Marisa J. Porto, Virginia Press Association president: Earlier this year I began to attend meetings in Richmond to review Virginia's Freedom of Information law. It's been an interesting learning experience for someone who has made a career writing stories, rather than participating in them.
As a reporter who has covered city governments, law enforcement agencies, court systems and school boards, I've become an advocate for open government and public records. I can't tell you the number of FOIA requests I've made as a reporter over the years. I can't tell you the number of times those requests were denied by government officials. But I can tell you the number of times the word "no" made me back down — not once. Continue…
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