Midterm Essay Exam

Question 1

Al Zimmerman, PIO for DCF, has been arrested on child pornography charges and booked by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. I've received an assignment to do an in-depth report on Zimmerman.

This needs to be an in-depth story, so I have to think of what I want to know about Zimmerman: How long has he been PIO of DCF? How did he get close to minors? What sort of pornography was he arrested for (video, photographs, etc.)? Is he married? Does he have any children? Where does he live?

The first thing I'm going to do is take advantage of the public records available to me. I'll make sure to get the news release concerning the arrest as soon as the Sheriff's Office puts it out. I can then pick up the Zimmerman's mug shot and information. This is his charge report. I can also get a criminal report affidavit from the jail. Both a CRA and an incident report are not fully public record. Police must redact exempted information, but I can get the public information if I ask for it. Additionally, I would go to the courthouse to get any search warrant(s) used in Zimmerman's arrest. These are very valuable documents. In a search warrant, I would be able to see the angles that police are pursuing.

While I'm at the sheriff's office and the jail, I would speak with an officer to see if I can get more specific information or a timeframe as to when more information will be released.

Next, I would look for background information on Zimmerman. One way I would do this is by typing his name into Google and the archives of The Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times to find any existing news stories about him. This would be a way to also find out if Zimmerman has been involved in any corporate scandals or anything else that is suspicious.

I would also use the charge report to get his home address and cross reference it with the list of sex offenders found on the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Web site, via the Sexual Predators/Offenders Information link. I would then be able to find out how many offenders are living in Zimmerman's area, and I would look at a map to pin point whether he lives near any schools.

Using the same Web site, I would look to see if he has been arrested in any other states. If so, I would go to the other state's police Web site to see what charges were filed against him. I would also enter his name and the state in Google to see if there are any news articles about his arrest.

To find out if Zimmerman is married and has children, I would access the Hillsborough Tax Collector's Web site to find a marriage license. I would also use the advice from Preston Trigg and find out about DCF via the department's Web site and by phone or in person, and I would request an organizational chart. This would show me where all of the employees stand in the department and help me figure out whom to interview.

I would interview his colleagues and his boss about Zimmerman's work performance, any projects he might have been working on and their perspective on his arrest.

I would also check out the Clerk of the Circuit Court to find out if he will be, or has been, released on bail.

In addition, I would try to get quotes from his neighbors to find out their opinion of the situation and of Zimmerman in general, and if they are willing, I would interview any of Zimmerman's family members: his wife, if he's married and/or his parents, if either of them are still alive.

Finally, I would try to gain access to Zimmerman himself and see if he would like to tell the public what happened from his point of view.

Question 2

Florida has long held a broad right of access. We have a constitutional right to access public records, whether it is e-mail, video, audio, paper documents or even Post-It notes. The FAF views public records as windows to the government. You don't have to be a citizen to access public records in Florida.

This is due to Florida's Sunshine Laws. According to the State Attorney General Bill McCollum’s Web site, the state began being open in 1909 when the government passed the Public Records Law, Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes. This law made any records created or received by an agency available for public inspection.

It wasn't until 1967 that Florida's government took this openness a step further. It passed the Government in the Sunshine Law, Chapter 286 of the Florida Statutes. The Sunshine Law allows the public to attend or access the minutes of most meetings of boards, commissions and other governing bodies of state and local governmental authorities or agencies.

Because we have a broad right of access, there are many exemptions made. In fact, the members of the legislative branch of our government make their own access laws, which means they are sometimes operating in the dark and avoiding the Sunshine Laws, even though the laws apply to all three branches of government.

The Sunshine Law basically states that we have access to most public records or meetings, and public agencies must comply and let people access the records in a reasonable manner. A person can request a public record anyway they want to as long as it is a reasonable request. An agency cannot ask you to identify yourself and cannot require written requests. One problem is that agencies are frequently charging inordinate fees. The only fee that agencies are allowed to charge is for making copies of documents and, again, it must be a reasonable amount.

Many times, agencies have made accessing public records difficult. There are three ways that an agency does this: 1.) It will refuse to give up the record, and unless the worker the requester is talking to cites the exemption that allows the record to be kept from the public, the agency is breaking the law, 2.) The agency will wait the requester out, meaning it will not give up the record in a reasonable amount of time in order to discourage the requester from pursuing the record, or 3.) The agency will overload the requester with a large stack of documents, assuming this will discourage the requester from reading all of the records.

