An early list of 2012 stops, beginning in June, is now available. More stops will be announced shortly, so please stay tuned!

Access Across America is a national FOI training tour for journalists April 27 through June 10, 2010, sponsored by SPJ through a grant by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the University of Arizona School of Journalism to spread training in acquiring public records. Freedom of Information Committee Chairman David Cuillier is traveling the country by car providing training for chapters, newsrooms and open government coalitions. The intent is to reach as many journalists and citizens as possible, particularly those at smaller organizations who can’t afford to send people to conferences. Session content covers:

— Ideas for document-based stories, on deadline or projects.
— Strategies for effective records requests, overcoming denials and lowering fees
— Psychological skills for getting officials to give you what you need without going to court.
— Rousing inspiration for doing great journalism in tough times.

Trainer David Cuillier, Ph.D., has served as an SPJ newsroom trainer in FOI since 2005 and is a frequent writer of FOI Toolbox columns in Quill. A former journalist, Cuillier teaches classes on access to records for the University of Arizona School of Journalism, and conducts research in FOI. He is co-author with Charles Davis of the book, “The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records.”

Daily blog posts by Cuillier include access tips, updates of chapters and newsrooms he’s visited, and provide photos. The online map shows his progress as he moves from town to town.

Contact Cuillier if you have questions or suggestions about the tour. Support for the trip also has been provided by the University of Arizona School of Journalism.

SCHEDULE (Maps below)

Tuesday, April 27 (Arizona)

• 11:30-1:30 Casa Grande Dispatch, Casa Grande, Ariz. (just for staffers)
• 6-8 p.m. Valley of the Sun SPJ chapter, downtown Phoenix. Open to the public. Free. See more details.

Wednesday, April 28 (California)

• 1-2 p.m. Imperial Valley Press, El Centro, Calif. (for staffers)
• 6:30-8:30 p.m. San Diego SPJ chapter, San Diego. Open to the public (free to members, $5 for non-members). See more information to RSVP.

Thursday, April 29 (California)

• 9-10 a.m. The Mountain Enterprise, Frazier Park, Calif. (for staffers)
• 2-4 p.m. Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, Calif. (for staffers)

Friday, April 30 (California)

• 9-10 a.m. Hanford Sentinel, Hanford, Calif. (for staffers)

Saturday, May 1 (California)

• 3:30-4:40 p.m. SPJ Region 11 conference, San Francisco. See more details.

Sunday, May 2 (Oregon)

• Day off. Visit with friends in Eugene, Ore.

Monday, May 3 (Oregon)

• 1-2 p.m. Corvallis Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Ore. (for staffers)
• 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oregon SPJ pro chapter, Portland, Ore. (open to public)

Tuesday, May 4 (Washington)

• 11:30-1:30 Washington Coalition for Open Government with the Western Washington SPJ pro chapter, Tacoma, Wash. (open to the public)

Wednesday, May 5 (Washington)

• 8:30-10:30 a.m. William O. Douglas SPJ pro chapter, Kennewick, Wash. (regional journalists)
• 2-3 p.m. Cheney Free Press, Cheney, Wash. (staffers)
• 5-6:30 p.m. Inland Northwest Press Club, Spokane Valley, Wash. (open to the public)

Thursday, May 6 (Washington-Montana)

• 11:30-1:30 Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash. (for regional journalists)
• 7-9 p.m. Montana SPJ pro chapter, Missoula, Mont. (open to the public)

Friday, May 7 (Montana)

• 12-2 p.m. Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Bozeman, Mont. (staffers)

Saturday, May 8 (Wyoming)

• 10 a.m. – noon Northwest College (regional journalists and students)

Sunday, May 9 (South Dakota)

• 11:30-1 Rapid City Journal, Rapid City, S.D. (staffers)

Monday, May 10 (South Dakota-Minnesota)

• 12-1 p.m. Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D. (staffers)
• 3:30-4:30 Marshall Independent, Marshall, Minn. (staffers)

Tuesday, May 11 (Minnesota)

• 1-3 p.m. St. Cloud Times, St. Cloud, Minn. (staffers)
• 6:30-8:30 p.m. Minneapolis SPJ pro chapter, Minneapolis, Minn., University of Minnesota, Murphy Hall Room 100, 206 Church Street SE; $10 for SPJ members, $15 for non-members. More information.

Wednesday, May 12 (Michigan)

• 7-9 p.m. Lansing SPJ pro chapter, Lansing, Mich., Harper’s, 131 Albert Avenue, free admission (SPJ members and interested journalists).

Thursday, May 13 (Michigan)

• 11-12 Owosso Argus-Press, Owosso, Mich. (staffers)
• 6:30-8:30 p.m. Detroit SPJ pro chapter, 615 West Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, $10 for SPJ members, $12 for non-members. Check to see if full (contact info).

