ItB次元官网网址檚 begun to dawn on me recently that most people have no idea what, exactly, a reporter does.

Over and over, IB次元官网网址檓 asked by friends how I find stories.

My usual answer is pretty useless: I try to find something out B次元官网网址� maybe at a city council hearing, maybe through intuition, maybe by keeping my ears open B次元官网网址� and then I write about it.

If I was interviewing me, IB次元官网网址檇 roll my eyes and say: B次元官网网址淏ut what do you actually DO?B次元官网网址�

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So, IB次元官网网址檒l let you in on a key tool of the trade, and then (self-servingly) show you how you can put it to use.

You may have heard of this B次元官网网址渇reedom of informationB次元官网网址� thing. Basically, every government B次元官网网址� local, provincial and national B次元官网网址� has some law requiring certain information to be accessed by the public.

That info is often public in name only B次元官网网址� most of it canB次元官网网址檛 be found online or in easily accessible records.

Part of that is for good reason: There is an ocean of stuff that would swamp computer servers, and many of the public records must first be scoured so that private information remains private. Partly, itB次元官网网址檚 also that governments donB次元官网网址檛 really want all that stuff out there.

Now, the federal government is subject to its law that is a nightmare to navigate. The Liberals promised to improve it. They havenB次元官网网址檛. So letB次元官网网址檚 shake our fists in OttawaB次元官网网址檚 direction and skip that whole nightmare for now.

The provincial Freedom of Information law isnB次元官网网址檛 perfect. Public bodies routinely abuse exceptions for B次元官网网址減rivateB次元官网网址� information, business interests and staff advice, but itB次元官网网址檚 markedly better than the feds. In addition to the B.C. government, the law also governs cities, health bodies and municipal police forces.

And hereB次元官网网址檚 the kicker: ThereB次元官网网址檚 no fee to ask. You can fire up your email right now and ask for some good old public information.

Now, you might not get it. In fact, you probably wonB次元官网网址檛 because of those aforementioned exceptions. And you may also eventually be asked to pay, if the governmental body in question says that fulfilling your request will take too much time.

But that doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean a reporter B次元官网网址� or citizen B次元官网网址� canB次元官网网址檛 try.

Last year, the friend of a couple who got T-boned wondered how many other people have been injured in similar crashes. They sent in an FOI request and found revealing statistics that provided ammunition for their argument that changes are needed in the area.

You donB次元官网网址檛 have to use fancy questions, and you can ask for a whole range of information. You can request emails between public officials about a certain subject. You can ask for statistics. And you can ask to see any reports that government generates but never shares with the public. Some may even be marked B次元官网网址渃onfidential.B次元官网网址�

Over the years, IB次元官网网址檝e learned a lot from such requests. But IB次元官网网址檝e only scratched the surface. If you turn up something, let your friendly local reporter know (click that B次元官网网址淐ontactB次元官网网址� button at the top of this page).

Email your FOI requests for the provincial government to FOI.Requests@gov.bc.ca. To find where to send requests for your municipality, school district, police department, health authority or university, type the public bodyB次元官网网址檚 name into Google and add B次元官网网址渇reedom of information.B次元官网网址� While some bodies may have forms to fill out, your request should be handled if you just email the organization in question.

Tyler Olsen is a reporter at the Abbotsford B次元官网网址