A week ago, our class embarked on a field trip to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department offices where we learned firsthand about how reporters get their information for their stories from the police.
Deputy Larry McKinnon, also a public information officer (PIO), explained that there are several ways for reporters to get their information for their stories. The most common way of obtaining any public information is through the press releases the Hillsborough County Police Department uploaded on their website. These press releases give the reporter a review of the cases that occurred in the area.
McKinnon explained that technology is changing around us and that even the police needs to get with the times when it comes to producing these reports. The police officers used to hand write their reports, but with the changing technology, they’ve completed their reports electronically.
These reports are sent via air card to the police officer’s laptops and then sent to their supervisors. If approved, it is then sent to the hard drive where it is processed and becomes public information.
McKinnon explained that there is a step-by-step process on how these police records are processed. He went on to explain that when a person is arrested, the arresting officer fills out the arrest report. Once the arrest record is approved, a CRA is completed and then given to the arrestee to take to booking.
With all this information, does a reporter have access to any information the police department holds? A reporter has access to any information except witnesses and victims if it is a closed investigation.
The most interesting part of the trip was our visit to the 911 Call Center. McKinnon explained that the 911 call center has 1.5 million call volume per year and that they are the top 5 largest communication center in the south.
Like most records within the police department, all calls coming into the call center are public record because everything is recorded. But as long as the calls aren’t included in an ongoing investigation, reporters are allowed to request these calls as public records for their story.
All in all, this was a rewarding experience as we were able to understand what a reporter’s jurisdiction is when it comes to obtaining records for a story.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Chris Davis Visit
In our last class, we had the privilege of having Chris Davis, an investigations editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, visit our class and explain how his line of work uses public records and in what ways he uses these records.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is classified as a small-medium sized paper and it is said to be the best of its size in Florida.
In investigative reporting and editing, Davis explained that public records are used on a daily basis. He explains that public records gives an investigative reporter a direct source of information and that he doesn't have to rely on people and their statements to get the facts.
Their biggest project of sorts was using these public records they've obtained from their databases and put them in a special report to let the people know what is really going on in their own community.
One of their stories involved their reporters to go to a property appraisal office in each county for their database. From there, they were able to use all the public records to connect those who were involved and with the help of new technology, they were able to let people see how connected these people were using different graphs and models.
Another one of their stories involved a murder that occurred between the 50s and 60s and with public records they were able to recreate the murder scene digitally and let people see the crime scene from the comfort of their own computer. You could pick any of the crime scene photos and as soon as you click on the picture, you're able to see exactly what the crime scene looked like digitally. You could drag the mouse over any of the things or person in the room and it will explain the detail of what happened that day and the significance of that object or person.
These examples show that the web can do a great job with engaging readers into a story with the help of public records and that is exactly what Chris Davis intended for his readers.
The Herald-Tribune used that to their advantage by making a web report with different graphics and flash that made the report very interesting to read.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is classified as a small-medium sized paper and it is said to be the best of its size in Florida.
In investigative reporting and editing, Davis explained that public records are used on a daily basis. He explains that public records gives an investigative reporter a direct source of information and that he doesn't have to rely on people and their statements to get the facts.
Their biggest project of sorts was using these public records they've obtained from their databases and put them in a special report to let the people know what is really going on in their own community.
One of their stories involved their reporters to go to a property appraisal office in each county for their database. From there, they were able to use all the public records to connect those who were involved and with the help of new technology, they were able to let people see how connected these people were using different graphs and models.
Another one of their stories involved a murder that occurred between the 50s and 60s and with public records they were able to recreate the murder scene digitally and let people see the crime scene from the comfort of their own computer. You could pick any of the crime scene photos and as soon as you click on the picture, you're able to see exactly what the crime scene looked like digitally. You could drag the mouse over any of the things or person in the room and it will explain the detail of what happened that day and the significance of that object or person.
These examples show that the web can do a great job with engaging readers into a story with the help of public records and that is exactly what Chris Davis intended for his readers.
The Herald-Tribune used that to their advantage by making a web report with different graphics and flash that made the report very interesting to read.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Library Visit With Cheryl McCoy
On Monday, Our class visited with Cheryl McCoy, who is the Coordinator of General Collections and Government Documents. She made it very clear that most of the public records for this class are easily accessible because public records in the state of Florida are open to the general public.
