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FOI Award Winners
Return to The FOI Center

2005
"The Hidden Costs of Tenure" Small Newspaper Group (Springfield, Ill., Bureau); Scott Reeder

Statehouse reporter Scott Reeder filed 1,500 Freedom of Information Act requests with almost 900 government entities, then worked full-time for two months policing those requests to get a remarkable 100 percent response rate. With this information, he was able to show that the state's 20-year-old law aimed at making it easier to dismiss underperforming teachers had failed and been thwarted by the state's powerful teachers unions. The data he amassed showed that of the state's 876 school districts, only 38 were actually successful in firing a teacher. This work is a testament to the power of open records.

Finalists


2004
"Cries for Help," WTHR-Indianapolis; Angie Moreschi, Bill Ditton and Gerry Lanosga

WTHR's investigation into problems with Indiana's child welfare system led to a new law opening child abuse reports and child neglect reports after a child dies. Instead of resting on its laurels, the WTHR team then tested the new law, leading to yet more important disclosures. Along the way, when a state agency failed to obey the new disclosure laws that WTHR's reporting had spawned, the station went to court and forced compliance. The relentless reporting forced substantive changes at the agency.

Finalists


2003
"Gov. Bill Janklow's pardons & commutations," (Sioux Falls, S.D.) Argus Leader, David Kranz, Stu Whitney, Terry Woster, Jon Walker and Patrick Lalley

The Argus-Leader's work is a sterling example of a news organization working around a state's inadequate freedom of information law to monitor the affairs of a government's executive branch. What began as a single news story was the tip of the iceberg as the paper relentlessly pursued the existence of a massive secret pardons program rife with questions and conflicts for the governor. The story not only broke news, but changed South Dakota's freedom of information laws.

Finalists

2002
"The Campus Files: Reagan, Hoover and the UC Red Scare," San Francisco Chronicle, Seth Rosenfeld

Reporter Seth Rosenfeld's 17-year fight to obtain FBI records documenting the bureau's illegal and covert activities at the University of California perfectly illustrates the importance of the Freedom of Information Act. His persistence through numerous court cases resulted in a story that revealed the federal government's unconstitutional assault on "liberal" students, faculty and a university president. It forged new legal ground, expanding the nature of the information that must be released under the FOIA and the government's responsibility for paying legal fees. Perhaps most significantly, Rosenfeld's work is contributing to the nation's post-Sept. 11 debate over balancing civil liberties and national security. A New York Times editorial put it this way: "These accounts of the FBI's malfeasance are a powerful reminder of how easily intelligence organizations deployed to protect freedom can become its worst enemy."

Finalists

2001
"Body of Secrets," Doubleday, James Bamford

The National Security Agency is so secretive that most reporters wouldn't be able to produce more than a short story about its operations. But in "Body of Secrets," James Bamford provides a compelling, 700-page sequel to his award-winning "The Puzzle Palace," which won the IRE book award two decades ago. Little-known Public Law 86-36 virtually excludes the NSA from the Freedom of Information Act, but Bamford found creative ways to persuade officials to declassify and release thousands of pages of documents. He reveals the agency's mistakes, such as concocting a plan, never implemented, to shoot down an empty airliner over Cuba in 1962 and then accuse Cuba of downing a planeload of students. There are many more revelations about the NSA's role in the Cold War, Vietnam War and a growing worldwide eavesdropping network that may help nab terrorists but also may threaten civil liberties. With this work, Bamford upholds the ideals of FOIA – that citizens ought to be able know what their government really is doing. Bamford proves that even with America's most secretive agency, there's a place for freedom of information.

Finalists

2000
"Inside the '96 Olympics," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Melissa Turner.

Following the disclosure of the Salt Lake City Olympics bribery scandal, the Journal-Constitution wanted to take a closer look at what happened during the ’96 Olympics in Atlanta. But the Atlanta Olympics committee denied the paper’s request for documents, saying those records were private. The paper would not give up, and was joined in its efforts by the state attorney general and ultimately Congress. After finally receiving the hundreds of boxes of documents, the paper produced a remarkable series of stories that gave readers an incredible behind-the-scenes look at the Olympics and its organizers. The effort also set an important precedent for news organizations seeking to look into Olympic organizing committees in the future.

Finalists

1999
"Spotlight on Secrecy," San Francisco Bay Guardian, Bruce B. Bruggmann and Bay Guardian Editorial Staff

This is the latest in a long history of fighting for access to public records. Shows why it is important to have open records. Uses concrete examples and focused on showing the public why openness is important. They took the lead in pushing for a ballot measure to improve access when the mayor and governor were opposed to it. It won with 59 percent of the vote. Excellent job of combining advocacy for open records with investigative reporting that shows what you can do with those records.

Finalists

1998
Journalists at seven Indiana newspapers. When seven Indiana newspapers banded together in a unique and amazingly cooperative effort to test the state's open records law and the bureaucrat gate-keepers, the project benefited not only Indiana journalists, but all citizens statewide. The journalists surveyed 92 counties, representing themselves as citizens, and asking for five commonly held public records. They found widespread disregard of public records laws and sparked several investigations likely to lead to improvements. Inspired and inspirational.