Friday, May 14 (Ohio)

• 3-5 p.m. Findlay Courier, Findlay, Ohio (staffers)

Saturday, May 15 (Kentucky)

• 9-11 a.m. Louisville SPJ pro chapter, Louisville, Ky. Watch for more details.

Sunday, May 16 (Kentucky)

• Day of rest/driving

Monday, May 17 (Tennessee)

• 11:30-1:30 Middle Tennessee SPJ pro chapter and Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, Nashville, Tenn., Curb Event Center, Beaman A., Belmont University. Cost is $20 per person and includes a box lunch. See Web site for more information.
• 7:30-9:30 p.m. East Tennessee SPJ pro chapter, Knoxville, Tenn., auditorium, 321 College of Communications Building, Circle Park Drive, University of Tennessee. Free for SPJ members and $10 for non-members. See more information and RSVP.

Tuesday, May 18 (Georgia-Alabama)

• 11:30-1:30 Georgia First Amendment Coalition, Atlanta, Ga. See Web site for more information.
• 6:30-8:30 p.m. Alabama SPJ pro chapter, Montgomery, Ala.

Wednesday, May 19 (Georgia)

• 2-4 p.m. Valdosta newspaper, Valdosta, Ga. (staffers)

Thursday, May 20 (Florida)

• 7-8:30 p.m. South Florida SPJ pro chapter, Boca Raton, Fla. See Web site for more information.

Friday, May 21 (North Carolina)

• Visiting Joe Adams, editorial writer for the Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla., and creator of www.idiganswers.com. He’s also vice chair of the SPJ FOI Committee. Driving to North Carolina on way to Virginia.

Saturday, May 22 (Virginia)

• 2-4 p.m. Virginia Coalition for Open Government, Richmond, Va. Admission is $10 per person. See Web site for more information.

Sunday, May 23 (Washington, D.C.)

• Travel and day of rest

Monday, May 24 (Washington, D.C.)

• 6-8 p.m. Washington, D.C., SPJ pro chapter, Washington, D.C., National Press Club, 529 14^th St. NW, 13^th Floor, $10 for NPC/SPJ members and $25 for non-members. See Press Club site to RSVP.

Tuesday, May 25 (West Virginia)

• 1-3 p.m. The Journal and The Courier in Martinsburg, WV (for staffers)
  

Wednesday, May 26 (New York)

• 11:30-1 Home News Tribune and Courier News, East Brunswick, NJ (for staffers)
• 7-9 p.m. New York City Deadline Club SPJ chapter, New York, N.Y. At Associated Press headquarters, 430 W. 33^rd St. Free for SPJ members and $10 for non-members. See Deadline Club site for more information.

Thursday, May 27 (Maine)

• 5:30-7:30 p.m. Maine SPJ pro chapter, Portland, Maine. At the University of Southern Maine Portland campus, the Wishcamper Center on Bedford Street. Free and open to the public.

Friday, May 28 (Vermont)

• 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Vermont coalition, Montpelier, Vt. Capitol Plaza, 100 State St., sign in 10 a.m., start 10:30 a.m., working lunch, and wrap up at 1:30 p.m. Pre-registration due May 21 (room limited to 75). Price is $20, which includes a box lunch. For more information, contact Michael Donoghue at mdonoghue@smcvt.edu, or 802-654-2442. To include rousing talk by Doug Clifton, director of the New England First Amendment Coalition.

Saturday, May 29 (Pennsylvania)

• 2-4 p.m. Wilkes University SPJ student chapter, Wilkes-Barre, Penn., Ballroom of the Henry Student Center (2nd floor), 84 West South Street.

Sunday, May 30 (Pennsylvania)

• Day of travel and rest

Monday, May 31 (Ohio)

• Driving (Memorial Day)

Tuesday, June 1 (Ohio)

• 12-2 p.m. Cincinnati SPJ pro chapter, Cincinnati, Ohio, more information to come at chapter site.
• 7-9 p.m. Cleveland SPJ pro chapter, Cleveland, Ohio, Doubletree Hotel downtown, 1111 Lakeside Ave. East.

Wednesday, June 2 (Indiana)

• 10-2 Indianapolis SPJ pro chapter, Indianapolis, Ind., SPJ National Headquarters, 3909 N. Meridian St., free for members, $10 for non-members; more information to come at chapter site.

Thursday, June 3 (Illinois-Missouri)

• 1-2 p.m. Effingham Daily News, Effingham, Ill. (staffers).
• 6:30-8:30 p.m. St. Louis SPJ pro chapter, St. Louis, Mo., Lucas Park Grille, 1234 Washington Ave., $10 for SPJ members, $12 for non-members. See chapter site for more information.

