When the Georgia Bar Media Judiciary Conference was first launched in 1991, the goal was to build bridges across the often tense divides between Georgia’s media, the courts, and the legal community. Convincing everyone to sit down in the same room for candid conversations was among the achievements that year.
Thirty-four years later, the conference thrives, an annual opportunity for the public, journalists, judges, and attorneys to talk through some of the difficult issues of the day. This year’s conference is on Feb. 21 at the State Bar of Georgia in Atlanta.
The conference has often been on the cutting edge. For example, two years before the Covid-19 pandemic, participants imagined the challenges that a disease outbreak might present to society. How would the courts, the media, health authorities, and the public need to respond? The 2017 imaginary outbreak discussion foreshadowed many of the issues generated by the real one.
Each conference is divided into hour-long panel discussions or interviews that aim to get to the heart of an issue. For 2025, we have a stellar line-up:
Our keynote lunch conversation is with journalist and media critic Margaret Sullivan, the executive director of the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security at Columbia Journalism School. She will assess how the media did their job through the 2024 election and offer advice to journalists about what they must do to win the public’s trust and effectively report on government and business.
She’ll respond to questions from conference participants. As a former editor of the Buffalo News and columnist for The New York Times and Washington Post, Sullivan has had a unique front-row seat to the economic turmoil roiling local journalism, which she shares in her latest book, Newsroom Confidential.
The conference opens with Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs addressing questions about the importance of trust in legal institutions. UGA journalism and law professor Jonathan Peters will conduct that interview.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s investigative reporting team will explain how they exposed the depths of the crisis in Georgia’s prisons and how the prison system concealed the causes of many inmate deaths. Others on the panel, including the ACLU and the legislature, will add analysis of the governor’s proposed $372 million investment to fix those prison problems.
The late Congressman John Lewis had long fought for greater transparency about the federal government’s investigations of civil rights violations. A bill passed in 2018 established the federal Civil Rights Cold Cases Review Board to review and expedite the release of civil rights cold case files. At the conference, the entire board will be together to present some of their remarkable findings from the Justice Department and FBI files.
Many legacy news organizations have withered across the country, creating news deserts where no reporters cover city or county government. Yet there’s been a remarkable burst of creativity from non-profits to fill that journalistic void. A panel of lawyers and non-profit journalistic entrepreneurs will look at the unique legal and ethical challenges that arise around nontraditional media startups.
We’ve all seen on TV and social media the shouting matches at city and county public meetings, where civility seems to have become a quaint memory. A panel will look at efforts in Cobb County and elsewhere to restore civility while carefully protecting First Amendment rights.
The day ends with a basic primer on Georgia’s open government laws, particularly the Open Records Act. What’s the best way to prepare requests to find out what a government entity is doing? What are some good tips to streamline the process and get needed information without major expense? How can agencies respond most effectively to avoid getting embroiled in litigation?
For 34 years, the Bar Media and Judiciary Conference has been a place where civil conversations about difficult issues and challenges can take place. Please come and take part. To learn more or attend this year’s conference, click here. Attorneys earn seven hours of CLE credits.
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Richard T. Griffiths is a retired journalist who volunteers his time to advocate for open and transparent government through his work with the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.
