FOIAFriday: A community podcast about all things FOIA and public records
The meeting is held on Zoom and is free to the public. If you have any questions, timely projects or ideas for an interesting FOIA conversation, let us know below and we’ll do our best to highlight them in our next call.
Mark your calendar for an upcoming event! You can RSVP for our calls in April and beyond.
You can find all our sessions so far on MuckRock’s YouTube channel:
- Requesting emails + Be a local FOIA hero with Miranda Spivack
- FOIA Author’s Club + Finding State and Local Public Records with Phil Eil and Michelle Mondo (March 2025)
- Filing a lawsuit and backgrounding businesses with Sammy Sussman and Elizabeth Clemons (February 2025)
- “The Rise of Right to Know” with guest Michael Schudson + DLP updates and Brady lists (January 2025)
- Exemption 7(a) and appeals, martial arts and public records? (December 2024)
- Mailbag questions and Detroit Police with A.J. Johnson (November 2024)
- 50 FOIAs in 50 minutes (October 2024)
- How to access a political candidate’s personal financial disclosures (August 2024)
- Government transparency and nonprofits with Miranda Spivack (July 2024)
- Three things to include when backgrounding political candidates (June 2024)
- Requesting data inventories (May 2024)
- Appeals, appeals, appeals (April 2024)
- Notice to of Intent to Pursue Legal Action, Constructive Denials and more (March 2024)
If you are new to MuckRock, get oriented at How MuckRock Works, find out What to expect from your first request or come join us in our Slack channel. To stay on top of the latest public records trends and techniques, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter.
Our FOIA 101 Project is a great introduction to public records. Transparency Tips and Tricks is another great place to start, and our Requester’s Voice archive is a treasure trove of FOIA stories.
5 Articles
For the Record: Opening up the statehouse
MuckRock’s September FOIA Friday conversation focused on opening up the statehouse through requesting data and documents such as calendars, contracts, lobbying data and travel logs.
For the Record: Dig into personal financial disclosures
August’s FOIA Friday session covered documents that are especially useful during the election season: personal financial disclosures, business interests and finances.
For the Record: Government transparency when businesses and nonprofits are involved
MuckRock hosted its monthly FOIA Friday conversation on the challenges of requesting public records when businesses and nonprofits intervene.
8 Requests
Completed
Annual Emission Report database for all facilities from 2012 through 2023
Dillon Bergin sent this request to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency of Illinois
No Responsive Documents
Enterprise Data Inventory (EDI)
Dillon Bergin sent this request to the California Department of Justice of California
Completed
Enterprise Data Inventory (EDI) PDF
Dillon Bergin sent this request to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States of America
Completed
Event booking at Thomas and Mack Center
Chris Amico sent this request to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas of Nevada
Rejected
Dillon Bergin sent this request to the Village Of Stickney of Stickney, IL
Awaiting Acknowledgement
Kelly Kauffman sent this request to the Mayor's Office of Washington, DC