Recognizing the year's worst in government transparency.
SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FOILIES 2022
transparency
COUNCILORS MEJIA AND ARROYO FILE HEARING ON GOV USE OF SURVEILLANCE TECH
Call for government accountability and transparency
THANKS TO SECRETARY GALVIN, COMMONWEALTH CONTINUES DRIFT AWAY FROM TRANSPARENCY
This is what happens when you try asking the second largest city in Mass and state officials to adhere to basic public records laws
POOR PROTEST COVERAGE SHOWS NEED FOR MASS JOURNALISM COMMISSION
Environmental zap action in front of Gov. Baker’s Swampscott home gets lots of attention with little useful context due to shrinking local press corps
CAMPBELL UNVEILS PLAN FOR POLICE TRANSPARENCY
The mayoral candidate put forth a public safety and criminal justice plan.
C-CHANGE: IF THERE WAS EVER A CHANCE FOR BPD REFORM, IT IS NOW
With follow-through, Boston could have a BPD that resembles the force that officials have always pretended we have.
SECOND HEARING ON MA JOURNALISM COMMISSION BILL A SUCCESS
Over 80 journalists, journalism students, and professors answer DigBoston’s call to turn out
Amazingly, I’m on my first real vacation in four years this week. But I think it’s important to pen a truncated version of my usual column to thank the 80 plus people (about half of whom were journalism students… yay!) who showed up for the July ...
GIVE MA JOURNALISM COMMISSION SEATS TO WORKING JOURNALISTS
This week, I joined fellow journalists, journalism educators, and members of the public at large in testifying on a bill to form a Mass journalism commission that is currently before the state legislature. In view of the potential importance of the initiative, ...
NO MASS COMMISSION TO STUDY JOURNALISM WITHOUT REPORTER INPUT
Between the countless white papers already in existence and the obvious reality on the ground that any reporter who has been in the game for more than a year can tell you about, there is already more than enough information to start planning ways to reverse the destruction that the likes of leeches such as Gatehouse Media have wrought in Mass.
SECOND HEARING CALLED ON MA JOURNALISM COMMISSION BILL
After some fast action by your pals at DigBoston and BINJ
Almost immediately after rising on Monday, I knew that I wasn’t going to have a normal start to my week. Production on DigBoston commences over the weekend for my colleagues ...
THE FOILIES 2018: RECOGNIZING THE YEAR’S WORST IN GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY
In its fourth year, The Foilies recognizes the worst responses to records requests, outrageous efforts to stymie transparency and the most absurd redactions.
BROKEN RECORDS: MONKEY WRENCHING
A rare win on the public records front in Mass
DEAR READER: HAPPY SUNSHINE WEEK
There’s a reason that, even as a little paper, we pay such close attention to the public records law and to the flow of information between government entities and private citizens.
SUNSHINE WEEK SPECIAL: THE FOILIES 2017
Think of it as the Golden Raspberries but for government transparency, where the bad actors are actually going off script to deny the public the right to understand what business is being conducted on their behalf.
BROKEN RECORDS: KAFKACHUSETTS
Mass AG shows just how useless public info laws are, but change is possible
TALK TO THE HAND (BECAUSE BILL GALVIN AIN’T LISTENIN’)
Secretary holds sham hearing on records access
BROKEN RECORDS: REFER MADNESS
Top Dems make a show of pretending they might enforce the public records law
BROKEN RECORDS: WHAT THE FOIA?!
Who do you call when the cops rip you off?
SPECIAL SUNSHINE WEEK FEATURE: THE FOILES 2016
Some Government Agencies Are So Bad at Handling Public Records Requests, They Deserve an Award
FOIA-BLES: CRITICAL MASS RECORDS REFORM BILL TAKES TWO STEPS FORWARD AND ONE STEP BACK
If the best parts of the Senate bill survive and the worst provisions in the House bill are scrapped, then the Massachusetts public records law might become a little bit less broken.
SWAT STICKER: EXCLUSIVE DOCS REVEAL 34-MAN DEPLOYMENT TO DALAI LAMA VISIT PLUS OTHER COSTLY AND EXTREME POLICE TACTICS
Whether the Lama requested a goon squad and an armored tank on wheels is unknown.
OLYMPIC RECORDS
Walsh calls for transparency while his office stays tightlipped ...
