Former SPJ National President David Cuillier joined SPJ New England Tuesday to teach Public Records 101 as part of the SPJ-NE National Student FOIA Contest.
The contest is hosted in collaboration with MuckRock and the New England First Amendment Coalition, with support from the SPJ foundation. Students are invited to submit a public records request on any topic they find interesting. Each month, we select one request that helped reveal important documents. Ridiculous agency obfuscation or egregious denials are also eligible for the win. The contest is open to student journalists across the country.
Cuillier is currently the Director of The Freedom of Information Project at the Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment at the University of Florida. Previously, he taught data journalism, media law, media ethics, access to public records, and other courses for 17 years at the University of Arizona School of Journalism. He is also a past president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and a member of the Federal FOIA Advisory Committee.
Cuillier started his career as a newspaper reporter and editor in the Pacific Northwest, covering local, state and federal government, before earning his doctorate in communication in 2006 at Washington State University. In 2016, he was awarded the Wells Memorial Key Award, the highest honor bestowed by SPJ for service to the profession. He also has served as head of the Media Law & Policy Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
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