What do all those numbers mean?

Due to the inconsistencies of my Toyota Corolla, I was unable to attend Preston Trigg’s second visit to the Public Affairs Class. However, from the information in his power point presentation, I have all the tools I need to get my point across.

Trigg stressed to the class that anyone who wants to succeed in journalism must know how to identify, read, and understand government budgets. According to Trigg, money is what drives everything and it’s a key to politics. Government budgets are the root of all good—or evil. Every government agency is required by law to have one, and most of them—including all in Florida—are public. Nearly every government budget is obligated to be balanced by the end of the fiscal year (October 1st to September 30th), with few exceptions. One exemption Trigg gave was the federal budget of California. Because California is in the midst of severe economic stress, as well as other factors, they are not required to get their budget balanced.

Government budgets are helpful, but the information is useless if the reader has no idea what numbers correspond to what part of the budget. Trigg mentioned that because government budgets are rather lengthy, and often confusing, his advice is to ask questions if you don’t understand. Don’t fall into the trap of, “I’ll find out the information from a friend or someone I work with.” If you are unclear on something, just ask and help will be provided.

Here are the basics of understand government budgets: money comes in, money goes out. Trigg said that people tend to complicate things and make them more complex than they ever should be. Secondly, budgets must always consist of two (2) parts, Revenues and Expenses. Occasionally, if a budget is spending more than what is coming in, a third category called Debt will be added. The beginning of the budget is like a summary of the fiscal year. Trigg made clear to the class that journalists shouldn’t simply rely on the budget summary because sometimes that is exactly what the agency wants the journalist to report on. Many times, intriguing information will be revealed about a company’s expenses if the reporter is willing to do a little extra research.

The second part of the budget often deals with Revenues, which means the money coming in. Examples of revenue are taxes, fines, user fees, utility payments (electricity, water), and state and federal grants. Expenses are money coming out. Examples include office supplies, education, and travel expenses. According to Trigg, there are three (3) types of expenses: personnel, capital, and operating. Personnel expenses are money associated with people, such as salaries, and benefits. Capital expenses include any purchase made that exceeds $1,000. Operating expenses relate to the things that keep the company going, so to speak. Leases, utilities, and office supplies are all examples.

Overall, Trigg made clear that asking questions is the best way to gather information about a confusing budget. So, whenever you’re asked to cover and write a story on a city or state budget, remember to follow these simple guidelines: keep your writing simple for the reader. Say what you mean, but put it in terms everyone can understand. Second, review all the expense and revenue reports, not just the summary. You never know, with a little extra research, you could find a diamond in the rough. Finally, and most importantly, remember to ask questions if you don’t understand something. A great mystery could be uncovered simply by asking a few questions and getting the right answers.

Medical Examiner's Office

I was unable to attend the last field trip of the semester due to minor car troubles, but through some research I’ve conducted, I think I can still give you an idea of what the medical examiner’s office does and how they are a vital asset to investigators and journalists.

The first thing I thought of when I heard the term, 'medical examiner,' was characters from the fictional television drama, Crime Scene Investigator (CSI). However, what happens on TV and what happens in real life is not always the same. In televison shows, we often see multiple medical examiners out of the lab during all hours of the day investigating death scenes. However, due to budget cuts, the real life investigators no longer go out at night to handle cases.

It is an examiner’s job to perform autopsies in order to determine the cause of death of an average Joe to a celebrity star. Examiners also work closely with organ donor facilities because they are concerned with human tissue donations. Also, any body that is unidentified is disposed of, meaning they are cremated.

Nearly everything a medical examiner produces is public record. The autopsy reports, the dead individual’s medical records, any evidence or paperwork filled out by the examiner, and any transcripts from county officials are made open to the public. All you have to do to obtain information from an official from the examiners office is file a request for a specific record or records and send the request to the office in a business envelope with TWO stamps on it. If the request is for a public record, the office will send the information back to the person asking for it.

