FAC conference inspires dialogue, improves coverage

By Shawna S. Kelsch
Diversity Institute Fellow

07.23.02

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Tammy Wheeler

About 30 journalists and judges will attend a conference in October to consider ways their professions can more effectively work together.

The main objective of the “Justice and Journalism” conference is to help reporters improve their coverage of the courts so the public can be better informed about the process of government and matters of legal significance.

The program started in 2000 as a national conference but was soon converted to a regional format, said Tammy Wheeler, conference logistics coordinator at the First Amendment Center in Nashville, Tenn., which co-sponsors the daylong event. The October session will be the fourth regional meeting. It is scheduled to be held in Colorado, but no specific site has been chosen yet.

Participation at the first regional conference last year affirmed the need for this type of dialogue, and meetings now are held twice a year, Wheeler said.

“It was not difficult for them to start right away, and they didn’t want to stop at the end of the conference,” she said of those attending the gathering in Chicago.

Since then, a variety of topics have been addressed, including “Media and the Courts: Views on News Coverage” and “Are Journalists Prepared to Report on the Courts?” Other issues have included reporting accuracy and accessibility to courtroom personnel.

Steadily, conference objectives are being realized.

“As information from dialogues results in change, more information on the courts is getting out to the public,” said Gene Policinski, deputy director of the First Amendment Center.

For example, many courts have accelerated the placement of legal decisions and documents online, and they are more sensitive to the deadlines of journalists, allowing court information to get to the public in a timely manner, he said.

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Articles, photos by 2002 Diversity Institute Fellows
Collection page for articles written by 2002 Diversity Institute Fellows.  07.23.02