding the release of sexual assault records, ending a four-year legal battle between the university and local media. The lawsuit...

Groundbreaking researcher, former media executive Penny Abernathy to retire from UNC

Posted Thu, 12/17/2020 - 3:45pm

When Penelope ‘Penny’ Muse Abernathy was a high school senior in Laurinburg, N.C., her school newspaper made a projection: their editor would one day be at The New York Times. It was an accurate...

North Carolina county commissioners file libel lawsuit against newspaper

Posted Tue, 12/15/2020 - 10:14am

Gaston County commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday on whether to move ahead with a lawsuit filed last month against The Gaston Gazette. The story at the center of the suit had to do with how...

South Carolina refuses to say where COVID vaccine is going

Posted Tue, 12/15/2020 - 7:48am

North Carolina residents know exactly which hospitals will get doses first from the state's initial supply of coronavirus vaccines. N.C. officials on Thursday released a list of 53 medical centers and...

OUR VIEW: What should top priority be for government? Answer is easy

Posted Fri, 02/28/2020 - 8:45am

We believe government secrecy has become too routine, rather than the absolute last resort it should be. Reporters and editors love to complain about government secrecy. Closed meetings and redacted...

Letter: Elected officials should be more transparent

Posted Fri, 11/22/2019 - 8:00am

Why aren’t candidates for local municipal offices required to fill out the N.C. State Ethics Commission’s statement of economic interest disclosure forms? It should be a common-sense move by the...

An eye-opening public records request for a former Charlotte City Council member

Posted Fri, 11/15/2019 - 9:30am

Transparency has suffered greatly in local government this year. The Mecklenburg Board of Commissioners effectively voted on a budget via email. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board withheld...

$15,000? $70,000? Free? NC town and newspaper spar over cost of public records.

Posted Fri, 07/19/2019 - 9:00am

When The Wake Weekly requested public records from the town of Youngsville pertaining to recent personnel changes at the police department, the newspaper’s staff was shocked when the town asked for...

The News & Observer: The Freedom of Information Act isn’t just for journalists. Here’s how you can use it too.

Posted Fri, 08/24/2018 - 10:09am

If you follow The News & Observer’s investigative stories, you’ve probably seen this phrase: “a Freedom of Information Act request” or “obtained through a public records request.” Those requests are...

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