Happy Sunshine Week!
@ncwatchdognet obtained the 2021 working calendars of North Carolina's top government leaders via public requests and made them all searchable here: newsobserver.com/news/politics-…
@ncwatchdognet obtained the 2021 working calendars of North Carolina's top government leaders via public requests and made them all searchable here: newsobserver.com/news/politics-…
@ncwatchdognet One of the interesting things about this story was our analysis of Gov. Roy Cooper's public schedule.
If you're a reporter in this state, you're probably used to getting emails exactly like this every morning.
If you're a reporter in this state, you're probably used to getting emails exactly like this every morning.
@ncwatchdognet We see that exact phrase – "Throughout the day, Governor Cooper will be holding meetings and conducting other business" – a lot.
Not terribly helpful, for planning purposes or transparency.
But how much is "a lot?"
That's something we can count!
Not terribly helpful, for planning purposes or transparency.
But how much is "a lot?"
That's something we can count!
After exporting all 266 public schedule emails and removing duplicates (some are updates), that gave us 254 unique public schedules.
Why not 365? These emails were sent during every *work*day, which exclude weekends & holidays.
Turns out we were only missing one – that day, Cooper visited a pediatric office to promote eligibility for children 5-11 to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and staff sent photos/video.
Turns out we were only missing one – that day, Cooper visited a pediatric office to promote eligibility for children 5-11 to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and staff sent photos/video.
After cleaning up the text of the email a bit, we could use a simple Excel formula to see whether that phrase alone appeared in the schedule, then double-check visually.
The result: Cooper's staff included only this single line – that he was “holding meetings and conducting other business” – for HALF the working days in 2021.
That's 127 out of 254 public schedules in 2021 with no actual information.
That's 127 out of 254 public schedules in 2021 with no actual information.
That's why Cooper's actual calendars – and calendars of other public officials – are so valuable.
These documents can tell us what folks are doing on our behalf: Who they interact with. Where they travel. What they meet about.
The best part is that these records belong to you!
These documents can tell us what folks are doing on our behalf: Who they interact with. Where they travel. What they meet about.
The best part is that these records belong to you!
Cooper's calendar, by the way, is available here:
documentcloud.org/documents/2141…
And you can find links to the heads of 20 other cabinet agencies and Council of State members in our full story – each fully searchable. newsobserver.com/news/politics-…
documentcloud.org/documents/2141…
And you can find links to the heads of 20 other cabinet agencies and Council of State members in our full story – each fully searchable. newsobserver.com/news/politics-…
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