CFAC Free Speech and Open Government Assembly

The California First Amendment Coalition's annual Free Speech and Open Government Assembly, conducted this year in conjunction with the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17 & 18, at the Journalism School campus in Berkeley. Although admission is free, you need to register online to be assured of a space.

The annual Free Speech and Open Government Assembly brings together the best and brightest in law, journalism and public policy to discuss leading First Amendment issues of the day. If you can attend just one professional conference a year, this is it.

Speakers this year include acclaimed federal jurist Alex Kozinski, the controversial appeals court Chief Judge whose famously conservative views reflect a distinctly libertarian approach to First Amendment freedoms. This year's program also includes a showing of the new, award-winning documentary, "Secrecy," with a discussion led by the film's director, Robb Moss.

We will also serve a rich menu of discussion groups on topics ranging from international censorship of the internet; to challenges to ethnic media's editorial independence; to an assessment of the distinct, yet symbiotic, roles of new and "mainstream" media in coverage of the Presidential elections. And much more, including workshops, led by leading lawyers and journalists, on use of FOI and free speech rights to unearth great news stories.