Borowski: We use and fight for open records. When we do, we're fighting for you as well

Yahoo

14-03-2025

Years ago, I attended a conference on investigative reporting and a particular way of thinking about reporting stuck with me: Operate with the conviction that every piece of information you may need for a story is written down somewhere.
And: You are entitled to it.
Not just you, as a journalist, you as a citizen.
Think about it.
Every ticket written, every bill passed, every judgement filed, every contract signed, every bonus paid, every campaign contribution received, every dinner bought, every report filed – about inmates being punished, potholes being filled, travel being taken, taxes raised.
That's nothing to be alarmed about. Quite the opposite: It's something to be celebrated.
That's what news organizations do each year, as they mark Sunshine Week, which begins Sunday. The week recognizes a bedrock aspect of our Constitution, the First Amendment, and two things that give it real teeth – open meetings laws and open records laws (often given the shorthand of FOIA, for the federal Freedom of Information Act).
Now, in practice, these laws carry some exceptions. We understand that. But the spirit is clear: Information about what government is doing should be available to the maximum extent possible, to be used by the people that government serves. That's all of us.
At the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, we use these laws all the time in pursuit of stories that serve our readers and our communities. This ranges from exposing gaps in Milwaukee County's 'Brady List' of police officers found to be untruthful to gathering data from 72 Wisconsin counties to understand the real picture of gun deaths in the state.
We've also used public records to expose problems at the Milwaukee Housing Authority, in state prisons, Milwaukee Public Schools, even how the chair of the Milwaukee County Board expensed roller blades and a MAC membership.
Nowhere in those laws does it say this information is available to journalists. All of that same information is available to anyone.
It's why you can search court cases online, and check campaign contributions and read the same information elected officials do before they vote on bills and measures. If you want to see what you're paying in property taxes, compared to your neighbor, you can. If you want to see how many times cars have been ticketed for speeding on your street, you can.
That's why I'm especially proud of an initiative launched by our staff.
To help bring more awareness to public records, Journal Sentinel staffers have been offering public records training sessions to resident-led groups across the city.
For instance, on a recent Saturday, reporters Ashley Luthern and John Diedrich – members of our investigative team – joined a dozen residents at Amani United's regular meeting to talk about public records. In an interactive presentation, the two walked through what a public record is — and is not — and where residents can find data, information and other records.
They gave practical examples: How to request a police report, where to look up property inspection records and how to find the latest on licensing of new businesses in the area.
Our reporters will be back with Amani United next month for a second session to give hands-on help to residents who want to find specific pieces of information or file their own records requests. If you would like reporters to join your neighborhood meeting to talk public records, let us know – you can email Ashley, our deputy investigations editor, at [e-mail].
That's one thing we can do.
What can you do?
First, you can support independent journalism. It can cost a lot of money to obtain records – from police body cam footage to databases to stacks of documents. Often, those holding the records will drive the costs as high as possible, causing some to abandon the effort.
There are many ways through the Local Media Foundation, a nonprofit group, that you can make a difference for our newsroom – including a donation that will advance our work.
Second, push back when a public official wants to give you less information, or create new barriers to getting information it should provide readily.
We've seen that most recently at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office, which suddenly is refusing to provide basic information to the public in a timely manner on deaths it investigates: homicides, fatal crashes, drug overdoses, weather-related deaths. This includes such key information as when and where an incident occurred.
Under the recently-retired Karen Domagalski, the office had set a gold-standard for openness. No longer. Combine the new hurdles with the Milwaukee Police Department's refusal in its news releases about incidents to even give the gender of a victim, and it means you know much less about the public safety picture in our community.
Now, as a newsroom, we can push back – and we will. And we will keep seeking the same information from alternate sources, from family members and others, in order to cover such a vital topic with depth and context. We will not be deterred.
But something important is lost when information becomes less available.
And if it is harder for us to get it, that means it is harder for you as well.
So, if you have a question someone is refusing to answer, or the answers you're getting don't make sense, tell us about it. You can leave us a news tip at projects.jsonline.com/tips, or by emailing [e-mail], or by calling 414-319-9061.
Remember those two principles from the start of this piece?
What you want to know is almost certainly written down somewhere. And: With few exceptions, you're entitled to see it.
Here's a third: If someone says you can't, keep trying.
Because chances are there is something to see.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Mary Spicuzza and Wisconsin public records legal expert Tom Kamenick will be answering questions about open records requests on Reddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/wisconsin/ Monday at noon.
Greg Borowski is executive editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @GregJBorowski and reach him via [e-mail].
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Borowski: We fight for open records. When we do, we're figting for you