Yesterday I began my leg of the Access Across America Road Show for SPJ in Louisville, Kentucky, where a great room full of journalists at the Courier-Journal talked access and I showed them examples of FOI At Work. A great time was had by all! My daughter, Mamie, 14, and I are on the road again — we drove from Louisville to Beckley, West Virginia yesterday after the session (not a drive to be missed — wow, West Virginia and Kentucky are gorgeous…) and now we are off to Harrisonburg, VA tonight for a session.

So far: 12 states, 5,536 miles, 28 sessions, 443 people (see schedule)

Louisville, Ky. — Want a little clout in your records request? It doesn’t hurt to drop a popular name sometimes.

That’s what I learned today (Saturday) from Steve York, president of the Louisville SPJ pro chapter. Steve is a longtime manager at WAVE-3 TV. It’s been a while since he’s been on air, so most people don’t know him by name. When he submits a public records request he said he is calling on behalf of one of their popular reporters or anchors, like Dawne Gee. People fall all over themselves to help these community celebrities.

Steve York

Tip No. 22: Add oomph and authority to your request by having it come from, or co-authored by, someone who has perceived power or popularity. Ask the editor or publisher to sign your request. Or team up with a popular columnist on staff. Authority is a compelling psychological tactic in accessing records.

During the discussion I also heard from John Ferré, who teaches media ethics at the University of Louisville. He’s a big First Amendment fan, but he also understands the other side of the counter. John has administrative duties, so he assists in handling public records requests for his university. “Usually most requests are reasonable but what I find irritating is when people go on fishing expeditions, assuming that something bad is going on. The odd person will drive you crazy.” I hear that from record custodians a lot. Some people are out to harass public employees through abusive requests – asking for the world and then not picking up the records. Be sure not to be lumped into that category – pick up the records, even if it’s past deadline.

Neil Ralston

Today, after the session in Louisville, I drove to Bowling Green, Ky., and had lunch with Neil Ralston, SPJ’s vice president for campus chapter affairs, and a professor at Western Kentucky University, home of the fighting Hilltoppers with the mascot Big Red (Big Red looks like a cross between Barney and Patrick from Sponge Bob, which I suppose could be quite intimidating under the right circumstances). The campus is very nice – and the journalism building rocks. Neil is a champion for student press rights. If you are a student journalist and run into problems with your administration, feel free to contact Neil. He cares passionately about your rights!

Kentucky is a beautiful state. I’m impressed by the nice roads, lush trees and friendly people. And I love that southern twang!

Sunday: Woo-hoo! My first day off in 19 days. I’m going to sit in my hotel room in Nashville and get caught up on work (my other job as a journalism professor). I might sleep in – got a heavy week ahead, going down to Miami and back up the eastern coastline. I feel for the residents here who are still cleaning up after the flooding. The hotel is packed with workers in town to put things back in order. On Monday I give a session to the Middle-Tennessee SPJ pro chapter.