MAGIC Comments and Papers for Discussion

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
8:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
National Archives Building
(Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue, see map)
William G. McGowan Theatre
700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20408

Comments and Papers for Discussion

The following MAGIC panelists have submitted papers for discussion during their session:

Session 1: Media Access to Federal Government Records

• Gary Bass, Founder and Executive Director, OMB Watch
        Paper
  
• Sarah Cohen, Knight Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy, Duke University,
        "Instituting Access to Records in the Federal Government"
  
  
• Miriam Nisbet, Director, Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), NARA,
        Paper

Session 2: Technical Hurdles, Research Solutions

• David Donald, Data editor, Center for Public Integrity
        Paper
  
  
• Derek Willis, Web developer, New York Times
        "What are the common technical challenges journalists face in making sense of government documents and analyzing government actions, and how could those be overcome?"
  
  
• Ken Thibodeau, Senior Guest Scientist, Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology
        "What Will It Be?"

Session 3: Access to State, Local, and Tribal Government Records

• James Henderson, Former Director, Maine State Archives
        "Some Strategies for Improving Access to State, Local, and Tribal Records"
  
  
• Camille Jobin-Davis, Assistant Director, New York State Committee on Open Government,
        Paper
  
  
• Mark Horvit, Executive Director, Investigative Reporters and Editors and Jennifer LaFleur, Director of Computer-Assisted Reporting, Pro Publica
        Paper
  
  
• Peter Shane, Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
        "The Gap Between Federal and Local Transparency and the Importance of Institutions Demanding Openness"

Session 4: Private Sector Actions

• Rick Blum, Coordinator, The Sunshine in Government Initiative
        "What Nonprofits and Others Can Do with Government Information to Promote Public Affairs Reporting"
  
  
• Danielle Brian, Executive Director, and Bryan Rahija, Blog Editor, Project on Government Oversight,
        "Two Pitfalls"
        Related article for discussion: "What's in a Name? Open Gov and Good Gov"
  
  
• Charles Lewis, Executive Editor, Investigative Reporting Workshop and Professor, School of Communication, American University,
        "Observations about Improving Access to Government Records"