The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has just published the fourth edition of “Tapping Officials’ Secrets,” the most comprehensive guide available to open meetings and records laws in every state and the District of Columbia.
The guide, produced with the assistance of lawyers across the country who are experts in the area, is available as a printed compendium of all states or in individual state booklets. It also is available as a CD-ROM containing a searchable version in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF files), and an HTML version (for Web browsers). The CD-ROM can be used by Windows, Macintosh and other computers.
A searchable version of the guide also may be found at the Reporters Committee Web site.
SPLC VIEW: With the exception of our book, “Law of the Student Press,” we use this more than any other single media law resource. The online version is great, but we think that every student media newsroom in the country should also have the print version of their state’s booklet on hand. Unlike the online version, the print publication reproduces the actual text of each state’s open records and open meetings law. And at just $10, it’s a bargain.