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Posts Tagged ‘Transparency Watch’
Mass. newspaper reporter catches city employees burning public records
A reporter from The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. caught city employees burning reams of public records, all without approval from the state. Old purchase orders, payroll records and utility bills, along with a handful of other documents, went up in smoke. The city’s public works commissioner “emphasized that all of the records burned in…
Read MoreNYPD denies FOIA request for department FOIA guide
The New York Police Department’s Freedom of Information Law Unit is refusing to release its FOIL guide. Yes, you read that right. Public records request service MuckRock asked for the document in late December. Last week a lieutenant in the department’s records unit denied the request, calling the guide “privileged as an attorney-client communication.” You…
Read MoreNJ court fact-finder recommends Gannett get its due for winning public records fight over PDFs
If a judge agrees with a court fact-finder, Gannett New Jersey could be getting $542,000 in legal fees stemming from a public records lawsuit. Gannett filed suit in 2009 after several newspapers asked for municipal payroll records in an electronic format, not PDFs. In August 2012 the company won the “precedent-setting case.” As for the…
Read MoreTo speed up ‘FOIA slowpokes,’ journalists mix praise and shame
When I was a reporter at a daily newspaper in Virginia, few things frustrated me more than slow responses to Freedom of Information Act requests. I’d put in my request and wait the allotted response time only to receive a handful of excuses. Sometimes, after weeks of nagging, I’d get the documents. Other times my…
Read More18 Chris Christie investigations coming to a publication near you
WNYC today compiled a clever list of “18 ways Christie and his officials have blocked access to information.” The release of the subpoenaed documents “exposed the Christie Administration’s involvement in Bridgegate show how the Governor’s Office has been keeping its decisions and expenditures quiet despite laws that require official business to be made public.” The…
Read MoreCourt rules in favor of S.D. paper, allows access to food stamp data
A federal appeals court has ruled that Argus Leader Media can seek government data on how much businesses take in from the food stamp program, the Sioux Falls, S.D. paper reported. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a district court ruling and determined that a federal statute that created the food stamp program does not…
Read MoreCommittee to Protect Journalists releases report on Obama administration and the press
The Committee to Protect Journalists released a report today titled The Obama Administration and the Press, stating that “electronic surveillance programs deter government sources from speaking to journalists.” President Barack Obama pledged open government as he entered office, but his administration has fallen far short of those promises, according to CPJ. Since 2009, six government…
Read MoreA look at how journalists are handling the shutdown
Journalists have been searching for alternative resources after the government shutdown caused many online databases to go down and government offices to close as employees went on furlough. For more information about how the shutdown is affecting news coverage, see the stories below. For information on closed FOIA offices:Both the Reporters Committee for Freedom of…
Read MoreReport from U.S. Senate committee claims EPA lacks transparency
Minority members of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released a report on Sept. 9, 2013 claiming that the EPA has “a dismal history of competently and timely responding to FOIA requests,” has failed to adequately train staff members on FOIA policies, has shown bias in deciding to honor fee waiver requests, and…
Read MoreMichigan agencies estimate thousands of dollars for access to records
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s administration had preached transparency, according to the Lansing State Journal, but is charging exorbitant amounts for access to state contract records. The Lansing State Journal sought contracts from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget, the repository for 1,200 contracts worth $32 billion between the state and outside vendors. The…
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