Friday, June 4 (Missouri)

11:30-1:30 Springfield SPJ pro chapter, Springfield, Mo., Midtown Carnegie Library, 2nd floor conference room, 397 East Central Street, free.

Saturday, June 5 (Wyoming)

• 12-4 p.m. Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Cheyenne, Wyo. (staffers)

Sunday, June 6 (Colorado)

• Day of travel and rest

Monday, June 7 (Colorado)

• 9-11 a.m. Colorado Springs Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo. (staffers)

Tuesday, June 8 (Kansas-Oklahoma)

• 11:30-1 Kansas SPJ pro chapter, Wichita, Kansas, journalists in the area.
• 7-9 p.m. Oklahoma City SPJ pro chapter, Oklahoma City, Okla., The Oklahoman auditorium, 9000 N. Broadway, $10 for SPJ members, $20 for non-members. To register, see chapter site.

Wednesday, June 9 (New Mexico)

• 4:30-6:30 p.m. New Mexico SPJ pro chapter, Albuquerque, N.M., Uptown Sheraton Hotel, $10 for SPJ members, $5 for student chapter members, and $25 for non-members. See more information at chapter site.

Thursday,  June 10 (New Mexico-Texas)

• 9-10:30 a.m. Belen-Socorro newspapers, Belen, N.M. (staffers)
• 4:30-6:30 p.m. New Mexico-Texas journalists, El Paso, Texas, Jaxons Restaurant, $10 for SPJ members, $5 for student chapter members, and $25 for non-members. See more information at chapthttp://www.nmspj.org/.
• Drive home to Tucson for finish

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Tour Stops

Date	Start point	Mid-point	End point
Tue, April 27	Tucson	Casa Grande	Phoenix
Wed, April 28	Phoenix	El Centro, CA	San Diego
Thu, April 29	San Diego	Frazier Park – Bakersfield	Hanford, CA
Fri, April 30	Hanford, CA		San Francisco
Sat, May 1	San Francisco		Redding, CA
Sun, May 2	Redding, CA		Eugene, OR
Mon, May 3	Eugene, OR	Corvallis, OR	Portland, OR
Tue, May 4	Portland, OR	Tacoma, WA	Yakima, WA
Wed, May 5	Yakima, WA	Kennewick, Cheney, WA	Spokane Valley, WA
Thu, May 6	Spokane		Missoula
Fri, May 7	Missoula	Bozeman, MT	Cody, WY
Sat, May 8	Cody, WY		Rapid City, SD
Sun, May 9	Rapid City, SD		Sioux Falls, SD
Mon, May 10	Sioux Falls, SD	Marshall, MN	St. Cloud, MN
Tue, May 11	St. Cloud, MN		Minneapolis
Wed, May 12	Minneapolis		Lansing, MI
Thu, May 13	Lansing, MI		Detroit
Fri, May 14	Detroit	Findlay, OH	Louisville, KY
Sat, May 15	Louisville, KY		Lexington, KY
Sun, May 16	Lexington		Nashville
Mon, May 17	Nashville		Knoxville
Tue, May 18	Knoxville	Atlanta	Montgomery, Ala.

Date	Start point	Mid-point	End point
Wed, May 19	Montgomery, Ala.	Valdosta, GA	Tampa, FL
Thu, May 20	Tampa, FL		Boca Raton
Fri, May 21	Boca Raton		Fayetteville, NC
Sat, May 22	Fayetteville, NC		Richmond, VA
Sun, May 23	Richmond, VA		D.C.
Mon, May 24	D.C.		D.C.
Tue, May 25	D.C.	Martinsburg, WV	Allentown, PA
Wed, May 26	Allentown, PA		New York City
Thu, May 27	New York City		Portland, ME
Fri, May 28	Portland, ME	Montpelier, VT	Scranton, PA
Sat, May 29	Scranton, PA	Wilkes-Barre, PA	Scranton, PA
Sun, May 30	Scranton, PA		Pittsburgh
Mon, May 31	Pittsburgh		Cincinnati
Tue, June 1	Cincinnati		Cleveland
Wed, June 2	Cleveland		Indianapolis
Thu, June 3	Indianapolis	Effingham, IL	St. Louis
Fri, June 4	Cuba, MO	Springfield, MO	North Platte, NE
Sat, June 5	North Platte, NE		Cheyenne, WY
Sun, June 6	Cheyenne, WY		Colorado Springs
Mon, June 7	Colorado Springs		Wichita, KS
Tue, June 8	Wichita, KS		Oklahoma City
Wed, June 9	Oklahoma City		Albuquerque
Thu, June 10	Belen, NM	El Paso, TX	Tucson – End of tour