open records Archives

The art of access: Strategies for acquiring public records in an increasingly anti-media world

June 30, 2017

By Ashley Sutherland, Arizona State University Delays. Excessive redactions. Fees. These are just some of the issues journalists and other citizens face when requesting public records from the government. David Cuillier, director of the University of Arizona School of Journalism, and Miranda Spivack, a professor of journalism at DePauw University, offered tips and strategies on how…

IRE Radio Podcast | BONUS: The State of the FOIA

December 19, 2016

It’s been 50 years since the federal Freedom of Information Act was signed into law. A lot’s happened since then – not all of it good for the press. We’re calling this bonus episode “The State of the FOIA” because, over the next 30 minutes, we’ll be talking to three experts to figure out what…

Des Moines Register gets a win in an uphill fight for transparency

August 22, 2016

By Deron Lee, CJR Editor’s Note: This article first ran on August 15, 2016 on the Columbia Journalism Review’s website. Not long after taking over as editor of the Des Moines Register in 2014, Amalie Nash told CJR that she was determined to uphold the paper’s “longstanding tradition of standing up for public records.” So now, as she prepares…

How one paper filed a FOIA request in Michigan—and got sued by the county

August 12, 2016

By Jonathan Peters, CJR Editor’s Note: This article first ran on August 2, 2016 on the Columbia Journalism Review’s website. Michigan’s primary elections, taking place today, may offer few competitive races. But one of them has offered a look at an unusual type of legal action—one in which a government entity sues a local media outlet in response…

IRE Radio Podcast | BONUS: Tips from a FOIA Terrorist

May 23, 2016

You’ve probably heard of Jason Leopold, even if his name doesn’t immediately ring a bell. He’s the journalist who forced the release of Hillary Clinton’s emails. He’s also unearthed shocking details on CIA torture and spying. Jason works at VICE News, and he’s the master of the federal FOIA request. In fact, he’s such a…

IRE Preview: How to fight (and win) open records battles

May 11, 2016

Get the tools and inspiration you need to successfully fight for records at the IRE Conference in June. Jason Leopold, a self-described FOIA terrorist and a winner of this year’s IRE FOI Medal, will share his strategies and advice on how to wrangle information from recalcitrant officials. He’ll be joined by Brandon Smith, the journalist…

Judge: Missouri broke the law by concealing execution drug supplier

July 20, 2015

By Allison Wrabel Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem ruled that the Missouri Department of Corrections violated the Sunshine Law when it failed to reveal the name of the pharmacy that supplies the drugs for lethal injections. Under state law, the identities of individual execution team members are to be kept confidential. In 2013,…

#FOIAFriday: International FOIA tips and resources

July 10, 2015

Requesting data or documents from another country can be a confusing and challenging task. What kinds of records are available? Who do you contact about them? Which laws govern their release? For #FOIAFriday this week we put together a roundup of some of our favorite resources on international records requests. If you have foreign FOIA…

Foreign FOI: How to request records in another country

July 8, 2015

**This article appeared in the 2015 1st Quarter IRE Journal** By Emilia Díaz-Struck, Central University of Venezuela The lack of information in one country does not mean that the information does not exist. Many times, stories connect with different parts of the world, and searching in other countries could improve the findings. Persons and companies…

Global FOI: AP tests laws in 105 countries