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Citizen Journalists and FOIA

Reporters get all those great stories because they have special access to all the information

Right?

Wrong

Citizen Journalists and FOIA


By law, a journalist has no more access to public documents than any citizen does. Most simply have a better understanding of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and how to use it.

Government in the Sunshine


FOIA Freedom of Information Act Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson July 4, 1966 resulted in similar laws in all 50 states
Open Meetings Laws 1976 + Michigan Public Act 267 of 1976

Using Open Meetings Act


Which meetings must be open?
How is the public notified? Is there a watchdog in the room

Filing a FOIA request


What falls under FOIA? What does not? Request documents, not analysis Form a specific question ~ no fishing Ask for the information Email or letter Certified mail Follow-up What if they say NO?

Sample FOIA Letter


Freedom of Information Act Request Letter Agency Head [or Freedom of Information Act Officer] Name of Agency Address of Agency City, State, Zip Code Re: Freedom of Information Act Request Dear ______________: This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I request that a copy of the following documents [or documents containing the following information] be provided to me: [identify the documents or information as specifically as possible]. In order to help to determine my status to assess fees, you should know that I am (insert a suitable description of the requester and the purpose of the request). [Sample requester descriptions: a representative of the news media affiliated with the ___________ newspaper (magazine, television station, etc.), and this request is made as part of news gathering and not for a commercial use. affiliated with an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, and this request is made for a scholarly or scientific purpose and not for a commercial use. an individual seeking information for personal use and not for a commercial use. affiliated with a private corporation and am seeking information for use in the company's business.] [Optional] I am willing to pay fees for this request up to a maximum of $_____. If you estimate that the fees will exceed this limit, please inform me first. [Optional] I request a waiver of all fees for this request. Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest. [Include a specific explanation.] Thank you for your consideration of this request. Sincerely, Name Address City, State, Zip Code Telephone number [Optional]

White House Beer Recipe: Freedom Of Information Act Request Filed For Obama's Brew

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipeobama_n_1818531.html

Using FOIA
Examples from Reporters Committee Examples from local newspapers Student examples

Lamont examples

Resources
Resources on FOIA and Open Meetings Laws Government in the Sunshine Act (1976) Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press http://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introduction

Society of Professional Journalists www.spj.org Michigan Press Association http://www.michiganpress.org/AboutMPA/OpenGovernmentResources.aspx National Freedom of Information Coalition SAMPLES of letters are here http://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-letters

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