Past Essay Contest Winners

2012

First Place, Victoria Hoffmeister, Grade 11, Greenwich High School, Teacher: Aaron Hull
Second Place, Kseniya Rogulina, Grade 11, West Haven High School, Teacher: Mark Consorte
Third Place, Dana Xu, 9th Grade, Joseph A. Foran High School, Milford, Teacher: Sarah DiGiacomo

2011

News From NFOIC

D.C. coalition: COVID-19 spreads, but still no data January 15, 2021
D.C. coalition: COVID-19 spreads, but still no data D.C. Open Government Coalition board member Sandra Moscoso is writing a series of posts about open government. This is part of a series that will become a case study in the D.C. Open Government Coalition’s 2021 open government education and training program. They will post information soon early […]
New Congress called on to fix public records delays, political manipulation January 15, 2021
New Congress called on to fix public records delays, political manipulation WASHINGTON— More than a dozen conservation and transparency groups called on the new Congress today to fix systemic issues and close loopholes that allow federal agencies to delay releases of public records under the Freedom of Information Act. “It’s time for Congress to step in and […]
Report analyzes 20 years of FOIA litigation by news organizations, reporters January 14, 2021
Report analyzes 20 years of FOIA litigation by news organizations, reporters The news media are powerful players in the world of government transparency and public accountability. One important tool for ensuring public accountability is through invoking transparency mandates provided by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In 2020, news organizations and individual reporters filed 122 […]
Why don't we know? January 13, 2021
Why don't we know? Why don’t we know how often college athletes get concussions, or when students get disciplined for hazing, and whether those problems are getting better or worse? They’re simple questions with complex answers, and in each episode of the “Why Don’t We Know” podcast, investigative reporter Sara Ganim will lead a team […]
University must release sexual assault records after U.S. Supreme Court denies appeal January 13, 2021
University must release sexual assault records after U.S. Supreme Court denies appeal The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied UNC-Chapel Hill’s appeal regarding the release of sexual assault records, ending a four-year legal battle between the university and local media. The lawsuit stemmed from a 2016 records request filed by The Daily Tar Heel campus […]
Austin, Texas, not saying where $6 million in coronavirus aid went January 12, 2021
Austin, Texas, not saying where $6 million in coronavirus aid went More than $6 million in taxpayer money flowed to Austin nonprofits affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but taxpayers might never learn the identities of the organizations that got the money or get a chance to dig into their stated need for assistance. Citing a little-known state law that […]