Its not only democracy that dies in darkness.

This Washington Post article again confirms how critical public records laws are in reconstructing public agency response to crises, big and small. Here the stakes were the highest imaginable. The records expose a delayed response to a major health crisis at the University of Maryland that ended in student illness and deaths.

In a concluding paragraph, The Post explains how the story was reported:

Reporters interviewed more than 100 people, including students, parents, university employees, and county, state and federal health officials. Health-care providers and mold and adenovirus experts were also consulted. The reconstruction of events, including conversations, was based on thousands of pages of medical records; hundreds of emails, text messages, voicemails and other reports; and documents provided by sources and through public records requests. The Washington Post requested emails from the University of Maryland that mentioned "mold" or "adenovirus." The Post also asked the university to waive any fees, arguing that disclosing the documents would be in the public's interest. Officials denied the fee waiver and estimated it would cost more than $63,000 to produce 25,000 responsive documents. The scope of the request was narrowed to 300 pages and it cost $690. The Post also reviewed emails provided through state and county records requests.

Kentucky's open records law contributed to the reconstruction of events that resulted in the delayed response of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to the hepatitis A outbreak as recounted in "Kentucky's 'too low and too slow' response to the nation's worst hepatitis A outbreak." Courier Journal, May 14, 2019. https://amp.courier-journal.com/amp/2453874002