If you get into a bind on a story, ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY

Preston Trigg from the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s office introduced the class to the official records index (O.R. Index). This index is what Trigg called, “reporters most important friend.” Basically, the index includes documents anywhere from deeds and mortgages to property and real estate taxes. Trigg also showed us the Hillsborough Tax Collector’s Web site, www.hillstax.org, which allows civilians to look at the property taxes of people’s homes, as well as the property appraiser. The Business Tax database and Motor Vehicle records are also available. However, because of the Driver Privacy Protection Act of 1994, many drivers’ license records are unavailable to the public.

Trigg mentioned there are some records that are exempt from reporters and civilians because some information is too personal for people to know. The most common exemptions to public records are recent autopsy photographs, school records, including exams and grades, propriety records, sex-related crimes, and private e-mails. Because of these exemptions, Trigg said there are guidelines reporters need to follow if they want to obtain a public record from an office.

First off, it is a good idea to put a public record request in writing because offices must cite an exemption if they don’t give you the record you are asking for. Secondly, ask for the cost to get a public record up front. Probably the most beneficial thing I learned from these guidelines was asking to inspect the records rather than get copies of them, because offices cannot charge for inspection. If a reporter only needs to gather information from one or two sheets of paper, knowing people cannot charge for inspection is a HUGE advantage.

Finally, Trigg reiterated, “If you are having trouble filling in the missing spaces in regards to a story, ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY.” Trigg shared several examples of how criminals and politicians have been taken down because reporters followed the money trail back to the source. Trigg gave the class a rundown of key questions any reporter should ask for when investigating a story. The main questions to ask of an agency are their budget, organizational chart, financial disclosure of reporting individuals, travel records of top 10 highest paid employees, and a listing of all written 119 Public Records Statute requests made in the past year.