Using public records
Margaret Simons · Swinburne figshare (Swinburne University of Technology) · 2002
One of the characteristics of our democracy is that by law the public is entitled to a great deal of information about what powerful people and institutions are doing. If the law grants people privileges, such as the right to set up a company, then usually part of the price will be a measure of public accountability. Public records can be crucial to good investigative journalism. Using public records can by itself break news. More often, gaining information from the public record adds depth and authority to a story that also relies on other sources.