What happens if someone asks for a record that is exempt? I’m glad you asked. There are certain records that are not available to the public, such as deaths currently under investigation, HIV tests results, and autopsy photographs, which up until recently WERE made available to the public. Autopsy photos are now denied to anyone except medical personnel because graphic photos have been used in newspapers without permission from the family of the deceased. The main person responsible for the rule change is Teresa Earnhardt, the widow of famous Nascar driver Dale Earnhardt. A newspaper was planning on using pictures from the crash that killed Earnhardt and Teresa Earnhardt sued in order to keep the photos sealed. For more information about the autopsy privacy bill, visit this Web site: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2001-03-21-autopsy-bill.htm

Where do all those public records go?

Last Tuesday, my Public Affairs class and I made the trek to the Hillsborough County Courthouse. It wasn’t the most thrilling field trip this semester, but I still managed to learn some key information about the court system that I didn’t know beforehand. For one, it is BUSY. That’s not even a big enough word, so if you can think of one, use that. There are mobs of people trying to enter the court, whether it’s for their traffic court hearing, a friend’s misdemeanor hearing, or something that has to do with child support payments. Mondays are typically the busiest of days because people come in for jury duty, so I can’t imagine the time it takes just to get through security checks. By the way, did you know you can be arrested for missing jury duty? Not the best day to forget to set your alarm for early in the morning.

Chief Financial Officer Pat Frank and Clerk of Court Dana Caranante gave the class some insight about how important the court system is. Obviously, this is the place where people are judged for their wrongdoings and subsequently learn their fate, but I didn’t realize how many public records were stored and for how long. According to Frank, every document that passes through the courthouse is stored in a warehouse and kept as public record for as long as 75 years, in some cases. 75 YEARS! Are you serious!?

Some records, like the ones that are from traffic court, can be discarded after 90 days, but other documents, like child abuse records (which are unavailable to the public, by the way) are kept for at least the lifetime of the child, plus a number of years afterward. Juvenile records are kept forever!

According to Frank, the most common records asked for are arrest records, and if the case is high-profile, (meaning people are hearing updates on the news, for instance) the cases are made available on the Internet.

To learn more information about the court system and what records are available and confidential to the public, visit www.hillsclerk.com

Do you know what your money is being spent on?

The meeting with WFLA investigative reporter Steve Andrews was probably my favorite field trip thus far. Steve talked about some of his biggest stories he's uncovered in the past five years. The story he talked about the most was his investigation against Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance. Basically, he found that they were spending a ridiculous amount of money on food, $20,000 a year actually.

TBWA is supposed to be a non-profit organization designed to get people jobs. Instead they spent a boatload of money on high-priced food and paid for it by using taxpayers money. Steve also found that they had planning meetings at the company presidents' home and at high-priced restaurants, where they spent money on lunch and dinner.

To break down what they spent on food, Steve found they were spending $13 a gallon on iced tea, $9 per slice of cheesecake from the cheesecake factory, $150 meals from the cheesecake factory, and $50 for a dozen gourmet cupcakes. Steve found that TBWA’s statewide were spending over $600,000 a year on food and they were paying for it using taxpayers money. Because of Steve's investigative reporting, TBWA was crippled. State and law enforcement investigations were put on TBWA, and later a federal investigation was put on them. The president of TBWA had to resign as well as at least two board of directors.

Steve stressed to us that it's imperative to be polite when trying to interview someone, especially while the camera is on. It looks bad on you, the reporter, if you are following someone with a microphone and invading their privacy. It makes the public not like you and relate to the person you are trying to interview.
Steve obtained a bunch of public records from TBWA. The only problem was that there was a BUNCH of records he had to go through. His partners told him he wasn't going to find anything but Steve trusted his instincts. He found plenty of key information from public records (he called it a goldmine) even though it took him forever to read through all of them.

Finally, some important statements Steve made were that it is a reporter's duty to follow the story to the logical conclusion. You work till you're done in this business. Also make sure to have at least 3 questions prepared (and write them down) before you interview someone. Lastly, don't give up on a story if your instincts say there's more to learn.

If you want to read more Steve Andrews articles, visit www.tbo.com and keyword search for his name.