Special EventsUnlocking Government Information By James McGrath Morris, WIW Board Member More than two dozen writers and researchers gained a fast-paced education in how to obtain information from government sources at the WIW Freedom to Write Fund’s (WIW-FWF) February 8 “Unlocking Government Information” Workshop. The two-and-half-hour long presentation covered the strategies, techniques and means of ferreting hard-to-obtain information from government bureaucracies. Three experts with vast experience in investigative journalism, book writing and national security presented a wide array of tips as well as entertaining war stories from their battles with reluctant government agencies or, in one case, members of organized crime. Dan Moldea, a past president of WIW and an independent crime reporter with eight books under his belt, regaled the audience with tales of interviewing known contract killers, and offered an overall plan for any kind of investigation. In his experience, there are five levels to an investigation. First: Go through all available public records. Second: Interview friendly sources. Third: Interview neutral sources; fourth, interview dangerous sources (meaning those who will mislead or lie); and, fifth, interview the target of your investigation. Moldea maintains a remarkable Web site filled with useful links for anyone considering investigative research: (www.moldea.com) Meredith Fuchs, the general counsel of the National Security Archive (also listed an approach for writers seeking documents from the Federal Government under the procedures of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). First: Fuchs said one should approach these requests by completing research that permits a reasonable description of the records being sought. Second: The person should maintain a careful paper record of all correspondence related to the request. Third: Follow up and nudge the government official with whom the request was placed. An acknowledgement of the FOIA request should be issued within two weeks and the material should be forthcoming within several months, though it may take years. Nudging, particular of the friendly variety, is often necessary. But, and this was her fourth point, one should also present a credible threat of negative publicity or litigation when the request seems to be ignored. Scott Armstrong, the former Washington Post reporter who founded the National Security Archive, was the evening’s third panelist. He concurred with the strategies and suggestions made by Moldea and Fuchs. Successful enterprise or investigative reporting requires enormous research, intensive interviewing, and an ability to put together the larger picture, he said. Audience members, as well as panel members, were visibly impressed by his tales of interviewing sources at Little League baseball games for the sources’ children. After pleas from fellow panelists and the audience, Armstrong consented to tell the riveting tale of his service on the Senate Watergate Committee and how his work helped uncover the existence of a secret taping system in the White House. The ensuing fight over the tapes was instrumental in bringing an end to the Nixon presidency. The evening was moderated by Mark Stricherz, a former San Francisco Bay area reporter who is at work on a book titled Why the Democrats are Blue. The panel session was held in a conference room kindly provided by WIW-FWF Board member John Lowe of the law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner in support of the WIW Freedom to Write Fund. Here are some useful web links for people considering conducting FOIA requests: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/foia.html |