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Educate
the public as well as you news staffs about FOI. Presented
by Joe Adams of The Florida Times-Union.
Questions? Contact Joe at
recordscoach@yahoo.com.
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Spreading the sunshine:
Practical ways to educate about FOI
Educating the public
- Produce a public
records/public meetings handbook or guide
- Link to valuable
public records online from Web site along with FOI resources
- Take an inventory
of stories generated and bolstered through public records and write
a column about the results
- Sponsor public
records/meetings workshops for the public
- Write or air editorials/stories
when public access is threatened; explain why access matters and what
can be lost
- Get newspaper in
education staffs involved with the effort in schools
- Encourage associations
of elected officials to include FOI in training sessions
- Devise house ads
on the benefits of FOI to readers
Educating news
staffs
- Provide info on
FOI as part of the employee orientation process
- Conduct training
sessions on how to effectively use public records and navigate open
records/meetings laws
- Invite the state's
top FOI advocates to visit the staff
- Have the company
attorneys give annual sessions on public meetings/records laws
- Include FOI links
on the company Intranet
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