NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - News media are constantly faced with hurdles in getting information to report to the public, but the head of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government says citizens have it worse.
Open records advocates in Tennessee face obstacles such as denial of public records or excessive fees to find out what the government is doing.
The coalition's executive director, Deborah Fisher, told the story of a widow who was charged $1,000 just to see the case file involving her husband who had been shot to death by a sheriff's deputy.
Fisher spoke Thursday at the annual Associated Press-Tennessee Press Association legislative preview session in Nashville.
Fisher said in some cases local governments have been forced to pay thousands of dollars because courts have told them they violated the law.
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