Award-Winning Newsroom Attorney Joins CALmatters

Karlene Goller will serve as newsroom lawyer and general counsel

SACRAMENTO, CA (May 3, 2016) — Esteemed media rights attorney Karlene Goller is now CALmatters’ newsroom lawyer and general counsel, the explanatory journalism nonprofit announced today.

Goller is an award-winning attorney who served for more than 20 years as the Los Angeles Times’ First Amendment counsel and newsroom lawyer, supporting and protecting sensitive news investigations, accessing government records and proceedings and defending reporters from libel allegations and subpoenas.

“Karlene is one of the state’s most respected journalism lawyers with a proven track record of standing up for newsrooms and ensuring that her colleagues have access to information that readers deserve to know,” said CALmatters Editor and CEO David Lesher. “We are thrilled to have her onboard as we continue to cover the complex and challenging policy issues that impact Californians across the state.”

During Goller’s more than two decades at the LA Times, the newspaper never lost a libel case and no reporter was forced to reveal a source. Through aggressive open records and meetings litigation, she advanced journalists’ ability to inform the public and hold government accountable. She was honored by her colleagues with the Times Editorial Award, a tribute rarely bestowed upon non-editorial employees.

“As journalists face more and more challenges, we need to encourage and protect newsrooms that are diving deep into the important issues that affect all of us,” Goller said. “I’m excited to support CALmatters’ talented team of reporters as they explore and explain how Sacramento works and why it matters.”

Before working for the LA Times, Goller served as corporate counsel for Times Mirror Cable Television Inc., and as an associate at Cole, Raywid & Braverman in Washington, D.C. Goller is an unwavering advocate for the rights of journalists to protect the identities of sources and for media access to public meetings and trials. Goller now has her own private law practice and teaches media law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.

To learn more about CALmatters and its team, visit calmatters.org, and connect with CALmatters on Facebook and Twitter.

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CALmatters is a nonprofit journalism venture that focuses on in-depth, long-form journalism, making story content available in many forms for the web, print, television and radio. With one of the largest news bureaus in the state Capitol, CALmatters distributes its content through partnerships with existing media organizations and through its own website. To learn more, visit calmatters.org, and connect with CALmatters on Facebook and Twitter.