She explained that there will be times when we will find public records very easily while there are times when they won't be as easy to find because of different circumstances. Public Records at the University of South Florida can be found on the first floor of the library.
At the University of South Florida, we have access to almost any public records available except for student records. Social Security Numbers are only available for investigative usage.
When finding about a certain person or place, we need primary sources. Many people believe that the newspaper is a primary public record. On the contrary, McCoy pointed out that newspapers are not public records nor are they primary; they are secondary sources that have primary sources that contributed to the articles in the newspaper.
McCoy also gave our class some websites to start our searches for public records for our assignments in the future. She recommended IDigAnswers.com, where she explained that E-newspapers are more technologically advanced when it comes to getting the information as well as obtaining the information out there. But at the same time, that information can get you in trouble (freedom of information).
Another good place to start are the county websites like the Hillsborough County official website. On that website, you can find the minutes for any of the meetings you search for as well as the agenda for upcoming meetings.
Cheryl McCoy's seminar helped several of us understand how easy it is to find the public records, but as previously stated from the last blog post, it is hard to obtain those public records.
She explained that there will be times when we will find public records very easily while there are times when they won't be as easy to find because of different circumstances. Public Records at the University of South Florida can be found on the first floor of the library.
At the University of South Florida, we have access to almost any public records available except for student records. Social Security Numbers are only available for investigative usage.
When finding about a certain person or place, we need primary sources. Many people believe that the newspaper is a primary public record. On the contrary, McCoy pointed out that newspapers are not public records nor are they primary; they are secondary sources that have primary sources that contributed to the articles in the newspaper.
McCoy also gave our class some websites to start our searches for public records for our assignments in the future. She recommended IDigAnswers.com, where she explained that E-newspapers are more technologically advanced when it comes to getting the information as well as obtaining the information out there. But at the same time, that information can get you in trouble (freedom of information).
Another good place to start are the county websites like the Hillsborough County official website. On that website, you can find the minutes for any of the meetings you search for as well as the agenda for upcoming meetings.
Cheryl McCoy's seminar helped several of us understand how easy it is to find the public records, but as previously stated from the last blog post, it is hard to obtain those public records.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Nickens Visit
Tim Nickens, editorial page editor for the St. Petersburg Times visited our class to inform us about public records and what we may not know about them in general and how to obtain these records. He explained that Florida has some of the most open public records and what is meant by that is that any person in our society has the right to obtain public records from the state of Florida. For example, if a person wanted to see the minutes from their county’s school board, they can ask for those minutes and see what was discussed in their meetings. Nickens explained that the only records that are denied to the public are juvenile criminal records and public employee files with their social security numbers.
The one aspect of public records that I found very interesting was the fact that as Floridians, we are allowed to gain access to public records for someone’s own personal interest. I personally don’t feel it’s necessary to look through public records for my own personal whim but I can understand why people do take advantage of the opportunity. For some, it is refreshing to know what is going on in our own community.
Nickens also got my attention about the fact that these public records have value. What he meant was that if these records weren’t public, we as a society wouldn’t have an idea what the elected officials were doing. The one thing I found even more interesting was the fact that even though Florida has open public records, obtaining these records are actually very difficult and involves some sort of monetary value as well as a long paper process.
After hearing all of this, I came to the conclusion that while most public records in the state of Florida are open to the public, I am not sure if they are worth trying to obtain because how difficult it is to get them.
The one aspect of public records that I found very interesting was the fact that as Floridians, we are allowed to gain access to public records for someone’s own personal interest. I personally don’t feel it’s necessary to look through public records for my own personal whim but I can understand why people do take advantage of the opportunity. For some, it is refreshing to know what is going on in our own community.
Nickens also got my attention about the fact that these public records have value. What he meant was that if these records weren’t public, we as a society wouldn’t have an idea what the elected officials were doing. The one thing I found even more interesting was the fact that even though Florida has open public records, obtaining these records are actually very difficult and involves some sort of monetary value as well as a long paper process.
After hearing all of this, I came to the conclusion that while most public records in the state of Florida are open to the public, I am not sure if they are worth trying to obtain because how difficult it is to get them.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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