Richmond Times-Dispatch uses FOIA for lots of news stories
Times-Dispatch Freedom of Information reporting
By DAVID RESS
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/commentary/article/NV-VIEW15_20090313-212305/231256/
Published: March 15, 2009
Freedom of Information Is the Foundation of a Free Press Some of the most exciting writing we do here in the
Richmond Times-Dispatch newsroom never gets published.
It reads like this: "This is a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act . . . ."
With those words, we recently found out that:
We ask first, to be sure. Actually, under Virginia law, even a phone call asking to see a government record is a FOIA request. But after we ask, we sometimes have to write. Sometimes, as with Virginia Tech, it is a combination of our sources and other techniques of finding things out that get the story.
But it's important that every Virginian know that the FOIA expresses a basic obligation of Virginia government: that it do its business in the clear light of day.
That's why Virginia requires officials to disclose potential conflicts of interest and donations to their political campaigns -- and why
The Times-Dispatch could report that then-Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder understated his assets by at least $260,000 in a sworn statement or that proponents of ending the state's uranium-mining ban spent more than $7,000 on campaign contributions to some of the 13 legislators on the subcommittee studying the ban.
Sometimes, government officials don't like to say what they're up to. One of the most important things we do here at The Times-Dispatch is to step up and tell you when they won't. And we'll report what they are doing.
We regularly use freedom of information laws to find out information officials would rather not share. And we probably ought to use them even more.
But the laws are there for all to use.
This week, you'll see the sun-and-Capitol logo for Sunshine Week all over the paper -- it's American newspapers' effort to celebrate what FOIA laws are about. This week, Times-Dispatch reporters hope to show you the power of the law, a power to make sure government is accountable.
We'll write about what the legislature is doing about the state FOIA. We'll dig into local government officials' salaries -- from Caroline to Sussex, Cumberland to Charles City -- with a database we created through FOIA requests across the region. We'll check to make sure that what lobbyists and special interests say they are giving to politicians is what politicians say they are getting.
We'd like to encourage you all to use the law, too. Here's what you need to know:
The law says government bodies can't meet in secret and that government records, with some specific exceptions, must be available for inspection and copying if you ask to see them.
There are 27 types of documents that are exempt, ranging from the governor's correspondence to records on hazardous-waste sites, as well as general exemptions for police investigative records, health records, and school system information about individual students. The exclusions aren't mandatory, but it is hard to win an argument with officials to release something they don't have to release.
You can be charged for copies or for the work of gathering records, but only a reasonable amount determined by the agency supplying the documents. Sometimes that takes an argument, too.
Even so, we're going to keep writing those words: "This is a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act . . . ."
We'll keep sharing with you what we find. And between Times-Dispatch reporters and readers keeping a sharp eye on officials, we're confident our community will get the good government it deserves.
By DAVID RESS
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/commentary/article/NV-VIEW15_20090313-212305/231256/
Published: March 15, 2009
Freedom of Information Is the Foundation of a Free Press Some of the most exciting writing we do here in the
Richmond Times-Dispatch newsroom never gets published.
It reads like this: "This is a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act . . . ."
With those words, we recently found out that:
- The Virginia State Police need 600 more troopers, investigators, and supervisors.
- Richmond police spent $11,586 on security for Mayor Dwight C. Jones during President Barack Obama's inauguration.
- Richmond officials couldn't say how many officials drive city-owned cars home.
- Virginia Commonwealth University officials decided, in their own words, to be "very flexible" in awarding then-Richmond Police Chief Rodney D. Monroe a degree when he had far fewer VCU credits than the school required of other students -- and the police department paid $15,937 in tuition fees for that degree.
We ask first, to be sure. Actually, under Virginia law, even a phone call asking to see a government record is a FOIA request. But after we ask, we sometimes have to write. Sometimes, as with Virginia Tech, it is a combination of our sources and other techniques of finding things out that get the story.
But it's important that every Virginian know that the FOIA expresses a basic obligation of Virginia government: that it do its business in the clear light of day.
That's why Virginia requires officials to disclose potential conflicts of interest and donations to their political campaigns -- and why
The Times-Dispatch could report that then-Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder understated his assets by at least $260,000 in a sworn statement or that proponents of ending the state's uranium-mining ban spent more than $7,000 on campaign contributions to some of the 13 legislators on the subcommittee studying the ban.
Sometimes, government officials don't like to say what they're up to. One of the most important things we do here at The Times-Dispatch is to step up and tell you when they won't. And we'll report what they are doing.
We regularly use freedom of information laws to find out information officials would rather not share. And we probably ought to use them even more.
But the laws are there for all to use.
This week, you'll see the sun-and-Capitol logo for Sunshine Week all over the paper -- it's American newspapers' effort to celebrate what FOIA laws are about. This week, Times-Dispatch reporters hope to show you the power of the law, a power to make sure government is accountable.
We'll write about what the legislature is doing about the state FOIA. We'll dig into local government officials' salaries -- from Caroline to Sussex, Cumberland to Charles City -- with a database we created through FOIA requests across the region. We'll check to make sure that what lobbyists and special interests say they are giving to politicians is what politicians say they are getting.
We'd like to encourage you all to use the law, too. Here's what you need to know:
The law says government bodies can't meet in secret and that government records, with some specific exceptions, must be available for inspection and copying if you ask to see them.
There are 27 types of documents that are exempt, ranging from the governor's correspondence to records on hazardous-waste sites, as well as general exemptions for police investigative records, health records, and school system information about individual students. The exclusions aren't mandatory, but it is hard to win an argument with officials to release something they don't have to release.
You can be charged for copies or for the work of gathering records, but only a reasonable amount determined by the agency supplying the documents. Sometimes that takes an argument, too.
Even so, we're going to keep writing those words: "This is a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act . . . ."
We'll keep sharing with you what we find. And between Times-Dispatch reporters and readers keeping a sharp eye on officials, we're confident our community will get the good government it deserves.
