Access to Government Records: Some Basics

It’s impossible to overstate the value of government records in news reporting. Government records can provide supporting facts to substantiate or rebut a source or subject’s perspective. They can provide illuminating details that shed light on an issue. Combing through public documents can also lead you to new hypotheses and new story ideas. How can government records enhance your reporting? What are the best ways to obtain public documents? What are the challenges and obstacles you may encounter and how can you overcome them?

Let’s start with some basics.

The federal government and all states have freedom of information laws on the books that guarantee the public’s right to government records. When it comes to rights to local records, state law prevails. That means that your local mayor, board of education, town manager, planning and zoning commission, and law enforcement and other government agencies are subject to your state’s freedom of information laws.

Generally, government information is public information. When you ask to review government records, you are asking to see information that belongs to YOU. That said, obtaining information through the freedom of information process, whether at the federal, state or local level, can be time-consuming and sometimes expensive.

When should you rely on freedom of information law to obtain government records? Answer: When you can’t get the information you’re seeking through online research, calling or visiting government agencies or making informal requests, or by using basic reporting techniques such as identifying potential sources, contacting them and asking for the information.

Increasingly, government records and information are readily available online. Especially at the federal and state level, depending upon the state, many documents are available on government databases and Web sites. For example, at the federal level, http://usaspending.gov/ and http://www.fedspending.org/ provide huge databases full of newsworthy information.

Even at the local level, databases hosted by nonprofit organizations are beginning to compile and post government records. A great example is EveryBlock.com, which provides restaurant inspections and other local records in several cities including Chicago, New York and San Francisco.

Often, when government records aren’t already available online, you can obtain them by simply asking the right agency or official.

When these attempts are unsuccessful, filing a freedom of information request can be a logical next step.

If you uncover something new and newsworthy, the results can illuminate little-understood or misunderstood issues and attract national and even international attention. For example, blogger Thad Anderson used a freedom of information request to uncover notes taken on Sept. 11, 2001, by a member of then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s staff. The notes indicated that just hours after the attacks, Rumsfeld asked aides to seek evidence of Iraqi involvement.

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/feb/24/freedomofinformation.september11)
(http://www.outragedmoderates.org/2006/02/dod-staffers-notes-from-911-obtained.html)

But sometimes an attempt to access information under a freedom of information law can be frustrating, especially for bloggers and citizen journalists who are acting solo. They generally do not receive the priority treatment usually given to news organizations, and bloggers and citizen journalists are unlikely to have lawyers who can help them exercise rights of access to government records.  Sometimes perfectly reasonable requests by bloggers and citizen journalists are flatly denied.

Case in Point

A Chicago blogger participating in the Sunshine Blogger Project sent an open record request to his governor for e-mail records. His request was outright denied for no good reason (http://www.suntimes.com/opinions/letters/6463192-474/gov-defend-open-public-records.html).

In addition, when it comes to federal records requests, members of news organizations can obtain reduced fees. Bloggers have had difficulty winning such fee waivers.

Case in Point

Blogger Aidan Monaghan’s request for World Trade Center-related photos and video was met with a request for $19,112 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The money would have to be paid up front in order for the search to begin.  (http://www.911blogger.com/node/17002)

The NIST Freedom of Information Officer noted in a written reply: “Please be advised that these charges are assessed whether or not responsive documents are located and whether or not any of these documents are exempt from disclosure under FOIA… Please forward your check.” Monaghan decided against pursuing his request. (http://wtc.nist.gov/pubs/NISTNCSTAR1Draft.pdf )

But persistence can pay off.

Case in Point

In Alaska, a professor of fisheries who requested information on polar bears and predator control was initially met with a $468,784 cost estimate for the records search. His persistence resulted in public disclosure of e-mails that discredited Gov. Sarah Palin’s claim that she relied on wildlife officials’ assessments. She cited their assessments as a basis for her determination that polar bears should not be added to the endangered species list, but the e-mail proved the scientists agreed that polar bears are indeed at risk.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?hp)
(http://www.adn.com/polarbears/story/295420.html)
(http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5879)
(http://www.adn.com/news/environment/story/416432.html)

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