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Behind the Badge: In New York City Homeless Shelters, the Same ‘Peace Officers’ Abuse Residents
In April 2018, at a New York City intake center for homeless families, Melina Cardona and five other city employees handcuffed a woman who had just walked in to get information about emergency housing. They applied the cuffs in a manner “so excessive,” they fractured her arm. At...
For the Record: New Utah law redefines what is a public record
“For the Record” continues to cover changes to state open records laws across the country. Previously, we’ve broken down proposed legislation in Colorado and Kentucky, and what’s next for public records laws in New Jersey and Arkansas. This week, we’re going to Utah to understand new changes to their public records law.
The inside story on a billion-dollar chemical company’s fight to keep its secrets from the public
In mid-January, at a non-descript YMCA in Berwyn, a secret meeting was held by the publicly-traded chemicals company Koppers and a group of seven elected officials and employees of the nearby village of Stickney, the location of the company’s plant. A catered lunch was provided. Stickney’s longtime mayor was...
For the Record: What’s next for public records law in New Jersey and Arkansas?
In last week’s For the Record column, we covered the state of proposed public-records legislation in Colorado and Kentucky and how they could change how public records are accessed there. This week, we’re turning our attention to New Jersey and Arkansas, which also has active bills in their state legislatures that could end up modernizing each states’ public-record laws.
Release Notes: Improved sorting, new revision control documentation and more
In recent weeks, we’ve rolled out a few updates on DocumentCloud. Users can now sort documents on DocumentCloud by their key/value pairs. We’ve documented API access for document revision control. Finally, a fellow DocumentCloud user contributed a write-up on how to run your own version of Klaxon. For...
Automate your beat: Unredact documents, monitor websites and much more with DocumentCloud
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, so register today to get started.
For the Record: The state of new public records legislation in Colorado and Kentucky
From states creating a “vexatious requester” label to government agencies redefining what is a government record, here’s a breakdown of state legislation in Colorado and Kentucky that would change how public records are accessed. Stay tuned for next week’s For the Record column where we continue to...
MuckRock and partners recognized for its journalism
In 2021, MuckRock created an editorial unit to operate as a hybrid newsroom and journalism support organization. Now, the editorial team has been recognized by national organizations for its journalism. MuckRock has won the First Amendment Coalition’s Free Speech and Open Government Award for its data journalism collaborations. These partnered...
For the Record: Sunshine Week, in review
For the first time this year, the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications hosted Sunshine Week, in collaboration with MuckRock, Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Beginning as “Sunshine Sunday” in Florida in 2002,...
Release Notes: Enhanced project management, an easier way to count pages and other MuckRock and DocumentCloud updates
In the last two weeks the MuckRock team released the ability to pin your projects on DocumentCloud, the ability to update your card on file without making a new purchase and several Add-On improvements including two new Add-Ons: OCR Scheduler and Page Counter. For previous site improvements, check out all...
Build a searchable collection of local campaign finance reports with DocumentCloud
At NICAR 2024, three University of Texas students shared tips and experiences about using DocumentCloud to make a searchable collection of local campaign finance reports that aren’t gathered by state agencies. The students – junior Karina Kumar and seniors Athena Hawkins and Carolyn Parmer – were the vanguard of...
DocDive: Getting put on (legal) notice
For a recent investigation with the Cicero Independiente, we requested documents from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency called a “Notice of Intent to Pursue Legal Action,” related to the Koppers coal tar plant. The 101-year-old chemical facility located near Cicero has been mired in a long history of air pollution and reported violations of environmental laws.
For the Record: Recapping MuckRock @ NICAR
The National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting conference – popularly known as NICAR – is the annual data journalism conference, hosted by the industry group, Investigative Reporters and Editors. This year’s conference was held in Baltimore, Maryland, from March 7 to 10. MuckRock hosted and participated in...
The Foilies 2024
We’re taught in school about checks and balances between the various branches of government, but those lessons tend to leave out the role that civilians play in holding officials accountable. We’re not just talking about the ballot box, but the everyday power we all have to demand government agencies make their records and data available to public scrutiny.
‘Atomic Radius:’ The legacy of America’s nuclear weapons testing program from the States Newsroom and MuckRock
Americans are typically told the story of the scientists who built the atomic bomb as an intellectual race for the world’s most powerful weapon during wartime. More than 100 atmospheric weapons tests were conducted in the U.S. and its territories between 1945 and 1962. It resulted in widespread radioactive fallout across much of the U.S., largely spread by prevailing winds and rain. In addition, contaminated waste was shipped and haphazardly stored across the country, creating new toxic Superfund sites stretching from Colorado to New York.
Lawmakers consider bill to raise training standards for Missouri coroners
The Missouri legislature is looking at setting minimum training standards for coroners following allegations that the Cape Girardeau County coroner stole money at death scenes and botched numerous death investigations. Wavis Jordan, elected coroner of Cape Girardeau County in 2020, is scheduled to be in court on Friday for arraignment...
For the Record: The battle to preserve the online archives of now-shuttered newsrooms
In just the past few months, several once-flourishing newsrooms have closed and, with them, thousands of articles documenting everything from D.C.’s Black Lives Matter mural to underground Christian nationalist groups now carry an invisible asterisk: What happens to all of these stories once their websites are gone for good?
Florissant homes built on Coldwater Creek may sit on radioactive contamination
Federal officials are investigating whether residents of a small subdivision in the St. Louis suburbs are living on top of contamination dating back to World War II after finding radioactive material in their backyards. The Cades Cove subdivision, a small enclave in Florissant, was built on top of where Coldwater...
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MuckRock is a non-profit, collaborative news site that brings together journalists, researchers, activists, and regular citizens to request, analyze, and share government documents, making politics more transparent and democracies more informed.
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