Suncoast Searchlight illustration using photo by blackred via iStock Images
Suncoast Searchlight launches ‘Public Records Watch’
Suncoast Searchlight is launching a new feature this week called Public Records Watch to take readers behind the scenes of an important — and often invisible — aspect of our reporting. Through this occasional series, we will highlight some of the government records we’re seeking or have obtained and explain why they matter.
Public records are the backbone of accountability reporting. They help journalists verify facts, uncover information that sources might not otherwise readily provide and can show how decisions are made by people in power. Yet journalists often spend little time, if at all, explaining to readers the process of requesting and negotiating for public records.
By pulling back the curtain, Public Records Watch aims to make that process more transparent. We want readers to better understand what we’re asking for, what we receive and how those records inform our reporting. If there are records you think the public should see, we want to hear from you.
Why we’re launching Public Records Watch
Many of Suncoast Searchlight’s most important stories begin with a public records request. Sometimes we file requests seeking records to confirm a tip we have received. Or we want to verify the accuracy of information provided to us by a source. Other times, we request records to view the underlying documents upon which government officials made decisions — or we want to see the internal communications between officials that led to the decisions being made.
Whatever the reason for our request, access to public records is essential to our job.
And Public Records Watch is a way to share that early work with our readers — not just the final story but the documents that helped get us there. By showing what we’re requesting and why, we hope to demystify how watchdog reporting works and reinforce why open records laws exist in the first place: to ensure government remains accountable to the people it serves.
How often will we publish Public Records Watch
Public Records Watch is an occasional feature, not a weekly roundup. We will publish when we believe a records request, response or document offers meaningful insight into how government operates — or fails to operate.
Some entries may be brief. Others may include documents, timelines or explanations of our negotiations with an agency, its denials or delays or any unusual responses. Our goal is usefulness. Not volume.
Why we share requests that were denied or unfilled
Sometimes, the most revealing part of a public records request is what doesn’t happen.
Delays, denials, unusually high fees or incomplete responses can show how a government agency treats its legal obligation to provide information to the public. By sharing records requests that are still pending or that encounter resistance, Public Records Watch helps document a pattern in real time.
We also believe the public has a right to know what records we are seeking on their behalf. In some cases, public attention can help prompt faster or more complete responses. In others, it helps establish a pattern of obstruction, noncompliance or systemic breakdowns in transparency.
Not every request leads to a published story, but they all reflect a question worth asking.
Why we sometimes redact public records
In most cases, we will publish public records as we receive them, without redactions. These are documents produced by public agencies using public resources, and the law requires them to be open for inspection.
That said, we review public records before publication, and if they include information that could cause unnecessary harm without serving the public interest, we may withhold or limit what we publish. We follow the same internal guidelines when deciding what public information to disclose in our stories.
Transparency goes both ways. When we share public records, we want readers to see the same material we see — and to understand our judgment calls involved in reporting responsibly on them.
Read our first two Public Records Watch entries:
