It’s no secret American journalism is undergoing rapid change (and in some cases, decline). StateImpact is an effort to respond by adding journalists on the ground, shoring up our digital capacity and skill at the station level, and focusing on the fundamentals that make journalism vital, like serving the public by watch-dogging the government.
So we’re returning to our journalistic roots for our combined October-November reporter challenge. Your mission? Learning about and using your state’s open-records laws to get government documents that lead to great stories.
“The FOIA has compelled federal agencies to yield millions of documents relating to government operations and performance. Every week, a news organization, scholar or public-interest group somewhere reports information of significance to public health or safety or good governance — based on material gleaned from FOIA requests.” -Paul McMasters