The sixth annual Student Press Freedom Day is Feb. 22. It is an opportunity for us all to recognize the increasingly critical role student journalists play in our communities, but also to support the student press through legislation, legal and educational resources, and mentorships.

Justin Silverman of the New England First Amendment Coalition and Josh Moore at the Student Press Law Center are co-writing a forthcoming op/ed your publication can run in celebration of Student Press Freedom Day. NENPA will distribute the op/ed through our email lists on Feb. 16, 2024.

Student Press Freedom Day is an initiative by the Student Press Law Center where students, advisers and press freedom groups work together to:

• Raise awareness of the vital work of student journalists
• Highlight how censorship threatens that important work, and
• Empower student journalists to take action to restore their First Amendment Freedoms.

Each year, Student Press Freedom Day grows in scope as more students write op-eds, create videos, host events, tell their stories and build momentum for New Voices campaigns in their state.

The theme for Student Press Freedom Day 2024 is Powerfully Persistent.

Learn more about Student Press Freedom Day

Join us for our first NENPA University webinar of 2024! The event is free for NENPA members and $15 for non-members.

Sammy Papert, long-time New England Representative for Pulse Research, shares highlights from the 2023 New England Pulse of America (POA) survey research. POA is an annual national purchasing survey that captures shopping and purchasing intentions and spans 500+ business types and several thousand products and services. Sammy gives his recommendations on how to use the survey data to position yourself for success, sell more, prospect more effectively, and grow revenues! There will be plenty of time for Q&A and you’ll also learn how to participate in the 2024 survey for free and get your own research this year!

Register Now

Why attend:

• Review of 2023 Pulse survey research findings
• Best practices to sell with data
• Real-life examples of how to use data
• One fully functional QR Teaser of your choice
• Your own copy of the 2023 New England research data
• Access to recording and slide deck after the presentation

The Associated Press is offering students at universities and colleges an opportunity to pioneer the development of a Nationwide pool of special AP Vote Entry Operators working with AP to gather and report voting results from across the entire United States throughout 2024, beginning with the Super Tuesday primaries this March.

Approximately 100 students will be selected from this pool to work on the March 5 Super Tuesday primaries and paid $17.00/hour to be trained remotely in February in the use of AP’s proprietary election reporting systems and paid to work remotely with AP gathering primary election results for reporting world-wide to AP clients.

Before the 2020 election, AP worked from election centers set up in several locations around the country, but COVID issues required AP to switch to working remotely with individuals from their own homes. Now, students from across the country will be selected to comprise the first cadre of more than 500 students who will be hired to work with AP throughout 2024, covering the results of dozens of primaries across the nation and eventually election returns the night of the General Election November 5, and possibly beyond.

Participating students will be gathering the actual voting returns reported by AP news stringers from every part of the United States, helping AP inform citizens of the actual voting results, not predictions, estimates or exit polls. Participating directly in this essential civic activity is a wonderful opportunity for students to obtain first-hand knowledge of how the country’s voting system works, how news coverage of those results is managed, and also gain a valuable resume cite while being paid.

All training and work gathering election returns are performed remotely, allowing students to work in comfortable, secure environments of their choosing to ensure accurate gathering and reporting of results. AP staff emphasize that the accurate and timely gathering and reporting of election returns is the organization’s highest priority, ensuring citizens receive the most reliable results possible. Students will be working with AP professional staff and AP “stringers” who will be reporting the results directly from the more than 3,000 counties, cities and towns across the United States and its possessions.

FUNDING:
Applicants will be paid both for time spent working the election events and for time spent in remote live training sessions in the use of AP’s systems. Requirements for participation and applying for positions are on the attached flier.

Students are encouraged to participate in this essential civic responsibility while earning money for themselves.

Participants are paid $17 an hour for attending training and election night data gathering.

TO APPLY:
Have students email their contact information (name, email address, cell phone number) to VEOpool@AP.org. AP will contact them directly to determine their availability for specific training dates and to ensure they have the appropriate computer capabilities to participate.

While students can apply for participation at any time, those wishing to participate in the March Super Tuesday election coverage should submit their applications as soon as possible to give AP time to process them and include them in training sessions in February.

HB 1002 is heading to the New Hampshire floor this Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, and could pass. The bill would impose a fee for Right To Know Requests of up to $25 per hour of employee time to, “make the record available to the requestor, including time to search, retrieve, duplicate, redact, and otherwise make the record available for the requestor.”

In short, this could make RTK requests cost-prohibitive and, if abused, could be used as a way to delay and/or deter RTK requests.

Along with the New England First Amendment Coalition and the Granite State News Collaborative, we are strongly encouraging all New Hampshire publications to write and/or publish an op-ed opposing this bill on or before Wednesday, Jan. 31. NEFAC has written a letter opposing the bill (link below) that you can use for reference or anyone can write their own op-ed to run. We will be sending copies of what others are running as we receive them.

Below are some links to additional information on the bill and opposition to it:

• Bill Text
• NEFAC Testimony
• ACLU Testimony
• Coalition Opposition to Amendment
• Nashua Telegraph Coverage

Here are some quotes you can use for op-eds if you need them:

“House Bill 1002 is a monumental step in the wrong direction. If enacted, it will discourage and prevent the citizenry of New Hampshire from gaining access to public records. The purpose of our Right to Know Law is to provide those in New Hampshire with the greatest possible public access to the work of our government and to help us keep those in government accountable for their actions. This bill would ensure the opposite result.” — Gregory V. Sullivan, President of the New England First Amendment Coalition

“We are concerned that the House Judiciary Committee’s vote today on HB1002 will, if adopted by the House, deter critical ‘Right-to-Know’ requests, undermine government transparency, and give government agencies another tool to obstruct providing information to taxpayers. New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know law has exposed police misconduct, how various agencies regulate schools, and how our laws are enforced. But by implementing significant fees to get this important information, many requests will never be made. The ACLU of New Hampshire—as part of a broad coalition that includes the New England First Amendment Coalition, the N.H. Press Association, the N.H. Union Leader, and the N.H. Bulletin—urges lawmakers to support government transparency and oppose this bill.” — Gilles Bissonnette, Legal Director of the ACLU of New Hampshire

Please let us know if you have any questions.