Student Journalists From Around Country Invited to Enter New Open Government Contest
The New England First Amendment Coalition is teaming up with MuckRock and the Society of Professional Journalists New England Chapter to launch an ongoing public records contest for student journalists.
Participants will hone their transparency skills while using MuckRock’s FOIA tools, NEFAC’s FOI Guide and having a monthly shot at a prize package.
To enter, participants must submit a public records request for one of the following categories:
- Police Report
- Animal Control Report
- Any other type of topic that you find unique or interesting
Follow these few steps and you’ll have a chance to find a story that may be new to you and worthy of our monthly prize.
Optional Preparation
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- Review NEFAC’s FOI Guide for public record tutorials.
- Get a free MuckRock account.
- Register an account here, using your school email address.
- Click here and then click “Request to Join.”
- You’ll then be approved by an SPJ member, after which you’ll receive a notification and can start filing through MuckRock.
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Step One
File a records request! You can file through MuckRock or on your own, your preference. If you’d like some inspiration, search through MuckRock’s database of request ideas for topics that interest you — you can swap out the agency with one local to you, or just use the language as inspiration for another request you think will shed some interesting insights into something you or your readers care about. You can also view NEFAC’s 3 Request 3 Stories videos for each New England state (ME, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT) to find inspiration.
Step Two
Get the documents! This is the hard part, but we’ve got the resources to help. Check out MuckRock’s FOIA 101 resources, its guides to each states’ laws, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Open Government Guide. You can also hop into a MuckRock FOIA chatroom to get feedback on request language, how to workaround objections and more or check out its FOIA 101 video. If you’re requesting in a New England state, you can also learn specific strategies from many of the region’s leading attorneys and investigative journalists through NEFAC’s FOI Guide.
Step Three
Submit your request at this form. If you get back the documents, let us know what you’ve found in them using the official entry form! But even if your request was rejected, we want to hear about it — the most egregious rejections are also eligible for being a monthly winner. We’ll pick out one request that helped dislodge important documents or which showcases ridiculous agency obfuscation each month.
Each monthly winner will receive:
- Clip Wireless Microphone
- SPJ Coffee Tumbler
- Laptop Bag
- Smartphone Gimbal/Tripod
- SPJ Sweatshirt
- SPJ Stickers
Any questions? Just reach out to Adam Sennott at SPJ New England: sennott.adam@gmail.com.