TCOG news Archives - Page 6 of 6 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

1 Dec, 2014

Request to appeal Vanderbilt records case aims to settle what police can withhold from public

By Deborah Fisher|2014-12-01T10:00:12-06:00December 1, 2014|Categories: crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: Judge Neal McBrayer, Judge Richard Dinkins, litigation, Maria De Varenne, Robb Harvey, TCOG news, Vanderbilt rape case|0 Comments

The Tennessean, seven other media outlets, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and Tennessee Coalition for Open Government have filed a request with the Tennessee Supreme Court to appeal a lower court's ruling concerning what police can withhold from public view. The Court of Appeals in Nashville in a Sept. 30 ruling said that if a local law enforcement agency claims information is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation, that information can be exempt from the Tennessee Public Records Act. Appellate Judge Neal McBrayer dissented, saying the specific police information requested in The Tennessean's case did not fall under a previously recognized exemption that protects some, but not all, information in a [...]

15 May, 2014

Happy 11th birthday, TCOG!

By Deborah Fisher|2014-05-15T08:24:56-05:00May 15, 2014|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: TCOG news|0 Comments

On May 15, 2003, the idea of a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of citizens, professionals, media and academic groups was officially born when its charter was filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State. Tennessee Coalition for Open Government's initial board of directors included Ron Fryar as president, then with The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro and a continuing board member; Doug Pierce, a media attorney with King & Ballow who has remained on the board and is now TCOG's president; Kent Flanagan, then the bureau chief of The Associated Press who also served as TCOG's executive director for two years; Steve Lake, publisher of the Citizen-Press in Pulaski; Dorothy Bowles, journalism [...]

21 Mar, 2014

Charles Overby, Shanda Sundstrom elected as new TCOG board members

By Deborah Fisher|2014-04-14T15:07:49-05:00March 21, 2014|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: TCOG board, TCOG news|0 Comments

Charles Overby, former chairman of the Freedom Forum, Newseum and Diversity Institute. Doug Pierce, attorney with King & Ballow and representative for the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters Dorothy Bowles, University of Tennessee professor emerita and representative for the Society of Professional Journalists East Tennessee Chapter Lucian Pera, attorney with Adams and Reese LLP Louis Graham, editor of The Commercial Appeal Jack McElroy, editor of Knoxville News-Sentinel Maria De Varenne, editor and director of news for The Tennessean Frank Gibson, public policy director of Tennessee Press Association Marian Ott, state treasurer for the League [...]

8 Dec, 2013

TCOG improves public access in its first 10 years

By Deborah Fisher|2014-09-10T09:01:26-05:00December 8, 2013|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Elisha Hodge, OORC, TCOG news|0 Comments

By Deborah Fisher, Executive Director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government celebrated a milestone last year. It turned 10 years old. As its new executive director, I spent the first couple weeks on the job researching the group’s activities, and the accomplishments have been impressive. TCOG was founded 10 years ago to improve government transparency in Tennessee.Image courtesy of Stuart Miles of FreeDigitalPhotos.net Those who were in on the ground floor – including the Tennessee Press Association, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, The Commercial Appeal, The Tennessean, Knoxville News Sentinel and the Chattanooga Times Free Press – should be proud. The support of [...]