The Access Across America Part II has begun!

Joey Senat from Oklahoma has talked to groups in Kansas City, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, and I talked to folks in Phoenix and Los Angeles. We have more stops coming up this week in San Francisco, Bellingham, Wash., and trainers in other regions are finalizing their schedules.

Check out a one-minute video Joey put together about the tour, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I05ol53N8DY&list=HL1340470367&feature=mh_lolz

I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the questions and comments from people. Citizens and journalists care about government transparency and improving their document skills!

So far: Ten states, 5,084 miles, 26 sessions, 420 people (see schedule)

Detroit – Despite the economic woes of media organizations today, fierce competition is alive and well in cities like Detroit.

Today (Thursday) I visited the Detroit SPJ pro chapter and could feel the excitement of competition in the room. It was great! The meeting was held in a training room in the building that houses The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press. Folks from both camps attended, as well as television stations and independent weeklies (It was great to see Jim Schaefer there from the Free Press – he did outstanding work outing former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s corruption, winning a Pulliam award from SPJ and a Pulitzer a few years back. And it was great to be in Detroit – I interned at the Free Press in 1988 and loved it). There is a point in the talk where I have people share record ideas and the room was silent. Nobody wanted to tip off their competition!

Owosso Argus-Press Editor Dan Basso, and part of the gang.

Tip No. 20: I suggest reporters request the agency’s FOI logs to see what kinds of records might be out there. Most agencies track who requested records, when the records were requested, when they were provided, and the record description. Some journalists use this to see what the competition is up to, which I think is a kind of cheap. But it’s so important to have these records public. In Chicago, the mayor recently announced he would post FOI logs online for anyone to see, which is GREAT! Some journalists are complaining, saying it’s a tactic to thwart reporters (see Reporters Committee blurb and Chicago Sun-Times story). Maybe it is an attempt by the mayor to jab the media, which illustrates how agencies are strategic about controlling information and the media (and why we need to be strategic about getting information). But regardless of the possible intent, having that information public is essential for people to know how our agencies are processing records. We can’t argue for FOI and then call for records to be muzzled just because it’s inconvenient for our jobs. Several studies have examined federal FOIA logs to see what percentage of requesters are journalists (5-14%), commercial users (about 66%) and the public/non-profits (25%). Some scholars have used these types of records to show that agencies delay or deny requests more often to journalists than for other users (see compilation of research at the Art of Access website).  So make sure you have access to this information – and go get it!

Thanks to Detroit pro chapter President Colleen Clement, Ann Zaniewski, Walter Middlebrook, and others for coordinating the chapter event. They have an awesome group. While in Michigan I stopped by the Owosso Argus-Press and chatted with the staff of five newsies. It was a great crew. They work hard covering a lot of agencies! One reporter said he was billed more than $100 for a photocopy of a report. That’s robbery! See tips for talking down outrageous fees in an earlier post.

Friday: Headed to Ohio for a session in Findlay, then driving to Louisville before an SPJ session Saturday morning.

So far: Ten states, 4,884 miles, 24 sessions, 396 people (see schedule)

Lansing, Mich. – Make sure to tap into the knowledge of private investigators, particularly those who were once journalists – they combine information-hunting skills with ethics.

Tonight (Wednesday) at a gathering for the Mid-Michigan Pro Chapter in Lansing, an enthusiastic crowd offered a bunch of tips in access that I think are outstanding. Here are a few from former journalist and current private investigator Patrick Clawson:

Kevin Polzin, business editor of the Lansing State Journal, left, Jeremy Steele, SPJ Region 4 Director, and Diana Buchanan, a former Journal staffer, at the Mid-Michigan Pro Chapter meeting Wednesday night.

Tip No. 17: Specify in your request the way the records will help people understand how government operates. Now, in most public records law the reason why you want the records is irrelevant – you shouldn’t have to explain yourself. Yet, at the same time the courts are increasingly saying that public records laws apply only to records that illuminate what the government is up to. There’s a disconnect there. If you specify how the records illustrate how well government is working then that prevents one potential reason for denial. For example, let’s use the example of pet licenses. Snoopy reason: I want to get the database to have home addresses to find people on deadline. Government operations reason: I want to analyze the percentage of licensed pets by zip code to see if the agency is adequately serving all demographic groups in the city.

Tip No. 18: If you are denied a record and write about the denial focus on the individual person who denied you. Don’t say the agency denied you, because officials can then hide behind the agency title – nobody has to take responsibility. Single out the person – put a human face to the denial-giver. Furthermore, it gives an easy way out for the person in charge to provide the records by blaming the person who denied the records (the agency head might throw the employee under the bus to save face).

Tip No. 19: Get your private investigator license (if your state licenses PIs) and learn all the sources of information they get, including driver’s license data. I did this once when I was a reporter but didn’t feel like I could use the records as a PI for reporting purposes. But Patrick Clawson said it’s worked for him, and that he even defended the practice in court. So it’s worth checking out. I did learn quite a bit when I went through the training and certification process.

Thanks to Tony Tagliavia, chapter president, and Jeremy Steele, Region 4 Director, for organizing the event. It was a blast. Some great representation from local papers, The Associated Press, and university.

Thursday: I’ll visit with the Owosso Argus Press then the Detroit pro chapter. Michigan is nice and green!