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Always get the name of the dog.
You’ve heard that reporting advice before, but here’s another reason it’s sound: Helping with information requests.
Record requests can feel rough — pardon the pun — especially when getting started. Three experts in using the Freedom of Information Act and open records laws shared advice to help journalists and the public gain better access to government records that belong to the people. “My First FOIA: Open records are for everyone” was held on May 20.
Back to Fido: Agencies often redact officials’ cell phone numbers in information requests. Mark Walker, investigative reporter for The New York Times, suggests thinking about what other public documents exist that may contain that cellphone record: employee directories, or even a pet license. “You have to put your emergency contact” in that form, in case your pet gets lost, Walker said. “They can't just give them a bad number.”
“If they have an animal, I will go to the city and I would pull their pet license, which is a public record,” Walker said. “I've never heard of anybody exempting or withholding pet license records.”
The program also featured Kirsten Mitchell, designated federal officer for the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration’s FOIA Advisory Committee, and Lulu Ramadan, an investigative reporter at The Seattle Times and a distinguished fellow with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network.
“One way to think about whether the government has records is: If they inspect it or collect data on it or take some sort of an action, there's a record there,” said Mitchell, who is also the compliance team lead for the U.S. Office of Government Information Services, the federal government’s FOIA ombudsman.
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The following tips have been edited for this newsletter. To download a copy of the full tip sheet, click here.
Do your homework before filing a request.
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From your sources, learn as much as you can about documents you may want to seek: the names of forms, titles of reports, included content, possible page counts, etc. This information can help you narrow your request and expedite a response.
- Ask your sources or the agency for similar records or forms that have been released. “In the case of a health inspection that wasn't already available, I would probably ask for one that had been made available, something I could get quickly so I could see what's inside of it,” Ramadan explained. Previously released records can show you supplemental material to request or if there’s a better place to find what you are looking for.
Draft your request.
- Avoid the phrase “any and all” in requests to avoid the request becoming burdensome. When requesting emails, for example, narrow by subject matter, time frame, or people involved in those email strings.
- Include a section for the format you’d like records delivered in, and ask for documents to be delivered in a way you can access them. For example: PDFs can be hard to manipulate once you receive them. Requesting a .csv file or other simple text formats can aid your analysis. Consider your equipment and software access.
Read public disclosure laws closely.
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Understand what exemptions to accessing records exist in your state so that you know what you’re entitled to see and who has final say on an exemption.
- When any information is redacted, ask for a detailed explanation.
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Appeal if you feel an inadequate search or error in judgment was made.
Anticipate and manage potential fees for records.
- Government agencies should provide a fee estimate for the cost of staff time to search, review, and duplicate records they manage. Ask an agency how much it’s charging per hour for review and redaction to better understand the estimate.
- Talk to the record custodian if an estimate seems high. You might be looking for something specific, but overly broad phrasing may loop in records you don’t need, Walker said.
- When asking for email records, include a line to deliberately exclude personal newsletters, press releases, and other “junk” emails that you may not be interested in, Walker said.
Check out what’s already available.
- Seek out FOIA “reading rooms” or libraries, which house records that have been produced for any request agencies receive. Agencies are encouraged to share these publicly, and federal agencies are required to post produced records if they receive three or more requests for a single record, Mitchell said.
- Make a regular practice of requesting records logs from agencies on your beat. They’ll show what other news organizations have on their radar, as well as show you successful language within requests that you can mimic.
Combine databases to do the analysis you want.
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When information is withheld or doesn’t exist, don’t get discouraged. While Ramadan was reporting on the rate at which voting rights were being restored to people with felony convictions in Florida, she faced that challenge. Former Gov. Rick Scott exempted crucial demographic information from a request Ramadan made for a database she knew existed, giving the reporter only names to work with. Ramadan and her team compared it to a Department of Corrections database and voter rolls to conduct their analysis. “We ended up learning that [voting] rights are restored to white applicants more often than black applicants,” she said.
Build relationships with the records liaisons.
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Record liaisons see all of your requests and can be a great resource to ask about your habits — what works and what is tripping up your requests. Ask what you can do better and how you can improve communication.
- Staff at smaller agencies may not have a lot of experience with record requests, Ramadan said, making conversations key. Explain your right to the records and work with them to explore formats and time frames for getting what you need.
- Openness is important, Walker said. “Say, ‘I'm sorry for making your life really hard with all my FOIA requests … what can I do to make both of our lives easier?’ ” There’s a lot of work on both of your plates, and you can explain you don’t intend to make things harder than they are.
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Advice from Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership
Managers often struggle with difficult conversations. They put off talking about performance issues because they don’t feel fully prepared, don’t believe it will make things better, or just don’t like confrontation.
We’re not helping people when we keep our concerns to ourselves; we’re denying people a chance to learn and grow. It doesn’t mean they’ll accept our negative feedback unquestioningly, in fact, they may be defensive and unhappy. It happens. That’s why it’s important to be prepared to provide objective data — examples, specifics — not to beat people up with “gotchas” but to offer measurable things they can change.
Here are three reminders when you're faced with a difficult conversation:
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Respect the human dignity of the person you’re talking with. This isn’t about punishing people. Avoid sarcasm, hyperbole, and condescension.
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Don’t expect rainbows to appear at the end of tough talks. Some people may thank you for pointing out a gap in their performance or sharing the news that they didn’t get the promotion they wanted. But don’t count on it. People need time to process negative information. However, today’s tough conversation can lead to many more better ones, if you do them right. Plan for a follow-up, which is something managers can let fall through the cracks and shouldn’t, because it is where the real growth begins.
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Think of tough conversations as part of a continuum of feedback. Be sure you are giving a healthy diet of the positive stuff, so people know you are as apt to cheer their accomplishments as you are to tell them when they’re getting in their own way.
Keep in mind that we tend to remember negative feedback more than positive, because criticism touches some sensitive nerves.
So, build your social capital by providing specific and sincere positive feedback whenever possible. Enlist colleagues in making sure you, as a busy manager, don’t miss knowing about something praiseworthy. When people know you are as willing to acknowledge what works as well as what needs work, they may not love being on the receiving end of your corrective conversations, but it will make them at least a little less tough for all parties.
Get more career advice: Read Jill's columns | Watch Manager's Minute videos
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This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Holly Butcher Grant, and Julie Moos. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.
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The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.
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