The state’s open records law is under threat by new legislation that would allow state government agencies to claim they have copyright ownership of “intellectual property developed by (government) employees or with state funding.” The San Diego Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists believes strongly that this bill amounts to a giant step backward in terms of free press and public access to the government’s business.

AB2880 would authorize the California Department of General Services to develop a database for “intellectual property” that should be “protected,” yet this work is done on behalf of the public, paid for by the public and used by the public. One recent example of how such legislative protection could be abused involves an attempt by the city of Inglewood to claim copyright protection over city-created video records of council meetings.

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The San Diego SPJ Chapter is proud to announce its 2016 Journalist of the Year: Mario Koran, a reporter at Voice of San Diego.

We chose to honor Koran both for breaking one of the biggest stories of the year that helped lead to a school board trustee’s resignation and for his comprehensive coverage of San Diego’s education that aims to fill readers’ needs.

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