Last year, The Oaklandside\u2019s reporters and editors worked on several fronts to advance the public\u2019s right to access government records, and we pushed back against a law infringing on the First Amendment.<\/p>\n
For doing so, our newsroom was honored by the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California Chapter with a prestigious James Madison Freedom of Information Award<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis recognition is a reminder of why public records laws have teeth \u2014 and why someone has to be willing to use them,\u201d said Oaklandside Editor-in-Chief Tasneem Raja. \u201cWhether we\u2019re documenting how elected officials systematically ignore the California Public Records Act or challenging a county law that threatens journalists\u2019 ability to do their jobs, this is core to what Oaklandside exists to do.\u201d<\/p>\n The Oaklandside\u2019s City Hall reporters Natalie Orenstein and Eli Wolfe examined nearly 180 public records requests the newsroom\u2019s reporters submitted to councilmembers over a period of several years. They found<\/a> that almost all of the councilmembers had broken state law by failing to respond to requests or delaying responses far beyond the legally required 10-day timeframe. In some cases, elected officials improperly withheld information and records, and when asked about these failures, some of the councilmembers didn\u2019t bother to respond.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a classic story in plain sight that no one had told,\u201d said Raja. \u201cCity governments work best when elected officials know someone is keeping score.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2023, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, under pressure to do something about the dangerous and obnoxious sideshows taking place on public roads, passed a law<\/a> making it illegal for anyone to stand within 200 feet of one of these stunt driving exhibitions that frequently involve gunfire, fireworks, and property damage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Our traffic safety reporter, Jose Fermoso, who has extensively reported on the problem of sideshows, including by observing these disruptive activities and law enforcement responses to them, filed suit<\/a> against the the county in 2024 to block the law. Represented by David Loy of the First Amendment Coalition, Fermoso argued that the county ordinance criminalized First Amendment activities, including the rights of the public and press to observe and document events in public spaces. Last year, a panel of judges with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Alameda County\u2019s law is \u201cpresumptively unconstitutional<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn a precedent-setting case, with legal representation by First Amendment Coalition attorney David Loy, reporter Jose Fermoso successfully challenged an Alameda County law that forbade standing within 200 feet of a sideshow; they argued that the law threatened journalists\u2019 ability to do their jobs covering such incidents,\u201d SPJ NorCal wrote when announcing the James Madison Freedom of Information awards.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t have a choice but to fight this law,\u201d said Raja. \u201cWe cannot do our jobs when we\u2019re not allowed to tell the public what\u2019s happening in their city.\u201d<\/p>\n These two efforts represent a broader agenda advanced by The Oaklandside to promote government transparency and accountability, and to defend the public\u2019s freedom of speech, a right upon which the free press relies. More recent examples of our transparency-focused reporting include a records-based investigation of lead contamination in Oakland schools<\/a> and coverage of a controversial decision to encrypt police radio traffic<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Oaklandside\u2019s reporting on the city\u2019s failure to follow the public records act is in the great journalistic tradition of muckraking and accountability reporting. City officials\u2019 failures to provide public records to anyone in accordance with state law are a blight on Oakland and undermine public confidence \u2014 if there is any \u2014 in City Hall,\u201d said Thomas Peele, Freedom of Information Committee co-chair.<\/p>\n Other recipients of SPJ NorCal freedom of information awards<\/p>\n Other recipients of a Freedom of Information Award this year include the San Luis Obispo Tribune\u2019s, which also won a newsroom recognition; attorney Duffy Carolan, who won the Norwin S. Yoffie Award for Career Achievement; Dave Waddel, winner of the Tim Crews Tenacity award; Joe Rubin and Daniel Lempres of the Sacramento Bee, winners of the Professional Journalist award; Eric Gustafson, winner of the Beverly Kees Educator of the Year award; Michael Threets, winner of the Librarian award; Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, winner of the Nonprofit Organization award; Suchir Balaji, posthumous winner of the Whistleblower award; Ayyub Ibrahim, winner of the Electronic Access award; Mike Spencer, winner of the Citizen award; California Assembly Judiciary Committee, chaired by Assembly Member Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, winner of the Public Official award; and ACLU of Northern California lawyers Avram Frey and Emi Young, winners of the Attorney award.<\/p>\n Close to home, the Student Journalist award went to Desmond Meagley, former editor in chief of The Citizen, Laney College\u2019s student newspaper. The SPJ NorCal Freedom of Information Committee cited Meagley for leading the paper\u2019s \u201ctransparency-focused coverage of the Peralta Community College District, especially the fatal shooting last November of Laney athletic director and legendary football coach John Beam.\u201d<\/p>\n