Your First FOIA Request: What Every Communicator Needs to Know

The first time a public records request lands in your inbox, it can feel like a threat. Someone wants documents. They're citing laws. There are deadlines. It's easy to panic — or worse, to ignore it and hope it goes away. But public records requests are a normal part of government work, not an attack. Understanding how they work makes them far less intimidating. Here's what every communicator needs to know about handling records requests, even if you've never dealt with one before.<