Here is the statement from the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists regarding the lawsuit filed against Shore Investigates by the Cherry Hill Township Board of Education:
The New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists, to say the least, is disappointed and saddened on many fronts.
We are disappointed in the Cherry Hill Township Board of Education for choosing to file a lawsuit against Mr. Ben Shore and his entity to prevent him from exercising his right to request public information for an entire year.
It is shameful to see a government entity follow the path of the Trump Administration in going after journalists it feels it can bully into silence.
We are saddened that this may be a test case for how far a government entity will be allowed to go under the gutting of OPRA that was led by state Sen. Paul Sarlo, approved by the General Assembly, and signed into law by now-former Gov. Phil Murphy.
We call on the Cherry Hill Township Board of Education to withdraw what is essentially a SLAPP case against Mr. Shore and others named in the lawsuit. We also call on Gov. Mikie Sherrill to examine what the past General Assembly and administration accomplished by gutting OPRA with the aim to not only restore the transparency the law once required, but also to provide real and demonstrable reforms that will prevent anyone with the public trust from blocking the sunlight on their actions.
News stories about the lawsuit
Cherry Hill school board sues hyperlocal journalist for “harrassing” records requests – StateBroadcastNews.com
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