Student Journalism 101: How to use public records to strengthen your reporting

For the second IJNotes episode of our series on student journalism, we spoke with David Cuillier, director of The Freedom of Information Project at UF’s Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment, about how students can use public records in their reporting to tell stories like the investigation conducted by the Independent Florida Alligator. Cuillier has served as president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, is a member of the Federal FOIA Advisory Committee, and has testified before Congress on constitutional First Amendment civil rights. Over the past two decades, he has taught thousands of students and journalists how to acquire public records.

During our discussion, Cuillier detailed why public records are valuable for student journalists and ways students use them to strengthen coverage of their campuses and communities.