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In an unusual collaboration, the Boston Globe teamed up with WCVB-TV and a class at Northeastern University to conduct the largest test ever performed of how cities and towns in Massachusetts respond to public records requests. The audit found that most cities and towns failed to meet the basic requirements of the law, taking too long to respond or ignoring requests altogether, withholding documents that are clearly public, charging onerous fees, or erecting other hurdles to obtaining information.