Dan Kennedy's annual 2015 Muzzle Awards—now hosted by WGBH—"come amid what can only be described as a crisis in transparency on Beacon Hill and throughout Massachusetts. The state’s public-records law has long been recognized as among the weakest in the country."
As Kennedy writes:
"Take, for instance, a Boston Globe report from this past March in which we learned that Secretary of State William Galvin’s office had exempted some police records from the law — including the names of officers charged with drunken driving and other serious crimes.
"Or take the testimony of Tom Duggan, publisher of the Valley Patriot in North Andover, who told a legislative committee looking into possible reforms that the city of Lawrence refused to release records even after officials had admitted they were public and Duggan had paid a $61.81 fee."
You can read Kennedy's whole introduction here: The 2015 Muzzle Awards: Spotlighting 10 Who Diminish Free Speech
The awards also call out others who interfere with the First Amendment, including the Somerville police officer who hassled Wenzday Jane for recording the questioning of teenagers in a park. The ACLU of Massachusetts proudly represented her.
