Almost every journalist has experienced that frustrated feeling of knowing a government body possesses public information important but unable to access it.

A group of journalists experienced with acquiring public records from government bodies want to help make that feeling a distant memory.

SPJ will hold a Google Hangout on Air at 2 p.m. EST on Friday here to share tips and thoughts on a range of issues critical to journalists of all experience levels who want to provide more access to public information from city halls to statehouses and the federal government.

Participants will include:

Jennifer Karchmer – Washington State Bureau Correspondent for Reporters Without Borders and columnist for the community newspaper Whatcom Watch.

Danielle McLean – Reporter for the Somerville Journal, New England chapter President of SPJ and member of SPJ FOI Committee.

Sonny Albarado – Projects Editor at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and SPJ immediate past president.

Joey Senat – Media law researcher and associate professor of journalism at Oklahoma State University.

Kathryn Foxhall – Veteran reporter in the Washington, D.C., area, with long experience covering Congress and the bureaucracy. Her specialties include health and medical issues.

Dave Cuillier – Director and associate professor at The University of Arizona’s School of Journalism. He researches citizen and press access to government information.

Robbie Ward – Investigative and watchdog journalist based in Greenville, S.C. His reporting compelled the first (and so far only) local government in Mississippi to archive and maintain text messages and emails of public officials.

You can ask questions in advance and during the discussion using your Google+ account or during the broadcast using the Twitter hashtag #spjsunshine.

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