The Conversation: America’s archaeology data keeps disappearing – even though the law says the government is supposed to preserve it . “Today, nearly all archaeological fieldwork in the U.S. is executed by private firms in response to legal mandates for historic preservation, at a cost of about a billion dollars annually. However, only a minuscule fraction of the data from these projects is made accessible or preserved for future research, despite agencies’ clear legal obligations to do so. Severe loss of these data is not unusual – it’s the norm.”
transparency
CT Mirror: Sniff around campaign finances with our new database
CT Mirror: Sniff around campaign finances with our new database. “By the end of August, candidates for offices ranging from state representative to governor reported raising more than $40 million and spending around $30 million in the 2018 election cycle. CT Mirror today is launching CT Campaign Cash, a database tool to ease inspection of those receipts and expenditures.”
Increasing trust: The expanding Trust Project (Poynter)
Poynter: Increasing trust: The expanding Trust Project . “Twenty leading news organizations have joined an effort to increase transparency and trust in the news media, showing how they collect the news and work to provide accuracy and balance, the Trust Project announced today. Newcomers to the Trust Project include Bay Area News Group, CBC News, Heavy.com, Sky News, The Toronto Star, TEGNA, Voice of Orange County, Italy’s Corriere della Sera and Il Sole 24, Spain’s El Pais and Greece’s Kathimerini.”
Freedom of the Press Foundation: California transparency legislation could improve access to police records for journalists and the public
Freedom of the Press Foundation: California transparency legislation could improve access to police records for journalists and the public . “In the 1970s, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a measure that blocked public access to misconduct documents, and forced defendants to petition a judge to examine these records in private and decide if the information warranted disclosure. In 2006, the California Supreme Court ruled that police misconduct investigations are confidential, a ruling that has kept answers from families of people hurt by police violence, obscured critical information about public officials from journalists, and shielded police from scrutiny. Leticia De La Rosa and Theresa Smith are both advocates for a California bill that could make police investigation and disciplinary records available to the public in particularly egregious instances of misconduct.”
Techdirt: California Police Officers Used Self-Destructing Messaging App For Years
Techdirt: California Police Officers Used Self-Destructing Messaging App For Years. “The Long Beach PD had more than 100 officers using TigerText to preemptively destroy possible public records and/or evidence. The use of self-destructing messages, if nothing else, violates record preservation laws. Depending on what disappeared into the ether, there’s a good chance criminal cases were also affected by the rolling destruction of communications.”
South China Morning Post: Hong Kong courts must open up about their work, and this means joining social media
South China Morning Post: Hong Kong courts must open up about their work, and this means joining social media. “Cliff Buddle says judges have been attacked for recent rulings, but scant attention is given to the reasoning behind judgments. To educate the public, the judiciary should get on social media platforms and even consider a bold move Britain has made – allowing filming in courts.”
USA Today: Google employees discussed changing search results after Trump travel ban
USA Today: Google employees discussed changing search results after Trump travel ban. “Google employees debated ways to alter search results to direct users to pro-immigration organizations and to contact lawmakers and government agencies after President Donald Trump’s immigration travel ban against predominantly Muslim countries.”
