$1.5 million in grants fund project to hire one anti-corruption reporter in every state

The Center for Public Integrity, a well-established, well-respected source of not-for-profit accountability journalism, is recruiting reporters for "an ambitious risk analysis of corruption in all 50 state governments," covering everything from pension fund management to disclosure laws to state budget processes.

"The journalists will assess the existence and effectiveness of anti-corruption and government transparency measures at the state level, including political financing, civil service management and state budget processes," the center says. "The goal is to hire 50 reporters (one in each state) on a part-time, freelance basis to help us complete the project with on-the-ground reporting and data entry. We’re looking for experienced reporters who know their state and know how to dig." Apply here.

The project is funded with $1.5 million in grants from the Omidyar Network and the Rita Allen Foundation to the center, Public Radio International and Global Integrity, which analyzes government accountability and corruption trends.

National group offers money to support lawsuits that advance freedom of information

The National Freedom of Information Coalition has received a $180,000 grant to support freedom of information litigation, NFOIC Executive Director Charles Davis said today at the group's annual meeting in Arlington, Va.

Davis said the NFOIC had already used some of the money, from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, to support lawsuits in several states. He said the grants were for up to $5,000 for "up-front costs" such as depositions, filing fees and witnesses. Davis said the terms of the grant does not allow payment of attorney's fees, but the guarantee that such expenses will be paid had already encouraged law firms to offer free attorney time. "As long as they're sure they won't be dipping into their wallets to pay fees, a lot of firms are more willing to offer attorneys," Davis said, adding that two suits were settled as soon as the defendants found out about the grants.

The funds are intended to help small, local newspapers and citizens' groups that can't afford to file such lawsuits, Davis said. Grant applications must be made through state groups, such as Kentucky Citizens for Open Government, and NFOIC says it will process them within days.

Foundation gives $2 million for open-records battles

Battles for freedom of information often stop for lack of financial ammunition. Now help may be available, thanks to a three-year, $2 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to the National Freedom of Information Coalition.

The grant will create the Knight FOI Fund, which "will fund up-front costs such as court costs, filing fees, depositions and initial consultation fees, if attorneys are willing to take cases that otherwise would go unfiled," NFOIC announced. The grant application was prompted by an NFOIC survey that found almost 80 percent of its members' lawsuits to open public records in their states had become less numerous, and 60 percent said it had dropped dramatically. And 85 percent predicted that FOI litigation would drop dramatically over the next three years. NFOIC blamed "the economic crisis and the evolution of the news media" and cited several specific examples in its release.