Reporting on the reporting.
While this may sound silly, it is often times extremely telling. Here's why: the way agencies respond to public records requests says a lot about the type of sources you're dealing with and the level of controversy contained in the information you're seeking.
Reluctance is key. If a government agency or program is reluctant to hand over public documents, it is a pretty good sign that they are leery about something in them being widely published.
By reporting your struggles to report, you as the news source are giving more power to the reader.
A local example of this concept came out of The Des Moines Register this week. The story started when Worth County Deputies tased and killed Michael Zubrod, 39, in September. An internal investigation of the case was closed in December. The County Attorney determined there was no wrongdoing on the part of the deputies.
The Register is rightly looking to report further on the findings of the investigation. And that is where they have hit a wall. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is refusing to provide reports and documents from the case.
Here is where the register empowers its readers with the story in the story...
Instead of carry out this battle silently and report what they can when they get it, they published this story last Monday. In it, The Register lays out the specifics of the lawsuit they have filed and even got comments from Governor Branstad in support of them obtaining the records.
Government transparency: challenged.
Public interest: heightened.
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