I have navigated open records to investigate everything from guns in schools and drunk driving to conditions inside our state’s correctional facilities. As an investigative reporter with WHAS11, I strongly believe access to governmental records is critical to ensuring our society is protected and informed. It’s vital for transparency and holding those in power accountable. That access to governmental records also means providing a platform that makes it easy for not only investigative reporters, but the general public to obtain them. I believe the city of Louisville’s new NextRequest online platform for submitting and tracking requests online is a step in the right direction, and a model other governments and agencies could replicate and build upon. Government agencies that rely on outdated and often inefficient processes and technologies, requiring written letters and faxes for example, often impede timely access to information, restricting the public’s right to know. 

Bio

Paula Vasan has worked at WHAS-11 Louisville as an investigative journalist for the past three years. She was recently hired by KSDK-5 St. Louis as a senior investigative reporter.

While at WHAS11 Vasan investigated many high-profile stories, including the death of Breonna Taylor, reliability of the U.S. Postal Service, vaping in schools, and violence against health care workers.