FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Katherine Garner

214.977.6658

FOIFT receives grant for "White Out" Booklet

(DALLAS) – The Freedom of Information Foundation has received a $10,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to develop a “White Out” Booklet designed to demonstrate how much information people would be missing in their everyday lives without open government laws.

The funding will allow the Foundation to produce a booklet of state newspapers’ front pages with all of the stories that could not have been produced without access to public information or by attending an open meeting “whited out.”

“This will be a very visual piece and will demonstrate to people just how much information the public would be missing without open government laws.  The stories that will be “whited out” won’t just be the big government scandals when newspapers report that the information was obtained through the Federal Freedom of Information Act or the Texas Public Information Act.  The stories that won’t be seen will be the everyday stories about the crime rate in their neighborhood, the new development going up down the street from their house or the new superintendent at their children’s school,” said Katherine Garner, FOIFT executive director.

The piece will also include information about the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and details about Texas’ laws.  There will be a section on frequently asked questions about the Texas Public Information and Open Meetings Acts and a listing of phone numbers such as the FOIFT’s Hotline number where individuals can get help if needed.

The FOIFT is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization supported through grants from private citizens, corporations, foundations and tax-deductible donations. For more information, call (214) 977-6658, visit our Web site at www.foift.org or write to FOIFT, 400 S. Record St., Suite 240, Dallas, Texas 75202.         

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