Class blog – Page 29 – Online Reporting, Research & Writing

Do you know your freedom of information rights?

Reading about Digital Journalist’s Legal Guide made me realize how many rights journalist has. FOIA stands for Freedom of Information Act.

The guide states that people have legal rights to open records, for example, police misconduct, how the government spends taxpayer money and any kind of traffic records. People also have the right for open public meetings such as meetings of commissions, councils, and boards.

When it comes to news gathering reporters have limited rights. Reporters can come to a news scene but it depends on whether the property is public, non-public or private. The owners of private property usually have more control over who accesses their property. Public properties have a place and time to when reports can come and access the property.

A journalist should always know their rights when reporting and also be sure about the information that they publish. If publishing a false document, it could affect a reputation and could lead to criminal charges and be taken into court.

Anything that the government does, including salaries and information on money as a citizen you are allowed to ask for the information, and they have 20 days to respond to your request.

How FOIA affects journalists

The Freedom of Information Act gives the government, journalists and citizens access to public records that cannot be found online.

Journalists went into detail about their experiences with FOIA at an event hosted by the Detroit Free Press. For example, Jim Schafer, professor at the University of Michigan – Dearborn and staff writer for the Detroit Free Press, has made FOIA requests for the Kwame Kilpatrick scandal, where the Detroit Free Press broke the story.

Police reports are the most common form of documents requested through FOIA, along with information, according to the event. The journalists advise to send a FOIA request as the last option, because chances are that information is public online.

The most interesting thing about FOIA is due to the advances in technology. Journalists and citizens are able to now request body cam footage. This is a great opportunity to review a situation further than a police report document, however, there are chances that footage can be exempt.

Exemption has been a problem for the journalists at the event. FOIA can black out any information that may give private information or the details needed to complete a story. The Detroit Free Press once requested medical records about the legionnaires outbreak at the beginning of the Flint water crisis. When the Press received the document, there was about 160 pages of blacked out information.

There are many pros and cons to FOIA, but if anything ever goes wrong, journalists are able to sue to receive information or to get money back. It is possible to lose the lawsuit. FOIA can be difficult at times but it provides a great system to receive information, especially being an investigative journalist.

Avoiding bias in journalism

When writing an article, I write with an open mind. Most of the events and organizations that I cover focus on positive things, so there are no true negative feelings within my stories.

However, this mindset did not occur last year when I was covering the Planned Parenthood protests. My article was biased towards Planned Parenthood, and I discussed how important it was to keep the non-profit in our communities. During the protest, I didn’t talk to the side that was against Planned Parenthood. This showed where my bias was placed, favoring Planned Parenthood and not acknowledging the opposing side.

The publication that I was working for at the time also accidentally published it before editing it. So not only was it biased towards one side, but it hadn’t been cleared by anyone.

Since this incident, I have been very careful about what I write and to make sure that it is not biased. The journalism career field does not accept bias, because as a journalist, you are supposed to tell the story through someone else’s perspective.

It was a true learning experience for me, and it definitely placed fear within myself. Knowing that an issue like this can get you shamed by other journalists and the public is a scary thing.

Benefits of FOIA

In the year 1967, a law introduced into our country called the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), ensures the citizens are aware of what’s going on inside our country. What is FOIA This website is a great source for finding in depth information on how the FOIA benefits the people of the United States of America.

Citizens and journalist have a digital journalist legal guide that serves as a free educational source on rights given to obtain public information. This is not limited to but does include government operations such as court proceeding to keep us in the know of how our judicial system is proceeding.

An article written by Garance Burke, “Soldier who killed 5 Dallas officers showed PTSD symptoms,” the public may not have known the significance of the veteran’s health past.

This information is very vital as it permitted the public to show how the Veterans Health Administration interact with veterans of war. Johnson, the shooter who killed five police officers. Prior to this crime, he told doctors he was showing signs of PTSD. Johnson notes nightmares from seeing comrades blown to pieces.

His psychiatrist evaluated him months before the attack and said he was getting better. Johnson tried for help another time but was put on a waiting list. The VA North Texas Health Care System is the second largest in the country. The wait time is an average of 50 days to obtain help.

Without the help of the FOIA we would not have the ability to know of the inside working of this establishment and how they are not providing help to veterans that are in fact seeking help for the mental instability post war.