New England First Amendment Coalition

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January 2025

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We Want to Hear From You!

As a member of the NEFAC Community, you are in the company of journalists, academics and other fans of the First Amendment and open government. We look forward to seeing you at our events and hearing from you about our programs.

NEFAC Mentors

🗒️ ☕ 🤝 Journalism, coffee and mentorship. Meet Meghan Irons and Jacob Downey who are part of NEFAC Mentors, a free mentorship program for journalists working in the region. Reporters, editors and producers looking for guidance in a variety of professional areas can apply to be paired with a veteran journalist with relevant expertise.

Learn how you can apply for a mentorship of your own.

First Amendment and the Free Press

NEFAC Discusses Journalism, First Amendment to Lebanese and African Delegations

The New England First Amendment Coalition recently continued its international outreach with constitutional lessons for Lebanese and African journalists, academics and community advocates.

The U.S. State Department sponsors short-term visits to the United States for foreign officials, executives, journalists and other professionals to learn about a variety of topics, including the First Amendment.

Since 2011, NEFAC has partnered with WorldBoston, a local non-profit organization, to coordinate presentations and educational programming during those visits.

Campus Tour: NEFAC Teaches Public Records Lesson to University of Massachusetts Students

NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman recently spent a day at the University of Massachusetts Amherst speaking to journalism classes about how the First Amendment protects newsrooms. Silverman discussed the importance of public record laws and how students can better access government information.

▶ Learn More About the First Amendment and the Free Press

▶ Contact Us to Reserve a Guest Speaker

30 Minute Skills

Copyright Law

Instructor: Robert A. Bertsche, Klaris Law

Miss our recent copyright law lessons? The recordings are now available to view. Copyright law can be a complex and nuanced area for journalists and non-journalists alike. Questions of ownership, fair use and other intellectual property concerns are especially relevant to newsgathering as more information is found through social media and other online sources.

First Lesson

• How to identify a creative work that may be protected.
• When permission is likely needed to reproduce that work.
• Good practices to avoid infringement claims, generally.

Second Lesson

• How to know if fair use may allow the reproduction of a creative work.
• Good practices when republishing content found on social media.
• Emerging copyright issues such as the use of AI.

▶ View All Previous Lessons

Register Now for Upcoming Classes

▶ Feb. 18 | Covering Marginalized Communities

▶ April 8 | Writing Workshop 101

▶ May 13 | Writing Workshop 102

▶ June 12 | Broadcast Journalism 101

More Events and Presentations

The NEFAC Community can be seen throughout the region with expert speakers regularly presenting in classrooms, town centers and on college campuses. Here's where else you can find us:

▶ Jan. 29 | First Amendment in the 21st Century

▶ Feb. 12 | What the Government Is Up To and Your Right to Know

▶ March 6 | Your Right to Criticize: Revisiting New York Times v. Sullivan