Tennessee has a rich news media environment with more than 120 traditional subscription-based weekly and daily newspapers, several free newspapers, alternative press, an established black press, 34 television news stations, public and commercial radio stations, niche news outlets focused on single topics such as education or the Tennessee General Assembly, business journals, a new nonprofit news organization in Memphis, a new university-based Institute for Public Service Reporting also in Memphis, independent student-run college newspapers and TV stations, and a variety of one- or two-person digital-only shops run on grants, grit or both.
All of these news outlets use our public records laws, open meetings laws and rights to court records and proceedings for investigative reporting and to simply report on public business.
They are the public’s eyes and ears. However, most do not have funds for legal support when denied access to government information or when asked to pay unreasonable fees, even in obvious cases.
But this about to change.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a 50-year-old national organization known for its leadership in supporting journalists, announced this week that it will fund an attorney in Tennessee to provide local newsrooms with direct legal services, including fighting for access to public records.