It91裸聊视频檚 begun to dawn on me recently that most people have no idea what, exactly, a reporter does.

Over and over, I91裸聊视频檓 asked by friends how I find stories.

My usual answer is pretty useless: I try to find something out 91裸聊视频� maybe at a city council hearing, maybe through intuition, maybe by keeping my ears open 91裸聊视频� and then I write about it.

If I was interviewing me, I91裸聊视频檇 roll my eyes and say: 91裸聊视频淏ut what do you actually DO?91裸聊视频�

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So, I91裸聊视频檒l let you in on a key tool of the trade, and then (self-servingly) show you how you can put it to use.

You may have heard of this 91裸聊视频渇reedom of information91裸聊视频� thing. Basically, every government 91裸聊视频� local, provincial and national 91裸聊视频� has some law requiring certain information to be accessed by the public.

That info is often public in name only 91裸聊视频� most of it can91裸聊视频檛 be found online or in easily accessible records.

Part of that is for good reason: There is an ocean of stuff that would swamp computer servers, and many of the public records must first be scoured so that private information remains private. Partly, it91裸聊视频檚 also that governments don91裸聊视频檛 really want all that stuff out there.

Now, the federal government is subject to its law that is a nightmare to navigate. The Liberals promised to improve it. They haven91裸聊视频檛. So let91裸聊视频檚 shake our fists in Ottawa91裸聊视频檚 direction and skip that whole nightmare for now.

The provincial Freedom of Information law isn91裸聊视频檛 perfect. Public bodies routinely abuse exceptions for 91裸聊视频減rivate91裸聊视频� information, business interests and staff advice, but it91裸聊视频檚 markedly better than the feds. In addition to the B.C. government, the law also governs cities, health bodies and municipal police forces.

And here91裸聊视频檚 the kicker: There91裸聊视频檚 no fee to ask. You can fire up your email right now and ask for some good old public information.

Now, you might not get it. In fact, you probably won91裸聊视频檛 because of those aforementioned exceptions. And you may also eventually be asked to pay, if the governmental body in question says that fulfilling your request will take too much time.

But that doesn91裸聊视频檛 mean a reporter 91裸聊视频� or citizen 91裸聊视频� can91裸聊视频檛 try.

Last year, the friend of a couple who got T-boned wondered how many other people have been injured in similar crashes. They sent in an FOI request and found revealing statistics that provided ammunition for their argument that changes are needed in the area.

You don91裸聊视频檛 have to use fancy questions, and you can ask for a whole range of information. You can request emails between public officials about a certain subject. You can ask for statistics. And you can ask to see any reports that government generates but never shares with the public. Some may even be marked 91裸聊视频渃onfidential.91裸聊视频�

Over the years, I91裸聊视频檝e learned a lot from such requests. But I91裸聊视频檝e only scratched the surface. If you turn up something, let your friendly local reporter know (click that 91裸聊视频淐ontact91裸聊视频� button at the top of this page).

Email your FOI requests for the provincial government to FOI.Requests@gov.bc.ca. To find where to send requests for your municipality, school district, police department, health authority or university, type the public body91裸聊视频檚 name into Google and add 91裸聊视频渇reedom of information.91裸聊视频� While some bodies may have forms to fill out, your request should be handled if you just email the organization in question.

Tyler Olsen is a reporter at the Abbotsford News