The Whole County Is Watching: The Use of Kentucky’s Open Records and Meetings Acts by Local Newspapers in Rural Communities

Abstract

This article examines how journalists in rural communities of Kentucky utilize open records and meetings laws while navigating close-knit, interpersonal connections in order to report on critical issues of public interest. Drawing from in-depth, semi-structured interviews, the article finds that these laws allow the respondents to uncover government corruption and are essential to the mundane tasks of daily reporting. In contrast with a decline in FOIA requests by journalists nationally, local journalists working under challenging conditions in rural communities recognize the value of their state-level open records and meetings laws. The article concludes that it is imperative for the public to defend their state’s open records and meetings laws, particularly amid the onslaught of challenges to press and speech freedom across the country.

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