Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Award

ProPublica reporter Brett Murphy is the winner of the 2023 Brechner Freedom of Information Award for “Words of Conviction,” his investigation into the use of a technique used by police and prosecutors to treat people who called 911 for help as criminals themselves. Murphy first learned about “911 call analysis”…

The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information today announced that the entry period for the 2023 Brechner Center for Freedom of Information Award, recognizing excellence in news reporting across all media platforms that was aired or published during 2022. Applications are due March 1, 2023, and there is no fee…

Washington Post Reporters Hannah Dreier and Andrew Ba Tran are the winners of the 2022 Brechner Freedom of Information Award for their coverage of hidden inequities in the way FEMA administers aid to victims of national disasters. Dreier and Tran spent 13 months investigating how FEMA distributes aid, filing records…

For a series of investigative news stories exposing the enormity of preventable deaths in county jails across the United States attributable to suicides or medical conditions, a team of reporters from the Reuters news service is the winner of the annual Brechner Freedom of Information Award for investigative reporting. For…

The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information is now accepting applications for the annual Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Award. The award recognizes outstanding news coverage that promotes transparent, accountable government and is primarily intended to reward journalism that is about the public’s right-to-know and about government secrecy, not…

Kaiser Health News reporter Christina Jewett is the winner of the 2019 Brechner Freedom of Information Award for exposing a secret federal database where regulators concealed millions of reported malfunctions in medical devices. Jewett’s March 2019 story, “Hidden Harm,” and extensive follow-up reporting led the Food and Drug Administration to…

The Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information announced that Bethany Barnes, education reporter at The Oregonian in Portland, is the winner of the annual Brechner Freedom of Information Award. Barnes won for her dogged coverage of teacher sexual misconduct in Portland schools, which required her to battle repeatedly…

The Miami Herald won the 30th Annual Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Award for its groundbreaking investigative series, “Innocents Lost.” Two Herald reporters, Carol Marbin Miller and Audra D.S. Burch, investigated Florida’s child welfare system by following the lives – and deaths – of children within the system. As…

The Los Angeles Times has been named the winner of the 29th Annual Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Award for its investigative series. The award-winning series titled: “Lifting a Cloak of Secrecy,” details the fight for access to information about ownership of the Los Angeles Coliseum. UF’s College of…

The Ledger (Lakeland) has been named the winner of the 28th Annual Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Award for its investigative series. The award-winning series highlights the difficulties reporters and citizens face when they try to exercise their fundamental constitutional right to access government information. Ralph Lowenstein, Dean Emeriti…

The Associated Press has been named the winner of the 27th Annual Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Award for its ground-breaking investigative series, “Access Denied,” which tested the right-to-information laws in the more than 100 counties that have them. “This series highlighted the importance of access to government information…

News & Observer reporter Dan Kane with Dean John Wright. (Click photo to enlarge) Paper uses investigative reporting to expose public employees protected by North Carolina’s secret personnel records The News & Observer has been named the winner of the 26th Annual Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Award for…