Smaller news outlets seem to poke vulnerable or secretive government officials with a sharper stick than do the bigger ones. One reason may be that large news organizations assume a greater role as "player" in big city politics.
In Detroit, for example, the big papers are invited to send representatives to public panels, roundtables and TV talk shows (sometimes as guests, sometimes as hosts) where policy is influenced if not made. As a result, objectivity begins to slip away. Readers sense it.
Smaller news organizations may be closer to the rumors, outrage and skepticism heard on the street that fuel FOIA inquiries.
In January, the Free Press exposed a water department “integrity” officer on pension from Ann Arbor who was simultaneously employed in what were supposed to be full-time jobs in both Flint and Detroit.
But after the Kilpatrick guilty verdict on March 11, that kind of scrutiny appears to have shifted.
On March 21, it was a small paper that exposed how the water department was paying multiple consultants hourly fees ranging from $75 to $330, plus huge bar, restaurant and hotel tabs, not to mention airfare, parking fees at distant airports and car rentals.
Similarly, on April 21, Crain's had a scoop about the city foregoing millions in revenue for years. Seems that the water department had neglected to collect a city-imposed tax on impervious surfaces (like roofs and parking lots), intended to discourage stormwater runoff, but now was demanding payment of those millions.
(If you haven't guessed by now, one of my interests is cataloging waste, misappropriation, bid rigging, bribery and extortion in the water department. Those activities don’t necessarily end simply because one set of officials is headed for federal prison. A prominent school district emergency manager who should know observed that, where unrepentant organizational culture clashes with a strategy of reform, culture always wins.)
Detroit's major papers, post-Kwame, seem to be pulling their punches in an effort to shore up the city's flagging image. You can watch boosterism wax as investigative reporting wanes. Boosterism (some would say propaganda) doesn't require much from FOIA.
Ordinarily, we’d expect the high circulation papers in Detroit to take the lead in real FOIA reform, but don’t hold your breath. It will take a concerted effort by all the other news outlets to offset the diminished interest of the large Detroit dailies.
Initiating dialogue with legislators about truly open access to public records would be a good start.
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