FOI Friday: The stories made possible thanks to FOI in September 2016

A look at some of the stories made possible thanks to FOI laws in the UK – most of which can easily be replicated elsewhere… Ambulances called to one house 500 times < Kent Online Ambulance crews were called to 595 emergency calls from one private address in one year. The astonishing figure came to

Has the rise of mobile and social media saved the clever headline?

Four years ago, I blogged about claims that the internet had killed the art of headline writing. The claim had come from the NUJ, which was still in its ‘new media might go away’ phase. Thankfully, it appears to have moved on since then. Anyway, back in 2009, a columnist in its Journalist magazine, Maxwell

Arise, your newspaper: How regional newspapers covered the New Year Honours

If you saw the national newspapers or TV news on Saturday, then you’ll know that The New Year Honours were somewhat dominated by  Olympians. And why not? 2012, after all, is a year which will be remembered for sport.

FOI Friday: Truancy figures done properly, the data protection FOI strikes gold again, and a greater focus on public transport crime

  10 good examples of FOI in action from the local, regional and national press: 1. The injuries caused to postmen by dogs – Wales On Sunday Dog bites postman may not be the most original story of all time – but the injuries postmen in Wales receive when attacked by dogs was certainly eye-opening

FOI FRIDAY: Mice at Manchester United, appealing students, cabbie grumbles and turning the lights off

Mice raid Manchester United < < < Manchester Evening News I love this FOI. Simple, but effective – although the sports editor might not thank you Manchester United had to deal with a mice infestation at Old Trafford, the M.E.N. can reveal. The outbreak was one of a number of hygiene and safety issues flagged

FOI Friday: Problem families, housing benefit cheats, kids in cells and unsolved crimes

1. How many ‘problem families’ have moved into your area? It’s not often it’s worth flagging up an FOI request before a result has come back, but this is a little different. The Ledbury Reporter newspaper reports on how Ledbury Town Council is trying to find out how many ‘problem families’ have been allocated housing

FOI Friday: Cyberslackers, free parking, cabbie complaints and olympic tickets

The civil servant ‘cyberslackers’ story goes regional   A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about an FOI request which made the pages of the Daily Telegraph concerning internet usages at the Department for Transport. Although the data released was of dubious quality in terms of working out which site was viewed the most – it

FOI Friday: Dodging magistrates, the race for Oxbridge, big cats and clearing up after gypsies

How many going to university? Some interesting data from the Western Mail, which used FOI to ask how many students from each of the towns in Wales had been enrolled at Oxford and Cambridge in recent years. In some parts of Wales, not a single student has attended Oxbridge for seven years. No shows at

FOI Friday: Custard spills, charity finances, twocking – and an important breakthrough

Regional Development Agency assets An important precedent has hopefully been set this week by the Birmingham Post when it comes to FOI. Regional Development Agencies were a relatively late addition to FOI coverage, and since their demise was announced, some have been reluctant to reveal how much they are selling their assets for. The Birmingham

FOI Friday: 10 things we’ve learnt this week thanks to the Freedom of Information Act

The councils which tell us to recycle – but don’t do it themselves The Northern Echo came up with a great story thanks to FOI – asking councils how much they spent on promoting recycling. It also asked what recycling they carry out – and remarkably few composted food, recycled green waste or even made