We’ve officially unveiled Muck.Rocks, a new resource that provides daily FOIA inspiration. Part of the goal of the project was to explore new ways our Assignments crowdsourcing tool could be used to solicit, manage, and incorporate audience submissions, so we’re taking a look behind the scenes at how the site works.

For Sunshine Week, we wanted to look at how public records has been behind some of the biggest headlines of the year, and how those stories can inspire a whole new crop of reporting. Sunlight may be the best disinfectant, but transparency is contagious.

At the federal level, FOIA reporting tells the stories that matter.

Thanks to some creative request ideas, FOIA helps puts the “fun” in “functioning democracy.”

Transparency begins at home - all across the country, journalists are using state public records laws to hold agencies accountable.