Advice for your FOIA appeals
Journalists are most successful with their open-records requests when they think about strategy first. (See our 2022 webinar “My First FOIA: Open records are for everyone“).
But many times, requests can be delayed, denied, or even ignored by the responsive agency. On March 15, the National Press Club Journalism Institute spoke with three FOIA experts on how to prepare successful requests and the avenues you have for appeals.
Here are a few of their tips:
- Begin with making sure that you are precise in what you were asking for. Broad requests for information are likely to be denied. Use specific keywords, form identifiers, and date ranges, and ask for the right information from the right part of the agency.
- You can also pick up the phone and call the agency’s information officer. Ask the officer how to be more precise in your request or ask to be connected with a subject matter expert to help with precision in your request. If you plan to file many records requests, check out the American Society for Access Professionals. They hold conferences where you can meet FOIA and information officers in person.
- To understand federal and state appeals processes, check out FOIA Wiki, the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press’s Open Government Guide, and MuckRock News. These sites have sources, language, and examples of appeals letters that can help in your appeal.
- In your appeals communication, suggest the denial was an “adverse determination” and then be precise about asking where the information officer searched for the information you are seeking: Who did the search? What records were searched? Have an information expert or your colleagues — such as someone from the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press — read your letter before sending.
- If your appeal is denied, consider litigating. If your newsroom doesn’t have the resources to do so, use this legal help hotline or free legal services for local news organizations and freelancers. Legal clinics, universities, and attorneys who need to fulfill their pro bono service requirements may be able to assist.
For more tips, watch the webinar replay:
Additional resources
- FOIA.Wiki
- Open Government Guide for Journalists (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press)
- Local Legal Initiative (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press)
- Localize It: State policies often put the burden of enforcing sunshine laws on private citizens (Associated Press)
- ‘Approach FOIA as you would an investigative story’ / Covering crime and justice or the health beat? One journalist’s FOIA advice (NPCJI)
About the speakers
Nate Jones works with reporters to target documents to request, appeal, and sue. He works with reporters to obtain local, state, and federal records and to think strategically about public records in all formats. He gives FOIA training sessions and advises reporters on how to write, refine and track requests, navigate delays and overredactions, and overcome other bureaucratic resistance. He is also author of the “Revealing Records” column, which describes The Post’s battles for public records.
Gunita Singh works on litigation, policy, and amicus work, primarily around state and federal freedom of information laws while also helping reporters and news organizations with records requests. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her undergraduate degree from Boston University, where she studied political science and graduated magna cum laude.
Mark Walker covers a wide range of transportation-related subjects, including aviation, freight rail, and the future of passenger rail travel in the United States. He also covered the fallout from the Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and explored how highways continue to segregate communities. Walker started as a reporter at a small South Dakota paper called The Argus Leader before working for Investigative Reporters and Editors, a nonprofit that helps train journalists.
About the National Press Club Journalism Institute
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.
The Institute depends on grants, foundation funds, and contributions from individuals like you. Your donation today allows the Institute to offer the majority of its programming at no cost.
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