2014 GSU and Cox Enterprises emails about Stadium and WRAS
| Submitted | Oct. 18, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Brian Patrick Bannon
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
Documents and emails between Georgia State University and Cox Enterprises and Cox Media Group between Jan. 1st and July 1st 2014. Specifically, any emails related to President Mark Becker's revealing plans for Turner Field and discussing plans for WRAS at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's headquarters in May of 2014: https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/georgia-state-developers-want-the-ted-for-major-project/S48lJZEEudb2Bac4ohocHK/
The AJC is owned by Cox Enterprises whose CEO at the time, John Dyer, served on the GSU Foundation.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Brian Patrick Bannon
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Georgia Open Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 18, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Georgia State University
Dear Mr. Bannon,
I received your request this morning and am writing for clarification of your request for:
Documents and emails between Georgia State University and Cox Enterprises and Cox Media Group between Jan. 1st and July 1st 2014. Specifically, any emails related to President Mark Becker's revealing plans for Turner Field and discussing plans for WRAS at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's headquarters in May of 2014: https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/georgia-state-developers-want-the-ted-for-major-project/S48lJZEEudb2Bac4ohocHK/
As written, a search for responsive emails would be problematic as we have thousands of employees at Georgia State University. Please identify the individual or individuals whose email correspondence with Cox Enterprises and Cox Media Group you are seeking and we can get started from there.
Best regards,
Stacey
Stacey B. Brandenburg
Public Records Officer
Georgia State University
Office of Legal Affairs
Centennial Hall
100 Auburn Avenue, Suite 315
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 413-0506 Fax: (404) 413-0518
From: Brian Patrick Bannon
The following GSU employees:
Mark Becker
Kerry Howard
Andrea Jones
Thanks,
Brian Bannon
From: Brian Patrick Bannon
I'm sorry, that should be Kerry Heyward, not Howard.
So the following:
Mark Becker
Kerry Heyward
Andrea Jones
From: Georgia State University
Received.
Stacey
From: Georgia State University
Hi Brian,
We did a query using the three GSU accounts you requested and it produced hundreds of results. Many of the email exchanges were with reporters from the AJC. Are you looking for these or only exchanges with a @cox.com address? Do you have any email addresses for employees at Cox we could use to narrow the results?
Best,
Stacey
From: Brian Patrick Bannon
I would like those.
As for @cox.com addresses if they are based on names any from John Dyer and Sonji Jacobs.
Thanks.
From: Brian Patrick Bannon
Hello,
Any update on the status of this request?
Brian Bannon
From: Georgia State University
I hope to have the responsive documents to you tomorrow or by COB Monday at the latest.
Best,
Stacey
From: Georgia State University
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Good afternoon, Brian,
Please find responsive documents attached.
Sincerely,
Stacey B. Brandenburg
Stacey B. Brandenburg
Public Records Officer
Georgia State University
Office of Legal Affairs
Centennial Hall
100 Auburn Avenue, Suite 315
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 413-0506 Fax: (404) 413-0518
From: Brian Patrick Bannon
Thanks for your assistance, but I do have a couple questions.
The zip file only contains about 37 emails when you initially indicated there were hundreds.
Also, were there no responsive emails between GSU officials and Cox Enterprises’ John Dyer or Sonji Jacobs?
Brian B.
From: Georgia State University
Good morning, Brian,
There were hundreds of results due to the parameters of the search process. We searched three GSU email accounts, Becker, Heyward, and Jones for the time frame given and using the keywords “Turner Field” and “WRAS.” I then retrieved/reviewed the emails sent/received by the AJC and pulled the emails responsive to your request. I did not find any responsive emails between these three employees and John Dyer or Sonji Jacobs.
Best,
Stacey
Stacey B. Brandenburg
Public Records Officer
Georgia State University
Office of Legal Affairs
Centennial Hall
100 Auburn Avenue, Suite 315
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 413-0506 Fax: (404) 413-0518