5. Shall I let them know that I am a journalist?
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There are pros and cons to letting the authorities know that you are filing the request as a journalist.
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PROS | CONS | | More info: In some
countries, journalists tend to get faster answers and more information
than individuals – this is not how it should be, but it’s a reality in
practice and you could try to take advantage of this positive
discrimination. | Refusals: Signalling that you are a journalist might
increase resistance to providing an answer out of fear that the
information will be used in a critical story. | | Cheaper: In some countries (the USA is one example) journalists are exempt from paying **search and copying (?) fees. | Data Destruction: Signalling
that you are a journalist might encourage public officials to hide or
even destroy information in order to cover up corruption or other
wrongdoing. | Faster: In some countries (Bulgaria and **??)
journalist have a right to preferential treatment and to be provided
with information in a shorter timeframe than other requestors.
| Losing the story: If
records of requests filed and answers provided are public in your
country (in some countries these are posted on line) signalling that
you are asking requests as journalist might tip off other journalists
that you are on to a story. |
Remember: if you send an e-mail from your work address, it will often be obvious that you are a journalist, e.g.: jsmith[at]dailytimes.com. If you don’t want to give the came away, it might be worth using a different address, such as a gmail/hotmail/yahoo account.
TIP! If the law says only individuals can request information but you want to let the public institution know that you are a journalist, you could always write your request on your media organisation’s letterhead. BUT before you do this you should be sure that this is acceptable with the organisation. Another option is to mention in the letter or e-mail that you are a journalist and/or who you work for.
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