What to do when you still need to do the story?

What to do when you still need to do the story?

Journalists may need to be more creative in their newsgathering. When reporters in Roanoke, Va., were unable to get information about fire victims from emergency response personnel, they didn't give up on the story. Reporters were able to get information from neighbors.

Similarly, a Wisconsin reporter trying to get information about monkeypox did the research by contacting local veterinarians.

The best thing journalists can do is educate themselves about privacy and access laws so they know when something truly may be withheld under the law. Some records must be redacted, while others may be released if the agency deems it in the public interest.

The following are some tips for accessing information:

Do enough reporting to discover the real reason officials are reluctant.

Follow the food chain. Records get reported to many agencies at different levels. Try a different source if one is being particularly reluctant.

Appeal to the public good. Identify important stories that have been done using the records, showing why aggregated statistics or anonymous records won't do.

Appeal to accountability. Many politicians run on "cleaning up the government." Offer to check their performance.

Find out whether any researchers got the data, and how they used it.

Avoid promising to use the records for only specific stories. Try to be general when you talk about how you might use the information.

Avoid promising that you'll never try to track down individuals in a database. You don't want to be in a position of having to prove how you found people in your story.

Finally, if closures to places, records or institutions ultimately could hurt the public interest, report on those potential closures.