After listening to Adria Gonzalez from the First Amendment foundation speak, I learned more about public records and how easy it is, or should be to obtain certain records as protected by the First Amendment.
I learned what defines a public record according to the First Amendment, “public records are defined as all documents, papers, letter, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission, made or received…in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency.”
As a future journalist it is important for me to know what my rights are and how to obtain the information I need. It is very important to know and understand Chapter 119, which says “all state, county, and municipal records shall be open for inspection and copying by any person.” It was also very interesting to learn that the agency, in which you are requesting records, is not allowed to make a profit on providing records. They are only allowed to charge for raw materials and for the minimum hourly wage of someone qualified to handle the request. So if the clerk is qualified and he gets paid twelve dollars an hour they are not allowed to charge you fifty for someone more qualified.
The rules go the other way as well. If I, as the reporter, called an agency to request a copy of a document two hundred pages in length, and tell them my deadline is in a hour, I would be being unreasonable and they have the right to deny my request.
I feel Adria did a great job presenting the material and I really enjoyed what she had to say. I learned very valuable information that I will definitely use in my career as a broadcast journalist.
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