According to Gov. Charlie Crist's Web site, on June 19, 2007, the governor issued Executive Order 07-107, creating the Commission on Open Government Reform. This commission has been created within the Governor’s Office of Open Government to review, evaluate, and issue recommendations regarding Florida’s public records and public meetings laws. The Commission will review the public’s right to access government meetings and records according to Section 119, the Public Records Law, and Section 286.011, the Sunshine Law, of the Florida Statutes, as well as Article 1, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution. Their findings and recommendations will be presented to the Governor, the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives this year, by Dec. 31.

The Commission consists of nine appointed members. The governor wanted a broad spectrum of interested parties including, but not limited to, an attorney with experience in First Amendment issues, a private Florida citizen and seven representatives from the following: a state agency, the Florida Senate, the Florida House of Representatives, Florida law enforcement, city or county government, the First Amendment Foundation and the media.

The Commission will review all aspects of the open government laws that are in place and will hear complaints from the public. Some of the key issues raised to the Committee by the public were the right the people have to obtain public records, the difficulties that the requester encounters with some agencies when trying to obtain documents, the cost some agencies implement to actually obtain public records, the refusal of some agencies to give up public records to those who rightfully request them and the covert correspondence between officials via private e-mail accounts and backdoor dealings.

Gov. Crist, through the Commission's meetings, is showing that he is dedicated to keeping Florida government open and improving all aspects of the public records request system.

Question 3

State Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, has announced his candidacy for Congress. I've been assigned to do an in-depth, documentary profile of Crist concerning his sources of campaign finances, voting record and relationships with lobbyists.

I would start my preliminary research by looking into Crist's voting record using votesmart.com and I would read his profile on the Florida Senate Web site. It shows his committee memberships, legislative service and public service, as well as honors and awards, affiliations and biographical information. I would also check if he has a criminal record by contacting the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office.

I would also Google his name and enter it into The Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times archives to find any news story on him that could help me understand where he stands politically and to find out whether he has been involved anything untoward in government or in his personal life.

To find out how many properties he owns and where they are located, I would visit the Hillsborough County Tax Collector's Web site and concentrate on whether he can afford them and if the locations of any of them are connected with his affiliations.

Then, I'm going to follow the advice of many of our speakers, including Preston Trigg and William March, and follow the money.

I'll start digging into Crist's affiliations, specifically with corporations. To do this, I'm going to access Florida Corporate Records online by going to the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations. I would also check out CQ.com (Money Line). This is the official repository for contributions to federal campaigns (House, Senate and President). I could cross-reference the corporations with which he is affiliated with the sources of the campaign contributions. Maybe there is a connection. I would want to check out the Florida Supervisor of Elections Web site to see if I can connect him to any lobbyists that frequent Florida Legislation.

Additionally, I would look into the individual contributions made by employees of any of the corporations to which I've found him connected, as well as the contributing background of all of them. I would also want to check their voter registrations to find out if they are registered Republican, Democrat or Independent.

I can do this by accessing the Campaign Finance Database on the Florida Division of Elections Web site. It allows me to search for people who have contributed money to a campaign and the amount contributed.

To write an in-depth profile of Crist, I would need not only the public records and the good sense to follow the money, but also the ability to look between the lines and connect the dots.

Public Meeting #3: Human Relations Board

The Hillsborough County Human Relations Board met Oct. 14. The Board is made up of 13 members who serve three-year staggering terms, headed by Equal Opportunity Administrator Gail P. Williams.

Williams serves as the human relations liaison between the County and the community and is responsible for ensuring equal opportunity to County residents. The office implements the Human Rights Ordinance.

On November 1, 2000, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners adopted Human Rights Ordinance 00-37. It prohibits discrimination based on race, national origin, age, religion, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy and sexual harassment) and marital status in employment, public accommodations, procurement and contracting, and familial status with regard to housing.

The 13 members of the board hear discrimination cases brought up by Hillsborough County residents. The Board only operates in this county, as well as Plant City. The person who is complaining must file his or her case in writing. The Board will investigate the validity of the complaint and will serve as mediation between the discriminated person and the discriminating agency.

