Download - FOIA PowerPoint
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Citizen Journalists and FOIA
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Reporters get all those great stories
because they havespecial access
to all the information
Right?
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Wrong
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Citizen Journalists and FOIA
By law, a journalist has no moreaccess to public documents than anycitizen does. Most simply have abetter understanding of the Freedomof Information Act (FOIA) and how to
use it.
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Government
in theSunshine
FOIAFreedom of Information Act
Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson
July 4, 1966
resulted in similar laws in all 50 states
Open Meetings Laws 1976 +
Michigan Public Act 267 of 1976
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Using Open Meetings Act
Which meetings must be open?
How is the public notified?
Is there a watchdog in the room
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Filing a FOIA request
What falls under FOIA? What does not?
Request documents, not analysis
Form a specific question ~ no fishing Ask for the information
Email or letter Certified mail
Follow-up What if they say NO?
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Sample FOIA Letter Freedom of Information Act Request Letter
Agency Head [or Freedom of Information Act Officer]Name of Agency
Address of AgencyCity, State, Zip Code
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request
Dear ______________:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
I request that a copy of the following documents [or documents containing the following information] be provided to me:[identify the documents or information as specifically as possible].
In order to help to determine my status to assess fees, you should know that I am (insert a suitable description of therequester and the purpose of the request).
[Sample requester descriptions: a representative of the news media affiliated with the ___________ newspaper (magazine, television station, etc.), and this
request is made as part of news gathering and not for a commercial use.
affiliated with an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, and this request is made for a scholarly or scientificpurpose and not for a commercial use.
an individual seeking information for personal use and not for a commercial use.
affiliated with a private corporation and am seeking information for use in the company's business.]
[Optional] I am willing to pay fees for this request up to a maximum of $_____. If you estimate that the fees will exceed thislimit, please inform me first.
[Optional] I request a waiver of all fees for this request. Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interestbecause it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and isnot primarily in my commercial interest. [Include a specific explanation.]
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
NameAddressCity, State, Zip CodeTelephone number [Optional]
hi i
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White House Beer Recipe:
Freedom Of Information Act Request
Filed For Obama's Brew
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-
obama_n_1818531.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.html -
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Using FOIA
Examples from Reporters Committee
Examples from local newspapers
Student examples
Lamont examples
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Resources
Resources on FOIA and Open Meetings Laws
Government in the Sunshine Act (1976)
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
http://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introduction
Society of Professional Journalists
www.spj.org
Michigan Press Association http://www.michiganpress.org/AboutMPA/OpenGovernmentResources.aspx
National Freedom of Information Coalition SAMPLES of letters are here
http://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-letters
http://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introductionhttp://www.spj.org/http://www.michiganpress.org/AboutMPA/OpenGovernmentResources.aspxhttp://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-lettershttp://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-lettershttp://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-lettershttp://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-lettershttp://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-lettershttp://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-lettershttp://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-lettershttp://www.nfoic.org/sample-foia-request-lettershttp://www.michiganpress.org/AboutMPA/OpenGovernmentResources.aspxhttp://www.spj.org/http://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introductionhttp://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introductionhttp://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introductionhttp://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introductionhttp://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introductionhttp://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introductionhttp://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/introduction