Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) hosted a webinar on Feb. 24, 2026, to learn how journalists and transparency advocates use both local and federal public records requests to pry loose records the government would rather keep secret.
We spoke with Mukta Joshi, an investigative journalist for Mississippi Today and a fellow at The New York Times, whose reporting has uncovered abuse within the Mississippi jail system; Matt Scott, the executive director at the Atlanta Community Press Collective, who has used public records to report on the Atlanta Police Department’s “Cop City”; and Lauren Harper, our Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy, who regularly advocates for improved transparency laws. FPF Senior Adviser Caitlin Vogus moderated the panel.
Topics discussed included:
- How state and local requests work differently from the federal transparency law.
- Tips for developing good working relationships with records custodians.
- Tactics for accessing communications between government entities and third parties.
Our panelists also offered advice for those interested in filing records requests but aren’t sure where to start. Scott said the best way to overcome nerves about filing requests with the government is to jump right in and make it a habit, and Joshi suggested building a spreadsheet for your requests, including the date you filed, what agency you filed with, and who the records custodian is.
You can watch the recording here.
If you find the webinar useful and want us to continue to advocate for strong public records law, please consider donating by visiting freedom.press/donate.