There are, however, exemptions to consider before bring a complaint to the Board. If a person feels that they have been discriminated by a separate governing agency, such as the School Board, that person must make a complaint to that agency since the Board has no juristiction. In addition, the Board is exempt from investigating cases involving an organization that requires membership, because that is not a public entity.

When the Board has cases to go over, the audience members are usually asked to leave the room and wait outside until the Board is finished. The reason being that the cases are unresolved and, therefore, not open to the public to respect the privacy of the complainant(s), said board member Raymond Reed after the meeting.

At the meeting today, there were no cases to discuss, and there were no public comments made from the audience, so the Board moved on to the third item on the agenda: appoval of the minutes. Board member Hunter Gambrell approved the minutes first, seconded by member Estelle Oar.

The fifth item on the agenda was explanations of absences at the last meeting. A couple of members explained why they could not be there, and the Board moved on to the discussion of the Ordinance, the intent being that the ordinance needs to be reviewed and updated. The discussion was opened up to the Board.

Ore mentioned that the staff should have enough time to work on cases and not be badgered. Board member Cindy Oster said that the Board should clarify its county role. She also mentioned that the ordinance limits getting punitive damages, citing a specific case (the Mercedes homes case). Gambrell talked about changing the rules and regulations to run a subcommittee meeting. Oster replied that requests for the change of rules and regulations must be made a month in advance.

Reed also encouraged more active participation from the newer members of the board, as his and Ore's last meeting with the Board will be in December.

"I would strongly encourage the newer members of the Board to participate (in forming) a specific subcommittee to review ordinance rules and regulations," Reed said.

Some duties would include reviewing the ordinance, bringing confusions and conflicts to light and working extra hours, including nights.

"It's not an undertaking to be taken lightly," he said.

New member Monique Pickett was concerned about not knowing about past problems and successes the Board has encountered, to which Reed replied that "sometimes fresh eyes are the best eyes" and that this could be a great opportunity for new members.

Reed also made sure to tell the newer board members that, although they are unpaid volunteers, they still must file financial disclosures. All boards of Hillsborough County have to fill out financial disclosures forms and give them to the supervisor of elections once a year, every year.

After the meeting was over, Reed told me and another attendee that a lot of the cases presented to them turn out to not be valid. Many complainants turn out to be angry ex-employees who want to save money by not hiring a lawyer to represent them. In many cases, the Board finds out that the firing was based on a bad performance rather than race, age, sex, religion or any other discriminatory factor.

Not all of the cases are like this, though. Reed said: “Every once in a while you get to see justice done, and that’s a good feeling.”

The Hillsborough County Human Relations Board will meet again Nov. 12.

Field Trip #6: The News Center

We trekked down to The News Center Oct. 14 and heard from Steve Andrews, WLFA's Senior Investigative Reporter.

Andrews presented the basic premise that broadcasting and the Internet are the future and that "the newspaper is a dinosaur."

Andrews then walked us through about five of his investigative stories.
Stories can take two hours to turn or 18 months, Andrews said. They all have their own idiosyncrasies.

He started with the Regional Reservoir story. The first thing he did was ask for records. The agency from which he requested the records sent him a very tall stack of documents to make him go away. The workers at the agency probably doubted that Andrews would read the entire stack--but he did. Andrews read through every document and found some valuable information.

This is the first time we had heard from any one of our speakers that agencies may overload reporters with documents in order to discourage them. At this point, we had only heard that agencies may try to wait reporters out or refuse to give them the documents in order to make public records requesting more difficult.

He eventually found out that Hillsborough County taxpayers were not getting what they paid for (in this case, inches of soil in the reservoir).

Andrews said it is very important for reporters to read through all of the records that they request, even if the amount is overwhelming.

"There's no telling what you'll find," he said.

Andrews also talked about the Ronald Larson/ALF/Palmetto Guest Home story and how he was able to gain access to medical records despite the fact that those records are exempt from the Sunshine Laws.

"This was a classic case of total neglect," Andrews said.

He was able to get Ronald Larson's medical records from his public guardian, Ashley Butler. She was so outraged by the neglect of Larson that she agreed to give them to Andrews. Without Butler, Andrews would never have gotten the records.

