Why Does A TV Station Want My Home Address?
This week, DCS alerted its staff statewide that a Nashville TV station had requested a list of all state employees in all departments. That information will include home addresses and dates of birth. As this information is covered under Tennessee’s Open Records Act, the law requires the state Department of Human Resources to turn the data over to WTVF-TV.
For reporters and those used to dealing with the press, this type of information request is a straightforward affair. For those who aren’t used to it, it can be downright scary, particularly for those whose work includes removing children from people’s homes because of abuse or neglect.
The request has generated a lot of concern at DCS and plenty of questions. For example:
Are they going to publish my address?
Probably not. Think about it: A list of thousands of addresses would be like reading the phone book. The TV station would be overrun with hundreds of complaining viewers and would create all sorts of ill will for little journalistic gain.
But the station could. It would be within their rights. A Nashville newspaper used a similar information request to post people’s state salaries online.
After all, we are public servants. The citizens are our employers. Our salaries are public dollars. Tennesseans believe in an open, transparent government.
WTVF has repeatedly told state employees in the past few days that it does not intend the publish the information and that only four employees at the station have access to the list.
Of course, the reporters and producers could change their minds. The station management could change the news division’s direction and editorial policies.
We can’t vouch for what they will — or won’t — promise to do with the information. Here's what they say:
Then why do they need the list?
News organizations across the country make these jumbo data requests all the time. Sometimes, they just want to have the data handy in case they need it later. Say — and I’m only making this up — the police break up a huge dog-fighting ring one weekend and there are rumors that it involves a group of state officials. Matching the dates of birth and addresses on the arrest tickets with the master employee list that they have on file could go a long way toward ruling that out or confirming it.
Journalists — some of them at least — like to mine data for stories. If you can assemble several big databases and compare them, a story might jump out. So the more databases you have, the more chances for success. Match a list of state employees to a list of political campaign contributions and perhaps there’s story there somehow.
Sometimes, an investigative reporter will see a state employee come across her radar in the course of reporting a story. Maybe she’s seen a name in a court file and she thinks that person might have information that could help her fill in a crucial tidbit of information. She could just call back to the station, have a colleague search the master state employee list, then try to contact the employee after-hours at home.
The point is this: Many reporters view the databases as a tool to developing a story. The data are rarely a story on their own.
Who can make these requests?
Pretty much anyone in Tennessee. Not just news organizations. Political action committees. Students. Corporations. Any citizen.
Really?
Yes.
Are there exceptions?
Yes, a few. For instance, law enforcement officers’ home addresses are excepted under the law.
What about DCS workers?
Since they aren’t considered law enforcement, they aren’t one of the exceptions.
That’s outrageous. Do you know how many times I’ve been threatened in the course of my work by some seriously angry and violent people? I'm very worried about my safety now. What can I do about that?
Call your local legislator, as many of you already have. Some lawmakers have already promised to revisit the issue in January when the General Assembly reconvenes.
Want to comment? Use the link immediately below this post. (I know many people are mad, but remember to keep it professional.)
Rob Johnson
Communications Director
