Open Records, Newsrooms and Private Interests: A Historical Reference
Source report date: March 13, 2015. The original Miami publication date is not confirmed.
The title of the former Miami in News article described a changing constituency for public records: businesses and advocacy organizations alongside traditional newsrooms. A matching report by Kevin G. Hall and Kevin Johnson was originally published on March 13, 2015. That is the source report’s date; the exact date of its appearance on Miami in News has not been confirmed.
What the research measured
A March 14, 2013 FOIA Project study by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse examined federal court records. It counted 22 Freedom of Information Act lawsuits filed by news organizations during fiscal years 2005–2008 and 18 during fiscal years 2009–2012. Across all types of plaintiffs, the total moved in the opposite direction.
Those figures concern federal lawsuits identified in that study. They do not count every records request, measure all reporting activity or describe access disputes under state public-records laws. The distinction matters when applying national findings to local coverage.
Why the earlier Miami address remains useful
The FOIA Project page retains a link to the former Miami article in its list of referring coverage. The underlying question is who seeks government information, who can afford a prolonged dispute and whether the resulting records reach a wider audience.
For readers following Miami government, public documents can inform reporting about development, public spending and neighborhood decisions. The federal research is historical context, not a statement of the procedure or deadlines for a present-day Florida request.