In most states, lobbying firms can work both sides of an issue and not tell anyone. Join the conversation about the frightening growth of state and local secrecy and the harm it inflicts on communities everywhere. Every Wednesday. Please subscribe! backroomdeals.substack.com/.../a-lobbyi...

Backroom Deals Miranda Spivack | Substack

Independent journalist. @nytimesbusiness @reveal Former@washingtonpost Author: Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back (The New...

backroomdeals.substack.com

Putting this in a new category: News of the Weird. Please subscribe to my substack on state/local and occasionally touching on federal - secrecy! backroomdeals.substack.com/p/what-happe...

What happens when two branches of the same government agency follow different playbooks?

Why would one set of planners provide documents and data and another group said absolutely not? A weird saga from Montgomery County, Md., that could happen anywhere.

backroomdeals.substack.com

Late on posting last week's backroomdeals.substack.com so here it is: backroomdeals.substack.com/p/unmasking-... And look for this - and me - every Wednesday. All about state/local secrecy and the government-secrecy-corporate industrial complex in your community.

My latest Substack on state/local secrecy and the harm it inflicts on your community. Please subscribe! backroomdeals.substack.com and buy my book Backroom Deals in Our Backyards thenewpress.org/books/backro... for more on secrecy. Use code Backroom when buying from @thenewpress.bsky.social

Backroom Deals Miranda Spivack | Substack

Independent journalist. @nytimesbusiness @reveal Former@washingtonpost Author: Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back (The New...

backroomdeals.substack.com

SlamDunkRicky@slamdunkricky.bsky.social · 2mo ago

How did police misconduct become a national secret? @mirandaspivack.bsky.social @samstecklow.bsky.social

When you seek help from your local government, officials erect information blockades But now, with the Trump administration taking a sledge hammer to the federal government, getting help locally is more important than ever. Subscribe to my Substack: backroomdeals.substack.com to learn more

Backroom Deals Miranda Spivack | Substack

Independent journalist. @nytimesbusiness @reveal Former@washingtonpost Author: Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back (The New...

backroomdeals.substack.com

My lastest Substack on state/local secrecy in the US. Please subscribe! backroomdeals.substack.com/p/florida-ca...

Florida can secretly designate terrorists

Will other states follow? Will the courts say it's legal?

backroomdeals.substack.com

Hi all, in my latest Substack, I note that when you write to the government, don't expect privacy. If governments move to protect your privacy, what they can do is black out names and identifiers, but publicly release the communications. Please subscribe! backroomdeals.substack.com/p/when-you-c...

When you contact the government, your communication is part of the public record

Governments should make clear that your emails, letters and survey responses are public documents that can be released without identifiers to protect privacy

backroomdeals.substack.com

Thanks! My book hits its first anniversary on Tuesday, but remains very timely as the government/corporate secrecy industry complex hits new lows. Available wherever you get books, but consider @bookshop.org to support indie bookstores and avoid the corporatization of book sales.

@seattlesammy.bsky.social · 3mo ago

@mirandaspivack.bsky.social details how big tech goes about this in her book. www.mirandaspivack.com

Yet another way corporate America keeps the public in the dark open.substack.com/pub/backroom...

Yet another way corporate America keeps the public in the dark

And this happens when they are getting state and local tax breaks that you are subsidizing

open.substack.com

open.substack.com/pub/mirandas...

Bright spots (at least a few) in the state transparency darkness

Victories now and then for transparency about schools, police and aerial photography

open.substack.com

open.substack.com/pub/mirandas...

Document preservation is not Trump's thing

Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel claims records law is unconstitutional

open.substack.com

open.substack.com/pub/mirandas...

Why disappearing federal data hurts us close to home

Open Government Advocates Must Do More to Show Why Government Transparency Matters

open.substack.com

It's the end of #sunshineweek and I am substack.com/@mirandaspiv... taking the Substack plunge to unmask the Government-Corporate-Secrecy-Industrial Complex and to track how your tax dollars are being used to keep you in the dark. I hope you will subscribe!

