SBA National and Local Resource Guides for Small Business

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

SBA employee email communications to and regarding interested parties concerning National and Local Resource Guides for Small Business since January 1 2015. Requested records include, but are not limited to, correspondence between SBA Marketing Office representatives, Paula Panissidi, Lawrence Webb, New South Media Inc, and other interested parties, prospective offerors, and contractors.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. Our team has published in multiple media platforms with readership in excess of 100,000 for individual stories. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through the non-profit Internet Archive, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance. Additionally, case law states that “proof of the ability to disseminate the released information to a broad cross-section of the public is not required.” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of Justice, 365 F.3d 1108, 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2004); see Carney v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 19 F.3d 807, 814-15 (2d Cir. 1994). Further, courts have held that "qualified because it also had “firm” plans to “publish a number of . . . ‘document sets’” concerning United States foreign and national security policy." Under this criteria, as well, I qualify as a member of the news media. Additionally, courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the nature of the requester, not its request. The provision requires that the request be “made by” a representative of the news media. Id. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for example, is a representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the details of the request itself are moot for the purposes of determining the appropriate fee category.

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 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Shondra Jackson

Chief, Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Office
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 Third Street SW
Washington DC 20416

Tracking number: SBA-2017-000819

Thank you for the response to the FOIA request concerning National and Local Resource Guides for Small Business. I respectfully appeal the decision to charge $340 in fees cited in the memo dated April 26, 2017 from Mr. Terrence P. Sutherland. Mr. Sutherland's memo implies a standard for defining news media exemptions which is not otherwise stated in FOIA guidance or published Agency requirements that I can readily locate. Should this standard be published on Federal sites such as SBA.gov, FOIA.gov, or Regulations.gov, I request a copy of this requirement and SBA's protocol for conducting its research on the matter. My work is not based on commercial interests and I am unaware of SBA or other government bodies findings that contradicting this fact. I appreciate further review of my request and related evidence of commercial interests and FOIA/SBA requirements concerning press credentials related to FOIA requests.

I eagerly await the requested information based upon my appeal. Should the requested information be provided to me, I will immediately review and provide payment for justified amounts.