The open public record system has been the mainstay of the U.S. democracy and economy since the earliest colonial days—as essential to our infrastructure as roads, telephone lines and airports. Now, at a time when facts can easily become obscured by bias and watchdog media resources continue to decline, access to public records has never been more essential. Yet the task of obtaining public records is often more onerous and expensive than it should be.

Join us in the Power Center Ballroom from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 16 — during Sunshine Week — for an in-person and livestreamed symposium on open records featuring the executive director of Pennsylvania’s Open Records Office and a panel of experts:

• Keynote, Liz Wagenseller, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records

• Paula Knudsen Burke, Local Legal Initiative staff attorney

• Rich Lord, managing editor of PublicSource

• Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association

• David A. Strassburger, President of Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky, civil trial attorney
  
  Try searching for records yourself during a hands-on workshop following the formal program, when journalists will show you where to look, how to look and what to do with the information you find. You’re encouraged to bring a laptop or similar device so you can follow along.
  
  Presented by the Duquesne University Institute for Ethics and Integrity in Journalism, this symposium is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. Registration is required.