Joe Lanane
managing editor
[email protected][/caption]
Journalists are not the only ones who can request public information. The Texas Public Information Act and Freedom of Information Act allow anyone to request open records from governmental bodies or any entity supported by public money.
Sunshine Week, which ran from March 12-18 this year, was established to shine light on this public ability and responsibility. During Sunshine Week, Community Impact Newspaper posted online stories that shed light on common public information requests as well as proposed legislation that may strengthen or threaten open records laws.
But average Joes and Janes can make the same requests. In fact, many entities have online portals for submitting such requests. Here are a few examples of publicly available information that may be of interest to Texas residents:
• Emails from public officials and employees
• Salary information for public employees
• Site development plans
• Crime data
Joe Lanane’s career is rooted in community journalism, having worked for a variety of Midwest-area publications before landing south of the Mason-Dixon line in 2011 as the Stillwater News-Press news editor. He arrived at Community Impact Newspaper in 2012, gaining experience as editor of the company’s second-oldest publication in Leander/Cedar Park. He eventually became Central Austin editor, covering City Hall and the urban core of the city.
Lanane leveraged that experience to become Austin managing editor in 2016. He managed eight Central Texas editions from Georgetown to San Marcos. Working from company headquarters, Lanane also became heavily involved in enacting corporate-wide editorial improvements. In 2017, Lanane was promoted to executive editor, overseeing editorial operations throughout the company. The Illinois native received his bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University and his journalism master’s degree from Ball State University.