How to find FOI allies in your state

This week I got a call from a gentleman in Illinois who wondered where he could find allies in his struggle to access local and state public records. He has been successful in suing for public records, but still runs into agencies that put up barriers in acquiring legitimate documents. He asked: How can I find others in my state who share my interest in FOI?

Here are several resources for finding FOI allies in your state:

• National Freedom of Information Coalition. Just about every state now has a coalition for open government. Find groups in your state at http://www.nfoic.org/membership/members.html.
• Society of Professional Journalists sunshine chair. Nearly every state has a "sunshine chair" that is available for questions about FOI. See the list at http://www.spj.org/sunshine-chairs.asp.
• Press associations. Most state press associations follow FOI changes closely and are experts on the law. See a list at http://www.nna.org/Partners/AssociationPartners.htm
• State FOI ombudsman. A half dozen states have true FOI ombudsmans who are dedicated to working out disputes between requesters and agencies. About half the states have some form of mediation, often through the attorney general's office. For an overview of state mediation sources, see a report by Harry Hammitt, http://www.nfoic.org/resources/white_papers.html.
• WikiFOIA Sunshine Troublemaker of the Week. WikiFOIA, a project of the Lucy Burns Institute, profiles citizens who fight for public records. See their stories at http://wikifoia.pbwiki.com
• Request the requests. Request the FOI logs from agencies that you are interested in to find out who is requesting records. You'll find people who share your interests.
• Sunshine Week coordinators. Every year for national Sunshine Week a network of regional coordinators gather information about FOI projects. Find a coordinator near you at http://www.sunshineweek.org/sunshineweek/coordinators.
• Media attorneys. Every state has a few media law attorneys who are experts in freedom of information laws. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press' Open Government Guide, http://www.rcfp.org/ogg/index.php, provides excellent analysis and summaries of state laws, usually written by each state's legal expert. The name and contact information for those experts is provided with the summaries.

Do you have other tips for finding access allies in your community or state? If so, post here for all of us!

Welcome!

On behalf of Dave, let me invite you to drop by and talk FOI! We're hard at work on a new book, The Art of Access, which will be a how-to guide to using open government laws and hopefully a ton of inspirational tales of how FOI can unlock the doors of government and make you a better citizen, a better journalist, and a more informed voter.

We invite stories, anecdotes, do's, don'ts....

Let the conversation begin.

Dave & Charles