"She was the key in allowing this to come to fruition," he said.

This is an investigative piece that made a lot of impact and had significant results: the Palmetto Guest Home was shut down, and owner Jackie Doreleen was arrested and stripped of her license. However, no one else was held accountable for the neglect of Larson.

Andrews also spoke about a few other stories. In one of them he had a geologist read through a geological study, which contained a lot of scientific jargon, and got all of the information he needed about it straight from the geologist. This example proved that even if you know nothing about a subject but you have to report on it, you have options other than struggling through confusing documents on your own.

This was a great presentation becuase Andrews walked us through his stories and showed us the final product. This allowed us to understand how the research is done in between the first public records request and the story viewers see on the news.

Field Trip #5: Tax Collector

We went to the Tax Collector's office Oct. 7 at the County Center. We met with Preston Trigg, the Director of Administration and a former reporter for The Tampa Tribune.

Public records knowledge is essential if you want to be a journalist, Trigg said.

As a former reporter, Trigg was able to put things into perspective for us. He said that, while we have the right to get public records without requesting them in writing, the tax collector's office prefers the request be in writing so that they know exactly what we want. Trigg pointed out that it would be more beneficial for us to take that route because we would have a record of the request should the agency make a mistake or there is some other problem.

He also pointed out that the Tax Collector's office does not charge for any records.

"You're taxpayers...you shouldn't have to pay twice."

Trigg gave us an overview of a reporter's first week on a beat and what he or she should do to prepare.

First, a reporter should ask for the budget and an organizational chart (who reports to whom). The reporter should also look into the financial disclosure of reporting individuals.

"Always follow the money. It's all about the money," Trigg said.

The reporter should also get five years of any gift disclosures made by reporting individuals. Trigg used Pam Iorio's wedding as an example. Because she is a public figure working for the government, Iorio must disclose all of the gifts she recieved at her wedding.

The reporter needs to get one year of payroll records and all travel records for the 10 highest paid officials in that agency. In addition, he or she must get records of automobile stipends of all individuals driving public vehicles, as well as a listing of all written Ch. 119 requests made in the past year.

Trigg went through the Hillsborough County Tax Collector Web site to show us how to get public records, too. On this Web site, a reporter can get property tax information, which also shows whether a person has pain the tax or not, and homestead exemptions. A reporter can access the Web site to see business licenses.

You can tell a lot about a business by what type of licenses it has, Trigg said.

A reporter can then move on to the Property Appraiser's Web site. This is where a reporter can find out about those ten homes that McCain forgot about. He or she can also access the warrenty deed and the sales history, which is found on the Clerk of Court Web site.

Trigg supplied us with a lot of information and great perspective on public records searching since he used to be a reporter. Overall, this trip allowed us to find out more about access to public records as well as the work done at the agencies from which we can request them.

William March: The Tampa Tribune

William March, a staff writer for The Tampa Tribune, came to class Oct. 7 and spoke with us about the investigative reporting involved when covering politics.

"When you cover politics, you cover everything that politicians talk about," March said. "They talk about everything."

To cover politics, the reporter must essentially be a jack of all trades.

You don't necessarily have to have a lot of knowledge, he said, but when you cover politics, you cover everything from felonies to high finance.

The key to investigative reporting is to "follow the money."

March detailed how he broke an investigative story about a group of contributions made to President Clinton's campaign in 1997 from employees at a Miami company.

To start, March looked into Mark Jimenez, one of the largest contributors to the Democratic National Committee. Then, he found out what corporations Jimenez is involved with. March was able to do this using two resources: Florida Corporate Records from the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations and Money Line. Money Line is the official repository for contributions to federal campaigns (the House, the Senate, Presidential).

March proceeded to find out about the individual contributions made by the employees of the corporation. March looked into the donation background of the employees and narrowed the list down to 15 employees.

March was able to access National Comprehensive Reports, which provide information about a person's house or car ownership, deed transfers, licenses he or she holds to hunt and fish, possible Florida accidents and his or her name, address and listed phone number. These reports come from Auto Track and are expensive to access.

March eventually came up with the question: Why did these employees, many of whom have never contributed to a campaign, decide to give $1,000 to Clinton's campaign?

