freedom of information some tips for community journalists darryl chamberlain...
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![Page 1: Freedom of Information Some tips for community journalists Darryl Chamberlain darrylchamberlain.co.uk @darryl1974](https://reader033.vdocuments.site/reader033/viewer/2022051621/56649ee55503460f94bf517e/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Freedom of Information
Some tips for community journalists
Darryl Chamberlaindarrylchamberlain.co.uk @darryl1974
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Here’s what I do….
853blog.com
Greenwich and neighbouringareas in south east London
Covering stories others don’t
Holding Greenwich Council and other bodies to account
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Here’s what I do…
charltonchampion.co.uk
Community news and what’s happening in Charlton
Designed to be a neutral forumfor local news and views
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Here’s what I do…
No to Silvertown Tunnel
Campaign against new roadcrossing of the Thames
New road would increasealready-horrifying levels of airpollution in south-east and east London
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Other media in SE London
News Shopper (Newsquest)Based well outside local areaHas recently lost dedicated local reporters for Greenwich and LewishamPrint edition poorly distributed
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Other media in SE London
Mercury (Tindle Newspapers)Runs on a skeleton staff, based well outside local areaIs a free paper, yet copies are hard to findTook until summer 2015 to launch a proper website
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Other media in SE London
Greenwich Time (Greenwich Council)One of just two council weeklies left in EnglandDistributed to every home in Greenwich boroughGives a rosy glow on local council policies – week in, week out
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The main players
• Greenwich Council – my local council
• Neighbouring councils such as
Lewisham
• Transport for London – agency run by
elected mayor of London which runs
public transport and main roads.
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Why submit an FOI request?
• To find out figures
• To see how money is being spent
• To find views that’d otherwise be
kept secret
• To obtain documents
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FOI to find out figures
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FOI to find out figures
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FOI to find out figures
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Emirates Air Line FOI• Asked for hourly breakdown over a
week
• Asked for sales of a wide range of
tickets
• Exercise has been repeated over
three years
• Story generated London and UK
coverage
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Emirates Air Line FOI
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Emirates Air Line FOI
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Follow the money
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Follow the money• Greenwich Council’s private mayor-
making celebration costs £20,000
• Invite lists reveal it’s used to
schmooze property developers and
reward chums
• Asking for wine list added colour to
story
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Follow the money
Section 106 payments on new developments such as supermarkets – where do they go?
FOI on new Charlton Sainsbury’s revealed no cash earmarked for local area
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Revealing disagreements
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Greenwich’s cycling sulk
• Greenwich Council was only one of 32
London boroughs to refuse to deal with
the mayor’s cycling commissioner
• This was based on council leader’s
personal dislike of the commissioner,
controversial journalist Andrew Gilligan
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Greenwich’s cycling sulk
• I asked the Greater London Authority
for correspondence between Gilligan
and Greenwich Council
• Publishing the documents
embarrassed the council into
reversing its position
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Find out why projects fail
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FOI to get documents
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FOI to get documents
• Council-commissioned study into possible
Docklands Light Railway extension – wasn’t
published on website, but obtained using FOI.
• Council cabinet had backed spending money on a
follow-up report, but was unwilling to make it
public. FOI ensured it was made public.
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FOI to get documents
• Failed funding applications
• Audio recordings of council meetings
• Safety assessments of public
structures
• Officer briefings to elected officials
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Opening up consultations
• You can ask for all responses to
public consultations
• No to Silvertown Tunnel has entire
dataset from 2014 consultation,
enabling campaign to map responses
and gauge support for scheme
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Some final thoughts on FOI
• No two councils are the same – some
are more open than others.
• Have a good idea of what you expect
to see – be as specific as possible in
your request
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Some final thoughts on FOI
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Some final thoughts on FOI
• WhatDoTheyKnow.com is very useful in
enabling you to track your requests
• It also lets you monitor requests to your
local council and check nobody’s asked for
information already
• BUT… others may use your information
without crediting you for your research
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Some final thoughts on FOI
• Are there other ways to get your
information? Try press office or
asking public question at a council
meeting.
• Just ask – the more questions you
ask, the better your stories will be.
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Some final thoughts on FOI
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Thanks for listening
darrylchamberlain.co.uk
@darryl1974