Public Records: How and Why to Access Them (KBOO News Research Club)

Corporate influence, government deception, misappropriated money, and other shady business.

You know they're up to something. Can you prove it?

A hunch or a tip is a good place to start. Journalists work with them all the time, but once we have them, the real work begins. We need to roll up our sleeves and dig into some data.

The KBOO Research Club is a peer-facilitated education project aimed at giving journalists and content producers a working knowledge of a wide array of research methods to take their projects to the next level. Topics we could pursue include data journalism, corporate research, archival and database research, and gaining a better understanding of common documents such as municipal budgets and SEC filings.

On December 10 KBOO News volunteers Sam Bouman and Mike Klepfer will be talking public records. What are they? Where are they? And what are they good for? Sam and Mike will discuss how public records laws work in Oregon, as well as at the federal level, and give practical tips for getting the records you want when you want them. They'll also look at some stories that came to life starting with public records requests and close with a fun FOIA activity.

We will also have pizza in limited supply, so be sure to get there early.

Put your paranoia into practice with the KBOO Research Club!