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 Whatever you're trying to learn about the
world - as a journalist or as an informed citizen
- public records often hold the key. But what
records, where? And how to get them? It starts
with understanding the Freedom of information
Act, but what you really need are strategies
dealing with the officials who stand between you
and the information you seek. Gaining access to
records is an art, one that requires an
organized approach and a good understanding of
human behavior.
The Art of Access is a how-to guide
putting the law into action and using ingenuity
to pry records loose. Building on their own
experience and interviews with more than 100
practitioners, FOI experts and longtime
journalists David Cuillier and Charles Davis
help you rethink the information-gathering
process and develop a document state of mind.
With Cuillier and Davis’s strategies, get ready
to
overcome roadblocks and illegal denials;
better understand government officials’
perspectives so you can more successfully
work with them;
find more and better online resources and
mine them effectively; and write document-based stories that resonate
with readers.
A
“Pro Tips” feature showcases advice from
some of the best in the business, from media
lawyers and prominent journalists to a private
investigator and other access experts. At the
end of each chapter, a Try It! section
offers exercises and story ideas that will
empower you to start finding and using documents
right away. Appendixes include a
comprehensive list of online FOI resources as
well as an annotated Record Album that guides
you A–Z to records on everything from abandoned
buildings and air quality to workplace safety
and zoning.
Book Review
The Art of Access is more
than just a highly readable
primer on
obtaining public
records; it's a fantastic,
in-depth resource for anyone
seeking information from or
about their government. This is
a guide that can help you turn a
public official s right to no
into your right to know. -
Pete Weitzel, former managing
editor, Miami Herald, and former
director of the Coalition of
Journalists for Open Government
This clear, concise and timely
book provides a step-by-step
guide for turning the overhyped
rhetoric of transparency into a
much-needed reality. Cuillier
and Davis, both veterans of the
access wars, provide journalists
and citizens alike with the keys
to unlocking the secrets held in
public records that government
officials too often like to stow
away. Replete with tips from
professional journalists, a bevy
of relevant websites and many
handy checklists, this book is a
practical guide for navigating
the often bumpy road to getting
the government records you want
and need. - Clay Calvert,
Professor and Brechner Eminent
Scholar in Mass Communication,
University of Florida/
Open government laws such as the
Freedom of information Act
provide us with powerful
political tools, but we don't
always know how to use them.
This superb handbook distills
the most effective techniques
gaining access to official
records. It will help readers
become more skillful requesters,
and better citizens. - Steven After for good, Director, Project on
Government Secrecy
Buy it:
The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public
Records
Find more
Public Records Books.
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