Presentation
Let's Get Organized!
IRE 2024: Tools for FOIA and large project organization
Meet your hosts
Madison Hopkins
Senior Investigative Reporter
Illinois Answers Project/BGA
Matt Dempsey
Senior Investigations Editor
Spotlight PA
Michael Morisy
Founder and Chief Executive
MuckRock
Today's plan
1
The Basics
Why should I care again? Plus some quick-hit examples.
2
Simple tools get the job done
Some low-tech options for organizing your projects and FOIA requests.
3
FOIA Fun
A spotlight on how you can streamline your records requests.
Part 1
Organizing your Reporting 101
(Get ready for a lot of Taylor Swift gifs)
Let's dive in
First things first…
Why exactly should we care about any of this??
Signs You Need an Organization Overhaul
Your (virtual or IRL) desktop looks like a tornado hit it
You think that your co-reporters secretly hate you because you can never find that one file you swear you just updated
You often find yourself re-doing work because you don't remember what you did and/or how you did it
Your feelings toward the industry at large two weeks before you publish a big story
You think very seriously about quitting journalism every time you are in the final stages of a major project
Organizational Tools Can Help
Implementing a new organizational system or tool can help you:
1
Identify patterns and problems, such as reporting trends, source availability, connected ideas, and problematic FOIA requests.
2
Create customized tools for your specific workflows to help reporting and/or audience engagement
3
Save time and reduce the parts of your job that you find repetitive, inefficient, or annoying.
Isn't it just so funny to think that all along there was some invisible string tying your random reporting threads together?
Prep for Productivity
1
Collaborate or Flying Solo?
Team systems need group buy-in, but even solo work often needs to be shared
2
Form vs. Function
It's okay to like pretty things. Just accept that organizational beauty is in the eye of the spreadsheet maker.
3
Upkeep is Key
A system only works if you work it. Know your limits – technologically speaking and otherwise.
(Some) Ideas
+ whatever you want!
Explore more tools here
Example time: Fact-checking with Airtable
Top 5 reasons I <3 my Airtable fact-checking system
1. I check facts, not sentences
(At least at first)
2. It's reusable for later drafts + stories
3. It's adaptable when chaos inevitably ensues
I <3 Fact-Checking (continued)
4. It plays nicely with others
5. It's pretty
And I'll admit it, I care about that. What can you do? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Template + Tutorial Link

Madison's Super Dope Fact-Checking Template and Tutorial · Fantastic Tech Tools and Where To Find Them

And a few final tips to keep in mind as you build (and re-build)
1
When in doubt, put things in chronological order
2
Try out isolated use cases before revamping your entire work life
3
Add source links EVERYWHERE!!!
4
Overcomplicated? Start by simplifying the intake
5
Remember: It's the climb. The process of getting organized is just as beneficial as the end product.
You, scrapping everything and starting over with all your new lessons learned
That's all for me
Next up…
Interested in some of these ideas but not excited about going all-in on some fancy-schmancy new tech tool?
We've got you.
Part 2: Don't count out the underdog
Organizing a project with simple tools
Simple tools get the job done
It can be intimidating to learn a new tool. Can take time too to merge it into your existing organizational structure.
But if something new feels like too much, don't forget to use some of the simple tools you already use frequently:
Spreadsheets
(Google Sheets, Excel, etc)
Shared Document Files
(Google Docs, Dropbox, etc.)
Focus on:
Shared spreadsheets
You can do a TON with a shared spreadsheet, with multiple labeled tabs.
For a recent project, we used shared spreadsheets to:
Create an inventory of a trove of documents. Included date on the document, links to each one, description, notes, importance on a 1-5 scale
Track outgoing records requests
A source database with name, position, phone/email, last contacted, links to interview notes, and a general note field
Timeline of events
Reporting to do list
Reporting “planks” or findings
Shared Spreadsheets, con't
Benefits
  • Multiple people can be in it at once
  • Labeled tabs means the purpose of each part of the spreadsheet is clear
  • Extremely flexible as to what you can do with it
  • As complicated or as simple as you want it to be
Tradeoffs
  • Can get unwieldy the more complicated it gets
  • Decidedly less visually appealing than other options
  • Automation is a lot more difficult to achieve.
  • Trickier to implement or integrate with other tools
Spotlight on:
The Shared Document
Good ‘ol documents can still be useful in terms of organizing reporting and accelerate the drafting process.
My favorite way to do this:
Reporting Planks
Ask reporters to break down their story by its major findings or “planks”.
Reporting Planks
How to do it:
1
Fill in:
  • What the story is about?
  • Goal of the story
  • How we're going to prove it
  • Listing out the project's main themes or "planks"
2
Next:
  • Write out a description of each theme, as if you're writing a story's draft
  • Base it on what you can prove at the time of writing
  • Then spell out what you still need to prove and what you need to do it
Shared documents, con't
Benefits
Gets reporters to start writing earlier. Helps with fact checking cause you're doing it as you go. Can also kick start thoughts on story structure
Tradeoffs
Some reporters can feel like they're writing the same thing in different formats Plank document vs outline vs draft, etc. Can also be done with a simpler annotated draft
Bottom line:
If it works, it works.
The most important thing is to find a system that helps you and your team stay organized and get results, even if it's not the flashiest option.
And last but certainly not least…
Part 3:
FOIA ORGANIZATION
One request is good, hundreds are better
But filing those requests one at a time is a drag
We’ve worked with partners to offer a service that mixes mail merge with backend that files the way agencies want while keeping the documents and communications organized for you.
You can bulk manage your requests with a custom interface that gives you a standard view into where all your requests stand, as well as grant permissions to others as needed. You can even export all your requests as a CSV!
But even better is setting up the FOIAs to file themselves, tapping MuckRock’s API.
Free tracking with FOIA Machine
What Not to Do
Learn from our mistakes!
Start small before you scale — test language with 3-5 agencies that cover the types of agencies you’ll be filing with.
Learn to use the dynamics in your favor — highlight other agencies that have released information.
Fine tune your wishlist — asking for 7 things often means that you get the two things agencies want to give you.
Most importantly …
Put your ideas to work, even if it’s just a small, first step!
That's all we got!
Thank you for listening. Go out there and organize your little hearts out.
Any questions?
Get in touch
Madison Hopkins
Matthew Dempsey
Michael Morisy