Midterm

Question 1
There would be several public documents I would look into if I were assigned to report on Al Zimmerman, the PIO for DCF, being arrested for child pornography charges. I would begin by going on to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office website and search to find the records regarding booking as well as the jail logs. According to our text book, jail logs provide a lot of valuable information. The logs list inmate numbers, the charges brought against the offender, the date brought in, as well as bond information. Once I know the charges brought against Zimmerman I can then go to the HCSO and request public records of any search warrant as well as affidavit which will give me a lot more information. When we visited the HCSO, J.D. Callaway informed us that a search warrant provides you with the law enforcements credentials, as well as every exhibit brought before the court that stated probable cause to obtain the warrant.

Depending on what information I get from these sources, I would then also decide to check out the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s webpage to get information on how to obtain a statewide criminal background check. There may have been some charges brought against Zimmerman not listed in the local sheriffs office because it didn’t occur in their county and may have been expunged due to when it occurred.

The public record resources I have used up to now would have provided a lot of information, and one crucial piece of information is his employer. Zimmerman was the PIO for DCF, which is a government agency, and thus all his employment records are also public records. Knowing this, I would use the MyFlorida website and search their 411 directory to get the number for the department in which Zimmerman worked. Once I have reached his employers department, I would ask for copies of his personnel records. Personnel records would have his employment application, any letters of recommendations he provided, his resume, performance evaluations, disciplinary actions, or awards he may have received. After reviewing these documents, I would know how to proceed on whom to interview regarding his position at DCF. I would definitely ask whoever hired him at DCF, whether a thorough background check had ever been conduced on Zimmerman. I would also like to interview whoever signed off on any of his performance evaluations or awards he may have received. Other worthwhile people to interview would be those who gave him any letters of recommendation, they attested to his character so it would be interesting to see what they would have to say after the charges were brought to light and Zimmerman’s character flaws were made evident.

Being that Zimmerman was employed by a state government institution, his emails could be reviewed. It may be that he was engaging in misconduct while at work, emailing underage teens or getting their contact information through DCF. This could raise a lot of questions not only in Zimmerman’s guilt, but also to the level of responsibility in the DCF agency as to where they are missing an employee misusing his authority and access to information. In the same manner, the resume included within the DCF personnel record would also give light to previous employers that could be interviewed and held accountable in much the same way as DCF for perhaps not conducting an adequate background check. The resume would also list employment in other states which could then open the door to other public records that might involve criminal activity in a different state.

Once I have searched all the public records listed above I would be concerned with other people that I could interview, and this leads me to yet another public record. According to our sunshine manual, a marriage license provides the date of birth, the birth place, the bride’s maiden name, home address and the ministers name as well as the two witnesses present. This then leads me to find out where he lives, and then gives me access to neighbors who I could interview. I would ask neighbors what they thought about Zimmerman, and if they ever saw any teenagers or children enter his home. I would also be interested in interviewing the two witness’, some may be family of Zimmerman or perhaps have access to the family which I would also want to interview for my piece.

Overall, I realize that a lot of crucial information for this kind of story could be easily obtained through some investigation of public records. I think that the steps that I have taken would provide enough information for me to present a thorough piece to my editor and one that would hopefully inform readers without leaving any questions unanswered.

Question 2

Florida’s Sunshine Laws were created to ensure the publics accessibility to governmental meetings and records. Florida has one of the most open forms of government and the First Amendment Foundation helps to monitor our government officials so that we can continue to have our open government. The Sunshine laws provide the means for the public to be as involved as possible in governmental action and do so through several of their statues. The sunshine laws require that in any place where two or more elected officials are congregated or discussing a public issue, the public has a right to be there. This then means if two elected officials were to be having lunch and debating any of the topics brought up in a meeting, then journalists and any member of the public have the right to be there. The public is also to be provided with notice of the meeting, and the meeting hour needs to be at a reasonable period so the public can attend if they would like to. The downfall to the Sunshine laws however, is that the legislative body that created the laws, also happened to exempt themselves from it. Their argument being that if there were to be too much public involvement then tasks would not be accomplished and in order to keep things running smoothly they would need to be exempt from this. This argument seems irrelevant in questioning then why they would think that other governmental bodies could be able to accomplish anything even while having to deal with the public’s participation.

The public’s accessibility and involvement is not highly favored among many elected officials and there have been efforts to limit the public’s access. However, with organizations like the FFA and The Governors Commission on Open Government Reform our Sunshine laws are monitored. The Governors Commission on Open Government Reform was started by Charlie Crist, and according to its website it was created to “review, evaluate, and issue recommendations regarding Florida’s public records and public meeting laws.” The commission works only to review the laws and makes no efforts to try and change them by amending them. This commission understands the value of maintaining open government in order to create a public trust, and to continue to be a leader because other states do not provide as much accessibility as Florida. The commission’s oversight on other agencies will serve to look into whether there is any overlap of laws, and to create a clear and consistent view and enforcement of the Sunshine laws.

