Ron Nixon, Washington correspondent for The New York Times, offers resources to help journalists access public records under the federal Freedom of Information Act, as well as corresponding state and local laws. It includes links to help reporters draft and track records-request letters. It accompanies a presentation, "Producing Data-Driven Enterprise Stories Efficiently," that he gave at the Philadelphia NewsTrain on Nov. 13-14, 2015. It was also distributed at Lexington NewsTrain on Jan. 21, 2016, to accompany a presentation by Linda J. Johnson on "Data-Driven Enterprise off Your Beat." NewsTrain is a training initiative of Associated Press Media Editors. More info: http://bit.ly/NewsTrain

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Help with obtaining public records
Ron Nixon, The New York Times | Nixon@nytimes.com | @nixonron
States
Freedom of Information Resources for all states from the National Freedom of
Information Council: http://www.nfoic.org/state-foi-resources
Sample records-request letters for all states: http://www.nfoic.org/state-sample-
foia-request-letters
Federal
FOIA Ombudsman: Federal agency based at the National Archives that helps settle
differences between FOIA requesters and federal agencies.
https://ogis.archives.gov/about-ogis/contact-information.htm
A treasure trove of resources on public records at SPJ’s Journalist’s Toolbox:
http://www.journaliststoolbox.org/archive/public-records/
FOIAMachine.org: https://www.foiamachine.org/ A letter generator and tracker with
social support
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: http://www.rcfp.org/
Its iFOIA.org (letter generator and tracker): https://www.ifoia.org/#!/
Its Digital Journalist’s Legal Guide: http://www.rcfp.org/browse-media-law-
resources/digital-journalists-legal-guide
Its Legal Hotline: 1-800-336-4243 or ifoia-help@rcfp.org
MuckRock: https://www.muckrock.com/ Provides a free repository of hundreds of
thousands of pages of original government materials. Filing requests through MuckRock
starts at $20 to file up to four requests, which includes advice, postage, follow-up, and
hosting of the materials. MuckRock is funded in part by grants from the Sunlight
Foundation, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Knight Foundation.
Student Press Law Center: http://www.splc.org/
U.S. Department of Justice site on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):
http://www.foia.gov/

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The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records, by David Cuillier
and Charles N. Davis, CQ Press, 2010. A 200-page paperback for $30, plus $5 shipping:
http://www.cqpress.com/product/Art-of-Access.html
The Art of Access blog with quick list of links for help: http://theartofaccess.com/foi-
resources/
GWU National Security Archive: http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
Publishes declassified documents obtained under FOIA
The Sunshine in Government Initiative: http://sunshineingovernment.org/
A coalition of media groups dedicated to promoting openness in government.
Government Accountability Office: Although it is a part of Congress, which is not
subject to FOIA, reporters can still get records from the GAO because the agency has a
FOIA-like regulation that allows requesters to ask for and receive documents. Email
requests to RecordsRequest@gao.gov. In the letter, please state that the request is being
made under 4 CFR 81 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which deals with the public
availability of GAO records.