The Society of Professional Journalists Northern California officially announced yesterday that Thadeus Greenson, the Journal‘s news editor, won a James Madison Freedom of Information Award. It’s an award Caroline Titus of the Ferndale Enterprise took home in 2016, and the Journal‘s then staff writer and editor Hank Sims and Emily Gurnon won in 2005.
Greenson is being recognized for his “years long battle with the city of Eureka over the release of police camera footage of an arrest.” (That arrest by then Eureka Police Sgt. Adam Laird and the departmental drama that followed it are, coincidentally, the subject of next week’s cover story on stands Wednesday.) The end result of Greenson and the Journal‘s pursuit of the video, in Humboldt County Superior Court and then in the California First District Court of Appeals, was a state precedent-setting opinion that kept the city — and any others in California — from treating police camera footage as confidential officer personnel records.
Particularly in our current climate, with heightened awareness of police misconduct and the potential abuses of power, that ruling in favor of transparency is a win for journalists throughout the state, the public and those police departments working toward trust in the communities they protect. We could not be more proud of Greenson’s work on this story and in every issue of the Journal.
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This article appears in Cheap Dates.
Congratulations!
he deserves more than a trophy for sure! if its true that he has since been approached by the police dept. to be on some sort of input team, heres hoping the intimidation factor of such acceptance doesnt spoil his unrelenting reporting. the recent trial surounding the VERY shady circumstances and conflicting accounts of the 22 year old kids death by an officer went, and remains, inexcusably unexamined by local media. and how about the police depts “transparancy portal” containing information the police dept. has already proven they would have not revealed unless and until they’d literally been sued to disclose. mega props to thadeus!
Well-deserved!!
Kudos.
I know none of Thad’s efforts have been easy. Certainly not fast. Thad is practicing the type of dogged journalism that reminds me of the Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Morrow era. We here in the community are extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated and consistently excellent reporter.
Thanks, Thad.
Carry on.