Ithaca College’s student newspaper, The Ithacan, is one of three nationwide recipients of a grant to support student journalists filing requests for public records and reporting on the government. The Student Journalist Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Grant is part of a new initiative from MuckRock, a non-profit collaborative news site.
MuckRock provides journalists with tools to make the process of requesting a FOIA easier, including information on filing requests and databases of original government documents. These materials help journalists complete investigative reports and dig deeper into government records.
With the grant, The Ithacan will have their work shared with the world. The newspaper will receive a free MuckRock organization account, three hours of free consulting about their public record requests and current projects, and $200 for agency request fees.
“The Ithacan is honored to receive a public record grant from MuckRock,” said Aidan Quigley, editor-in-chief of The Ithacan. “The grant represents an exciting opportunity for us to learn more about how the college interacts with the local, state and federal government.”
“The consulting time will help train our staff on utilizing public record laws for accountability journalism, an important skill for the journalists of tomorrow,” he added.
The two other recipients of the grant are The Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and The College Fix.