Government Transparency

A new study published in the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project’s Journal of Civic Information examines innovative ways of enforcing public record laws in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The focus of the study, by Mitch McKenney of Kent State University, is on Ohio’s Court of Claims, which set…

The Student Press Law Center and the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project are proud to honor Illinois high school journalist Isabelle Leofanti with the 2025 Student Freedom of Information Award. Leofanti, a reporter for Metea Media at Metea Valley High School, investigated the deteriorating conditions of the school’s…

Journalists fatigued by government secrecy are less likely to push for public records, according to a study that earned first place in a national research competition in freedom of information. The study, based on a September survey of 505 U.S. journalists, found that three-quarters have used public records laws, mostly…

Veteran journalist Miranda Spivack has spent decades reporting on state and local government, first in regional newspapers and later during a 20-year career at The Washington Post. But her new book, Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back, shifts the…

Washington state House lawmakers have reinstated a controversial email auto-deletion policy, allowing most legislative emails, including those about bills and communications with lobbyists, to be permanently erased after 30 days. The move has drawn criticism from transparency advocates who say it weakens the public’s ability to scrutinize how laws are…

A new study from the Brechner Freedom of Information Project finds that states with weaker newspaper environments are associated with greater government secrecy.  The study, published in this month’s News Research Journal, found that states with fewer newspapers per capita and financially weak press associations are more likely to have…

A new partnership led by MuckRock and involving the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC), the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Brechner Freedom of Information Project is working to help journalists acquire the information they need to inform the public.   Journalism relies on public records, but…

Watchdog group, American Oversight has filed a lawsuit in federal court to compel the United States Justice Department to release records related to Emil Bove, a senior DOJ official and federal judicial nominee facing multiple controversies. The suit seeks to enforce seven Freedom of Information Act requests submitted earlier this…

University of North Carolina professor David Ardia argues that the public’s right to access government information should be a constitutional right—not just a statutory one.  In a Arizona Law Review article, Ardia writes that access to information is essential for democratic self-governance and should be recognized as a constitutional safeguard…

In a recent opinion, the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed that the district’s mayor’s office must publish agency budget requests under the city’s Freedom of Information Act, and that failure to proactively post the records could result in punishment. The case, District of Columbia v. Terris, Pravlik & Millian…

A survey of investigative journalists found that limited access to government records and sources remains the greatest challenge to holding public officials accountable.  The survey, conducted for the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability at the University of Florida, gathered responses from 51 investigative reporters and editors across the U.S.…

A coalition of 40 California newsrooms has published a study examining the challenges of large-scale public records requests. The California Reporting Project developed a tool, RequestAtlas, to manage unstructured data obtained through public record requests related to police use of force and misconduct.  The study found that early attempts to…