Institutional Press Policies (Rutgers University)

Dear Mrs. Tamburro:
Thank you for submitting your request for government records of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), NJSA 47:1 et seq. Your request was received through the online, public portal Rutgers University Open Public Records Center of this office on 5/31/2023 and given the reference number R008088-053123.

Your request will be forwarded to the Office of the Custodian of Records for review and processing, including determining the volume of responsive documents and any potential costs associated with satisfying your request. Please note, the N.J. Open Public Records Act does not require the University to create new documents, to conduct research, or to answer questions for information.

Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. Any policy, guidance, handbook, manual, or standard contract concerning the institution’s interactions or relationship with members of the news media, reporters, or journalists, including student journalists.

2. Any policy, guidance, handbook, or manual concerning the interactions or communications of institutional employees, including faculty, administrators, staff, and student employees, with the news media, reporters, or journalists, including student journalists.

Please note that this request does not seek a search of faculty or student email accounts or records. These requests should in no way be construed to include a review or search of email accounts, websites, or other forms of data or document retention which are controlled by students, alumni, or faculty members, nor by governmental or advisory bodies controlled by the same, except insofar as any such individuals also serve in an administrative capacity and the records were created or are held by the individual in that capacity. Any search should be limited to documents held by the administration and/or its staff members, including records created or maintained by persons acting in the capacity of administrators or staff members.

This request is made on behalf of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that aims to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought. This request concerns a matter of public interest. The records are sought for the purpose of researching and educating the public about policies affecting student journalists' ability to engage in news gathering and reporting on college and university campuses.

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 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Anne Marie Tamburro

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
The Office of the Custodian of Records uses the Rutgers University Open Public Records Center to communicate with you, respond to and track all open public records requests.  If you have submitted your request electronically through Rutgers Open Public Records Center portal, you have already been required to create an account.

Notice to First Time Portal Users:
If you are a first time user and did not submit your request through the public portal, you are receiving this request because the Rutgers Office of the Custodian has created an account for you at the Rutgers University Open Public Records Center .
To access your account and view your request:

1.Go to: 2. Select/open  "My Records Center" Rutgers University Open Public Records Center.
3. Enter your email and password as provided in your previously received Welcome Letter.

You can monitor your request through the Rutgers University Open Public Records Center at "My Request Center."
Thank you and if you have questions, you  may contact the OPRA Administrator at (973) 972-1981.

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
University Custodian of Records
Office of Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics and Compliance
65 Bergen Street, Ste. 1346
Newark, New Jersey 07101-1709
Phone: (973) 972-1981
Fax: (973) 972-2396

--- Please respond above this line ---

Reference: Rutgers Open Public Records Request,  # R008088-053123
Dear Mrs. Tamburro,
Please accept this letter as the University Custodian of Records response to your request for records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”). On May 31, 2023, this office received your request for the following:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. Any policy, guidance, handbook, manual, or standard contract concerning the institution’s interactions or relationship with members of the news media, reporters, or journalists, including student journalists.

2. Any policy, guidance, handbook, or manual concerning the interactions or communications of institutional employees, including faculty, administrators, staff, and student employees, with the news media, reporters, or journalists, including student journalists.

Please note that this request does not seek a search of faculty or student email accounts or records. These requests should in no way be construed to include a review or search of email accounts, websites, or other forms of data or document retention which are controlled by students, alumni, or faculty members, nor by governmental or advisory bodies controlled by the same, except insofar as any such individuals also serve in an administrative capacity and the records were created or are held by the individual in that capacity. Any search should be limited to documents held by the administration and/or its staff members, including records created or maintained by persons acting in the capacity of administrators or staff members.

This request is made on behalf of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that aims to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought. This request concerns a matter of public interest. The records are sought for the purpose of researching and educating the public about policies affecting student journalists' ability to engage in news gathering and reporting on college and university campuses.

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 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Anne Marie Tamburro

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
The University has reviewed your request and although the request is improper and overly broad, all of the University's policies are available to the public online at https://policies.rutgers.edu
You may find the policies you are seeking available for download on that website.
OPRA provides access to “identifiable” government records that are not otherwise exempt. New Jersey courts have held that a request under OPRA must specifically describe the document sought. “A proper request for access to government records must identify with reasonable clarity those documents that are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this requirement by simply requesting all of an agency’s documents.” If your request has been denied, you may take your appeal to the New Jersey Government Records Council (NJGRC), which has mediation and dispute resolution procedures, or you may file a lawsuit with the New Jersey Superior Court, as provided by Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 38 (App. Div. 2005). A blanket request for a class of various documents is not a request for specific identifiable documents, and a custodian is not required to conduct research to locate records potentially responsive to a request. See Elcavage v. West Milford Twp., GRC Complaint No. 2006-64 (May 28, 2008). Moreover, OPRA does not require a custodian to conduct research or an agency to expend “indisputably limited agency resources to sift through the [agency's] vast files and identify, analyze and select potentially relevant and responsive public records.” Spectraserv v. Middlesex County Utilities Authority, 416 N.J. Super. 565, 578 (App. Div. 2010), Burnett v. Gloucester County, 415 N.J. Super. 506, 515 (App. Div. 2010). Nor does OPRA require an agency to analyze, collate and compile records in order to respond to a request. MAG Entertainment v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 549 (App. Div. 2005). “In short, OPRA does not countenance open-ended searches of an agency’s files.” Id. at 549. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq. Your rights of appeal is provided with this letter at Public Facing Pages of the Rutgers University Open Public Records Request Center . You may also review the brochure at the Rutgers Custodian of Records page or visit the NJGRC page.

If you have any questions, please contact my office at 973.972.1887.
Sincerely,
Casey Woods
Director of Ethics and Public Records
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
973.972.1887