The art of access: strategies for acquiring public records

Machine generated contents note: Make The World Better / Tom Blanton

Identify The 'Performance Gap' / Tom Blanton

Help Society / Tom Blanton

Feed The New Information Ecosystem / Tom Blanton

Advance Your Career / Tom Blanton

Improve Your Stories / Tom Blanton

Combat Fake News / Tom Blanton

Protect Your Legal Hide / Tom Blanton

Entertain And Amuse / Tom Blanton

Win Awards / Tom Blanton

Get A Job-and Keep It / Tom Blanton

Improve Your Personal Life / Tom Blanton

Buy A House / Tom Blanton

Check Out Schools / Tom Blanton

Background People / Tom Blanton

Buy Smart / Tom Blanton

Find Your FBI File / Tom Blanton

Develop A New Way Of Thinking / Tom Blanton

Try It! / Tom Blanton

Suggested Links / Tom Blanton

Take Charge / Tom Blanton

Remember All-American Values / Tom Blanton

Presume It's Open / Tom Blanton

Exercise Your Document Muscles / Tom Blanton

Sketch A 'Circle Of Light' / Tom Blanton

Make FOI First On Fridays / Tom Blanton

Find Inspiration And Support / Tom Blanton

Build Strength Through Sharing / Tom Blanton

Attend A Conference / Tom Blanton

Get E-Inspired / Tom Blanton

Find An FOI Friend / Tom Blanton

Try It! / Tom Blanton

Suggested Links / Tom Blanton

Master The Law In Five Steps / Tom Blanton

Learn The Lingo / Tom Blanton

Identify What Records Are Covered / Tom Blanton

Identify What Agencies Are Covered / Tom Blanton

Identify Exemptions That Allow Secrecy / Tom Blanton

Identify Your Rights To Appeal / Tom Blanton

Dip Into Alphabet Laws / Tom Blanton

Health Information: HIPAA / Tom Blanton

Education Records: FERPA / Tom Blanton

Driver's Licenses: DPPA / Tom Blanton

Access To Public Meetings / Tom Blanton

Exercise Your Right To Watch / Tom Blanton

Question Meeting Red Flags / Tom Blanton

Tap Into Legal Resources / Tom Blanton

Find Shortcuts / Tom Blanton

Read The Statutes / Tom Blanton

Identify Key Court Cases / Tom Blanton

Ask The Attorney General / Tom Blanton

Try It! / Tom Blanton

Suggested Links / Tom Blanton

Explore Document Habitats / Tom Blanton

Map The Government / Tom Blanton

'Take Over' Agency Territory / Tom Blanton

Visit Records' Birth Places / Tom Blanton

Scour Document Cemeteries / Tom Blanton

Find Records In Records / Tom Blanton

'Interview' Your Documents / Tom Blanton

Request The Requests / Tom Blanton

Build On Others' Successes / Tom Blanton

Surf FOI-Idea Websites / Tom Blanton

Follow Record Hunters / Tom Blanton

Tap Into Digital Helpers / Tom Blanton

Go Global / Tom Blanton

Get Help From Librarians / Tom Blanton

Mine The Miners / Tom Blanton

Scan Investigative Stories / Tom Blanton

Try It! / Tom Blanton

Suggested Links / Tom Blanton

Get In The Zone / Tom Blanton

Get Personal / Tom Blanton

Write Effective Letters / Tom Blanton

Use Sample Request Letters / Tom Blanton

Choose Your Tone / Tom Blanton

'Perfect' Your Letter / Tom Blanton

Try Online Tools / Tom Blanton

Cut Denials Off At The Pass / Tom Blanton

Emphasize Interests, Not Positions / Tom Blanton

Separate People From The Request / Tom Blanton

Use Negotiation Jiu Jitsu / Tom Blanton

Apply Hard Tactics If Necessary / Tom Blanton

Reactance / Tom Blanton

Reciprocation / Tom Blanton

Commitment And Consistency / Tom Blanton

Social Proof / Tom Blanton

Liking / Tom Blanton

Scarcity / Tom Blanton

Authority / Tom Blanton

Choosing Soft vs. Hard / Tom Blanton

Try It! / Tom Blanton

Suggested Links / Tom Blanton

Understand The Nature Of 'No' / Tom Blanton

Denials Gone Wild / Tom Blanton

Prevalence Of Denials / Tom Blanton

Respond To Common Denials / Tom Blanton

Don't Get Mad, Get Busy / Tom Blanton

If The Agency Says ... / Tom Blanton

'Nah, It's Our Policy Not To Give That Out.' / Tom Blanton

'Chirrrp, Chirrrrp.' (Crickets In The Silence Of The Agency's Nonresponse.) / Tom Blanton

'The Description Of What You Requested Is Overly Broad.' / Tom Blanton

'The Record Doesn't Exist.' / Tom Blanton

'We'll Get Back To You' (20 Years From Now). / Tom Blanton

'Some Of The Materials Are Exempt From Disclosure, So We Can't Give Any Of It Out.' / Tom Blanton

