Tim Nickens Visit

I enjoyed Tim Nicken visit to our class on Monday. He gave a lot of examples of where the Sunshine Law has been useful in reporting.

What stuck with me the most was Nickens advise of not being afraid to ask questions. I think that one of the most important things he could have left us with. When reviewing public files I know that I may not understand exactly what I am looking at. It's very comforting when a professional in the journalism field gives us the advise of not being afraid to ask what something means.

Being able to follow a paper trial and understanding what you are looking for is also important for a good journalist. Nicken gave the advise of knowing where to look. I was surprise when e is a lot of information out there and if we don't know where or how to find information of lot of vital time could be wasted. By following a paper trail or having documented evidence of   what we are looking for can help us built a strong story and in some cases if someone refuses to talk to us, we can built a story base solely from public record.

A good example that Nickens gave us is when a public official had 6 millions dollars in there budget for a classroom building. After a reporter pulled the public records for the building plan and found out that the money was going toward a private runway at an airport. I think public records are necessary to keep those in power from going  a stray. I know that not every person in power does not start out being greedy or doing things wrong to benefit themselves but reality is that it does turn out that way from quite a few. The Sunshine Laws are very important and I way a little surprised to find out that Florida has some of the strictest Sunshine Laws. I find strict public records laws necessary in all states.