Lift the Veil: Using Public Records to Investigate Opioid Settlement Spending
Yesterday, we hosted another conversation in our series of fireside chats aimed at helping journalists cover the billions of dollars into opioid settlement monies coming in our communities right now.
WESA's Kate Giammarise and Spotlight PA's Ed Mahon detailed how they used Pennsylvania’s open records law to break down secrecy around opioid settlement spending in their state. Together, they have created the most comprehensive public accounting of how Pennsylvania counties spent the first rounds of payments, in our discussion they discussed tips for how you can do the same in your community or state.
And you can access Ed and Kate's slides with tips and story ideas here.
If you’re not a journalist, please consider sharing these resources with the journalists at your local newspaper, TV or radio station, or at your favorite digital outlet. Journalists will help us hold public officials accountable for the spending of these funds, and you can help them cover this essential topic. Forward this email to them!
We have plans already in the works for more of these fireside chats in the coming months so keep an eye out in your inbox, but in the meantime, thank you for the vital work you’re doing in your newsroom or on the ground in your community.
Dillon Bergin