404 Media plans to hold its next FOIA Forum on Thursday, July 30, at 1 p.m. ET, giving paid subscribers a live walkthrough of how its reporters file public records requests.
The session is expected to run for at least an hour, according to 404 Media. Reporters Joseph Cox and Jason Koebler will lead the livestream, share their screen, answer questions from viewers, and draft requests in real time.
The forum is built around a practical skill that still does a lot of work in tech accountability reporting: asking government bodies for documents they would often prefer to keep buried in filing systems, inboxes, vendor portals, or meeting packets. 404 Media said the event will show how its reporters put together Freedom of Information Act and public records requests, rather than treating FOIA as a magic acronym that makes records appear.
City council meetings are the focus this time
404 Media said this edition will pay particular attention to city council meetings. Koebler, according to the outlet, watches many of those meetings and will discuss how he finds useful information in them more quickly.
The outlet said Koebler will also explain how meetings can lead to follow-up records requests, including requests involving Flock and other subjects. Flock is not described further in 404 Media’s announcement, and the outlet did not list specific requests it plans to file during the session.
The basic workflow, as described by 404 Media, is familiar to anyone who has had to turn a public meeting into documents: identify what officials discussed, work out which agency or office likely holds the records, and write a request narrow enough to be processed without letting the agency pretend it has no idea what you mean.
Subscribers get the livestream link
404 Media said paid subscribers can already access the livestream link. The outlet also plans to send a reminder shortly before the event.
For people who have not attended one of the outlet’s earlier FOIA Forums, 404 Media said Cox and Koebler will include a short introduction to filing requests. The outlet also pointed readers to its archive of previous FOIA Forum videos.
404 Media said it has multiple FOIA requests it needs to file and wants audience input on what viewers would like to see covered. The stated goal is instructional: showing people how to make their own requests, not just watching reporters do paperwork on camera.
Access to the July 30 forum is tied to 404 Media membership. The outlet directed non-subscribers to its membership page if they want to join before the livestream.
This story draws on original reporting from 404 Media.