'Here You Go, With A Few Redactions' (All Blacked Out) / Tom Blanton

'Our Hands Are Tied. An Exemption In The Law Forces Us To Keep It Secret.' / Tom Blanton

'We Don't Have Time To Get That For You.' / Tom Blanton

'Where Does It Say In The Law That I Have To Give You That Record?' / Tom Blanton

'You Can Have The Records If You Sign This Contract.' / Tom Blanton

'We Don't Know How You'll Use It. You Might Not Use It In A Way We Like' / Tom Blanton

'It Is Secret Because Of An Exemption (Privacy, National Security, Personnel, Internal Memos, Under Investigation, Etc.).' / Tom Blanton

'That Is A Classified Top-Secret Document, So It Can't Be Released.' / Tom Blanton

'We Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny That The Record Exists.' / Tom Blanton

'Oh, It's All Online. Just Go To Our Website.' / Tom Blanton

'The Records And Data Are Kept By A Private Firm.' / Tom Blanton

'We're Gonna Slapp You Silly.' / Tom Blanton

Play Hardball / Tom Blanton

Go Up The Ladder / Tom Blanton

Rally Allies / Tom Blanton

Shame The Agency / Tom Blanton

File More Requests / Tom Blanton

Publicize It / Tom Blanton

Appeal / Tom Blanton

Pursue Mediation / Tom Blanton

Wield The Independent Club / Tom Blanton

Take Them To Court / Tom Blanton

Get Legal Advice / Tom Blanton

Get Money / Tom Blanton

Get To Know The Court / Tom Blanton

Write The Complaint And Summons / Tom Blanton

File Suit / Tom Blanton

Wait For An Answer / Tom Blanton

Oral Arguments And Decision / Tom Blanton

Move For Costs / Tom Blanton

Plant That Head On A Pike / Tom Blanton

Try It! / Tom Blanton

Suggested Links / Tom Blanton

Become Familiar With Data / Tom Blanton

Examine The Pieces / Tom Blanton

Learn The Lingo / Tom Blanton

Opt For Open Data / Tom Blanton

Get The Database / Tom Blanton

Get To The Wonk / Tom Blanton

Get The Record Layout / Tom Blanton

Get A Printed Sample / Tom Blanton

Write Data-Specific Letters / Tom Blanton

Transfer The Data / Tom Blanton

Counter Cyber-Denials / Tom Blanton

'We Can't Technically Do That' / Tom Blanton

Proprietary Software / Tom Blanton

Personal Information / Tom Blanton

Creation Of A 'New Record' / Tom Blanton

High Programming Costs / Tom Blanton

Teach Yourself Database Journalism / Tom Blanton

Learn Excel / Tom Blanton

Learn Access / Tom Blanton

Tap Into The Car Network / Tom Blanton

Find A Stats Guru / Tom Blanton

Try It! / Tom Blanton

Suggested Links / Tom Blanton

Comprehend Bureaucratic Culture / Tom Blanton

The Power Of Process / Tom Blanton

Full-Time Vs.

Part-Time / Tom Blanton

Tone From The Top / Tom Blanton

Identify Agency Constraints / Tom Blanton

Lack Of Resources And Training / Tom Blanton

Fear Of Embarrassment / Tom Blanton

Parental Controls / Tom Blanton

Punishment For Disclosure / Tom Blanton

Walls Of Denial / Tom Blanton

Help Them Help You / Tom Blanton

Be Polite And Respectful / Tom Blanton

Consider Explaining The Purpose / Tom Blanton

Be Specific / Tom Blanton

Avoid Arbitrary Requests / Tom Blanton

Communicate Often / Tom Blanton

Try It! / Tom Blanton

Suggested Links / Tom Blanton

Create Great Record-Based Stories / Tom Blanton

Organize The Piles / Tom Blanton

Focus On Your Main Point / Tom Blanton

Avoid Documentese / Tom Blanton

Humanize / Tom Blanton

Attribute Clearly / Tom Blanton

Visualize The Data / Tom Blanton

Provide The Records Online / Tom Blanton

Do The Right Thing: FOI Ethics / Tom Blanton

Exercise Your Right To Know / Tom Blanton

Exercise Your Right To 'No' / Tom Blanton

Avoid Bad Scrapes / Tom Blanton

Get It Right / Tom Blanton

Anticipate Public Reaction / Tom Blanton

People Support Access In The Abstract / Tom Blanton

People Dig Safety And Accountability / Tom Blanton

People Don't Like Privacy Invasion / Tom Blanton

People Vary / Tom Blanton

Publicize FOI / Tom Blanton

Find The News Peg / Tom Blanton

Hang It On Experts / Tom Blanton

Make It Relevant / Tom Blanton

Become An FOI Warrior / Tom Blanton

Educate The Public / Tom Blanton

Make Better Law / Tom Blanton

Apply It Daily / Tom Blanton

Try It! / Tom Blanton

Suggested Links / Tom Blanton.