The commission understands that although these Sunshine Laws are in place, they have not been perfected and even with the creation of the commission there is a lot left to do. Several issues have been brought to light regarding these laws and whether the commission can fulfill their duties. One issue raised in the commission’s website is adequate training. According to Charlie Crists’ Executive Order 07-01 the office will “provide training to all executive agencies under my purview on transparency and accountability.” In order to be able to strive towards educating its agencies the website provides materials for the individuals to learn from such as: an online training course, a sample public records request, the sunshine manual, and opportunities to take part in seminars.

Executive Order 07-01 also states that the commission will be responsible for ‘assuring full and expeditious compliance with Florida’s open government and public records laws.” This can be a difficult challenge for the commission due to the tremendous effort that needs to be put into enforcing the Sunshine Laws on small and local governments. Often these small and local governments don’t have the resources needed to comply with the Sunshine Laws. For example, documents may have been stored for over a decade in a warehouse, but the documents are so dated they weren’t imprinted in the sort of system where they could be readily accessed. This was something that we learned of when we visited the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office. Pat spoke to us that it has been especially difficult to try and now sort these documents that we’ve had before the internet, and try to imprint them to a catalog in which we could locate them when needed. It is a large task, and one that would require a large budget. Pat relayed that in a time of economic crisis such as the one our nation is facing now, there have been continuous budget cuts and the progressions of many programs have been put on a backburner.

While the lack of resources for adequate technological advancements is leaving behind some agencies, it is new technology that can create problems for other agencies. The introduction of cell phones and computers in the workplace is hindering the public records process because it is hard to distinguish when it is being used for personal matters or business matters. Therefore when a member of the public requests to see copies of emails that their local elected officials have recently sent out, the issue becomes allowing that official proper time to sift through and take out what is not business related. This seems unfair because those private uses can show some misconduct and an individual requesting the records will not be able to prove the misconduct. Al Zimmerman sending emails proposition the underage teens to pose nude for example, is more of a private email, but if conducted within the office and during office hours then it should be considered a public record. It is the separation of public and private use of things like a cell phone or computer that create a difficult challenge for the commission who is not there to amend any laws, but simply to review and try to recommend courses of action.

The Governors Commission on Open Government Reform have quite a large task before them and are limited in their powers. However it is the creation of a commission such as this one that will lead us in steps forward to provide better services and an even greater open government.

Question 3

Whenever a candidate announces his decision to run for office, he will in essence be giving journalists the permission to search out every detail about his life. Vetting the candidates will happen with or without the candidates consent and is truly in the publics interest in regards to letting the public know more about the candidate without being limited to what they would like to portray. This process of researching an individual would be conducted if Victor Crist were to announce his candidacy for Congress.

If I were assigned to do an in depth documentary profile of Crist concerning his campaign finances, I would begin by researching on the moneyline.cq.com site which allows me to search by candidate name and under the tab of candidate as recipient. This would then show me who has donated to his campaign and therefore gives insight on his supporters and possible lobbyists he will be dealing with. Campaign contributions list organizations that are in support such as NRA which will then lead you to believe that a candidate with the NRA’s support will probably be voting in their favor, and listen to their lobbyists.

Another resource available to journalists is the opensecrets website which also allows you to search for individuals who have donated to political campaigns. This website lists the name of the individual, their occupation, the date the donation was made, and which candidate received the donation. These types of databases are very important because they can lead to bigger stories on fraud and illegal donations. William March can attest this as his investigation led to the shutdown of a company, as well as imprisonment for Mark Jimenez for his illegal contributions to the Clinton campaign.

When William March spoke to our class he also let us know of an extremely valuable resource, whose only downfall is cost. March introduced us to AutoTrac, which gives a lot of insight into whoever you’re searching and I would definitely use this to research Crist. AutoTrac is a national comprehensive report that includes such information as: assets, driver licenses, professional licenses, real properties, vehicles and more. This resource allowed March to check out the assets and properties of the people he felt were making illegal contributions. He was able to question if a person wasn’t driving an expensive car, or had very many assets, how could he then afford to make large campaign contributions. In our current presidential election John McCain was asked about his assets and wasn’t able to give a specific number on the amount of property he owns. An AutoTrac on him would provide a journalist this information which could then be presented alongside his quote or sound bite and would make McCain look foolish. This is a perfect example of how this resource could play a part in an election.

Yet another aspect of a candidate that voters are interested in is their voting record. Voters want to know what the candidate stands for, and if what he’s saying is agreeing with his actions. This information is also critical to analysts and the opposing party who thrust it into the public spotlight. Being that Victor Crist is a member of the state senate I would research the Florida Senate website to try and obtain voting records from there. However, many of the records are not accessible on the website and therefore I may have to refer to the Senate or House Journal. The Florida Senate website provides a phone number to call the Clerk of the House, or the Secretary of the Senate in order to retrieve this information.

In regards to politics, the media truly has the power to claim to be the fourth estate. It can monitor our elected officials through the resources I’ve listed and hold them accountable to not only to their words but actions as well.