IRE Radio Podcast | FOIA Frustrations

We’re back with another episode of the IRE Radio Podcast. This week we’re focusing on FOIA. Here’s the lineup:

• Kirsten B. Mitchell, a former journalist and current facilitator with The Office of Government Information Services, talks about common FOIA problems and how to fix them.
• Deb Nelson, Michael Ravnitzky, Charles Ornstein, and Jennifer LaFleur share tips on beating FOIA fees, arguing for data, and more.

You can find and download previous podcast episodes on our Soundcloud page.

EPISODE NOTES

Looking for links to the stories, resources and events we discussed on this week’s podcast? We’ve collected them for you.

• Explore The Office of Government Information Services website and visit The FOIA Ombudsman blog.
• Visit websites suggested by Mitchell: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, data.gov, governmentattic.org
• Learn about Kirsten Mitchell’s one-on-one FOIA help sessions at the IRE Conference and sign up here.
• Listen to Deb Nelson of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism explain her three-step process for arguing for data (Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3). You can also download her FOIA tipsheet.
• Hear more from independent journalist Michael Ravnitzky. To listen, click here.
• Go behind ProPublica’s award-winning story “The Prescribers” with Charles Ornstein, Tracy Weber, Jennifer LaFleur and others. 
• Learn more about this year’s IRE Conference Showcase Panel, featuring former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson and members of the Guardian and Washington Post teams whose award-winning work exposed government surveillance issues.
• Information on the IRE Conference keynote is available here. To learn more about speaker Lowell Bergman, click here.
• Learn more about the Ukrainian journalists speaking at IRE14. Visit the YanukovychLeaks project website.
• Have an idea for this podcast? Email George Varney at georgev@ire.org or web@ire.org.
• Podcast credits: Sound effects | Music by Podington Bear