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MuckRock is pleased to offer training on public records law and other topics. We’d be happy to talk to you about developing custom workshops to meet your needs. Contact [email protected] for more information.
The list below is just a snapshot of a few of the workshops we’re able to offer to your staff, students, members, and collaborators.
These are out of the box trainings that we offer. We typically charge $500 for these 60-90 minute trainings.
Whether someone has never filed a request before or if they’re trying to pick up some additional tips and tactics, our FOIA 101 training has proven invaluable for helping file smarter requests that get responded to more quickly while releasing more information. Covering the basics of both federal FOIA and state records laws, participants will leave with a solid approach for turning their questions and story ideas into concrete requests. They will also be introduced to a range of techniques to help them research and file while also solid first steps to overcoming common points of resistance.
There’s almost too much public record information available at your fingertips. We’ll sort out the best and most useful tools out there — from voter registration portals to property and court records to financial disclosure and public financial data. We’ll explore which states have the best, most accessible public records and how you can use both shoe-leather reporting and online tools to get the documents you need We’ll also show a variety of third-party platforms that house public records from different sources.
Ever had a spreadsheet-turned-PDF you’re stuck untangling? Wish story ideas came right to you? Over the past two years, MuckRock’s DocumentCloud tool has built several ways to automate common journalism and research tasks, taking once-cumbersome processes and breaking them down to just a few clicks — or even letting users set up automations that work without having to do anything at all. Most of these tools are free of charge and available to any verified newsroom, and this session will help you put it to work.
The following are examples of customized trainings we’ve developed for other newsrooms. We charge $1000 for customized workshops like these:
Building on the groundwork laid in FOIA 101, Advanced Public Records provides core strategies for getting around intransigent agencies, including tips on playing different government entities off each other, creative use of other transparency laws and techniques for managing large-scale records projects. For newsrooms focused on a specific beat or geographic area, this can be adjusted to help focus on challenges more likely to arise over the course of records requests in that area.