The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia bestowed the 2002 Roger Baldwin Founders Award upon”Project Access,”a joint project directed by WVU School of Journalism professor Terry Wimmer.


Wimmer, the Shott Chair of Journalism at West VirginiaUniversity, directed Project Access, a Freedom of Information Audit carried out by the West Virginia Associated Press Managing Editors Association and 12 of its member newspapers.


Project Access, the brainchild of AP Charleston Bureau Chief John Bolt, was created to test the willingness of county officials to provide information that should be made available upon request under West Virginia’s 1977 Freedom of Information Act.


“The ability of citizens to obtain public information from governmental agencies is a fundamental right in our society,”said Andrew Schneider, executive director of the ACLU of West Virginia.”What Project Access did was to demonstrate the lack of awareness of the Freedom of Information Act on the part of governmental officials in many West Virginia counties. Project Access was a necessary’wake-up call’to local officials that they have to respond to these sorts of requests, particularly when they come from ordinary citizens.”


The Baldwin Award is given each year to recognize outstanding contributions to civil liberties within the state.


The ACLU ’s 2002 Bill of Rights Dinner took place Saturday, Oct. 5, in Charleston.