After all of his research and investigating, March found out that these employees were bribed by the CEO of the company they work for. Some of these employees were registered Republican and some were not even registered to vote at all.

March also told us about Campaign Finance Database on the Florida Division of Elections Web site. It allows someone to search for people who have contributed money to a campaign and the amount contributed.

OpenSecrets.org is another Web site he mentioned, which analyzes candidates and the contributions people make to the campaigns.

"This is the kind of records checking that you will have to do if you cover politics," March said.

All of the information March gave us was beneficial to those of us who want to cover politics and those of us who want to cover anything in depth. His detailed breakdown of the investigative story he wrote for The Tampa Tribune was also very helpful. It allowed us to see just how much research and connecting the dots goes into a single investigative story.

Public Meeting #2: Commission on the Status of Women

The Commission on the Status of Women (COSW) met Sept. 22 on the 18th floor of the County Center. The meeting was all about planning for the future.

The COSW started the meeting with budget discussions concerning the total budget and the amount of money needed to make brochures for an upcoming event. They have $300 to print brochures and a total of $2,347 in the budget after the upcoming event, group secretary Felicia Crosby-Rucker said.

"The budget period ends at the end of (September), so we have to spend all our money now, or we'll lose it," member Susan Leisner said concerning the budget cut that COSW is facing.

The County Commission has to approve the COSW's budget, but the COSW is not required to get the commissioners' approval on how the money is to be spent.

After budget issues were established, the members of the Commission discussed plans for 2009. The themes of the meeting were clear: connecting with the community and bridging the gaps between agencies and non-profit organizations and the people of Hillsborough County.

The members decided that they needed to put some goals together for the next year, 2009, because COSW will have no funding.

They could do this by identifying some areas that members are interested in and have workshops, Leisner said.

During the meeting, women's health, as well as children's health, was one such area. Members wished to take the recommendations and research from their reports and address issues affecting both women and parents, such as immunizations and the theory that immunizations cause autism.

Member Gealdine L. Twine spoke of helping women and children in the community by putting together workshops or small teaching sessions. These workshops could be designed to educate mothers, fathers and their children about preventative healthcare, as well as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and smoking.

The COSW could partner with other organizations, Twine said, to educate people about these issues and women’s health.

When Leisner questioned Twine, asking what value COSW bring to these issues, Twine answered that the value is awareness. Instead of just researching the issues, COSW can act on them to make the research work in the community.

“(This) could open more doors and reach more people who need health services,” member Dotti Groover said. It could also add more credibility to COSW.

The COSW plan to focus on women's healthcare during the first quarter of 2009 and then on children's needs in the second quarter.

The date of the next meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women is Oct. 27. Members will address the issue of affordable housing in Hillsborough County.

Field Trip #4: Clerk of the Circuit Court

We went to the County Center downtown Sept. 30 to meet the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Pam Frank. She was elected the Clerk/Comptroller in 2004 and has been in public service and elected positions since 1972.

Frank was able to give us a great deal of information in a short amount of time. This office is the most important office in Hillsborough County that people know the least about, she said.

As the Clerk/Comptroller, Frank is responsible for the county's funds, not just spending but investing, as well. She said that there are three criteria to keep in mind when investing the county's funds: 1.) Stability (return of principle), 2.) Liquidity, 3.) Rate of Return.

In addition, the Clerk's office is responsible for paying all 6,500 Hillsborough County employees. Only 11 people in the Clerk's office handle issuing paychecks to all of these people.

The office keeps records, too, such as board meeting minutes, voting records and official records. All of the official public records that the office keeps used to be available to the public only on microfiche. Now, Frank is working to get all official public records on the Web.

This work toward updating technology is very slow going, however, since there are millions of documents that need to be converted to the Web, Frank said.

JoAnne Constantini, the Director of Official Records Development, added to the talk of technology, citing a new project: e-recording. The project is a paperless system of getting records to interested parties quickly, with a seven-minute turn around.

While e-recording carries with it benefits, like not waiting too long to get records and the lack of postage fees, the people who have jobs as couriers would no longer be needed if the Clerk's office kept up this project.

I, like many people, didn't know have far reaching the Clerk's duties and responsibilities were. As with the other field trips our class has gone on, I found out more about public records that are available to reporters. I also learned that many documents are all reachable within this one office.