Miranda Spivack | Substack

Independent journalist. @nytimesbusiness @reveal Former@washingtonpost Author: Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back (The New...

substack.com

Federal datasets are disappearing. #FOIA offices are shrinking. And for many journalists, accessing public information is getting harder. For #SunshineWeek, author and investigative journalist @mirandaspivack.bsky.social shares practical ways to gain access to important information.

With federal data in the dark, here’s how journalists can access important information - Journalism Institute

Editor’s note: Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of access to public information, is coordinated by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project. To commemorate the power of public inform...

pressclubinstitute.org

Watch the livestream tomorrow of a panel I will be moderating at #sunshinefest in DC. 9 a.m. eastern. All about people who have cracked the code of state/local secrecy. video.ibm.com/channel/BvDQ...

Hopkins Bloomberg Center Theater

Hopkins Bloomberg Center Theater @ video.ibm.com: . Business

video.ibm.com

Eager to talk about #backroomdealsinourbackyards as a pre #sunshineweek event at the Tucson Festival of Books. If you are in the area, I am on at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. before heading to #sunshinefest in DC.

I am excited to be part of this year's Tucson Festival of Books to talk about #backroomdealsinourbackyards and ways to preserve open government and democracy. If you are in the area, come on by!

Press freedom advocates warn that the recent FBI search of a journalist's home could silence whistleblowers & deter accountability reporting. We asked journalists @mirandaspivack.bsky.social and @newsguy.bsky.social for tips to protect sources in today’s political climate:

How journalists can protect their sources amidst press freedom concerns - Journalism Institute

On Wednesday, FBI agents searched the home of a Washington Post reporter during an investigation into the disclosure of classified information, sparking significant press freedom concerns across the i...

pressclubinstitute.org

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/w...

Russia Once Offered U.S. Control of Venezuela for Free Rein in Ukraine

nytimes.com

Miranda Spivack mirandaspivack.com@mirandaspivack.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Can we get some journalists' attention to this? From Fiona Hill, former aide to John Bolton, in congressional testimony Nov. 9, 2019 Russia’s Quid Pro Quo Offer on Venezuela for Ukraine bit.ly/4sltxWp

Can we get some journalists' attention to this? From Fiona Hill, former aide to John Bolton, in congressional testimony Nov. 9, 2019 Russia’s Quid Pro Quo Offer on Venezuela for Ukraine bit.ly/4sltxWp

We are hard at work promoting transparency in local government with more work ahead in the new year! Get in touch to schedule an information session with @dcogc.bsky.social on ways you and your community can work to open up information channels in the District!

DC Open Government Coalition@dcogc.bsky.social · 7mo ago

✨ Meet Miranda — DCOGC’s VP & Chair of Community Outreach. An award-winning investigative journalist and author of Backroom Deals in Our Backyards, she leads our open government training efforts and helps the public learn how to access information and demand accountability. 💙

Open government doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because people ask questions, demand answers, and stay engaged. Grateful for this community. 💙

An excellent organization if you help by becoming a new donor!

MuckRock@muckrock.com · 8mo ago

We're nearing the end of our most important fundraising season. If you believe in a more open, accountable democracy, we’re asking you to stand with us. Support MuckRock today. www.muckrock.com/donate/

If you are looking for last-minute gifts, consider Backroom Deals in Our Backyards thenewpress.org/.../backroom...

Backroom Deals in Our Backyards - The New Press

Winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Prize A groundbreaking look at how ordinary people are fighting back against their local and state governments to keep their communities safe, by an award-winning jo...

thenewpress.org

Last chance to register for our free #JAWS webinar Wed: Safety Tips for Journalists. From ICE raids to protests, journalists are at risk in public more than ever. Our panel will offer solid advice on how to stay safe and action to take if you find yourself in danger. www.jaws.org/news/jaws-we...

JAWS Webinar: Safety Tips for Journalists — JAWS

FREE WEBINAR NOVEMBER 19: Stay safe out there! From ICE raids to protests, journalists are at risk in public these days more than ever. So how should you prepare before a public event? Our panel...

jaws.org

Virginia friends and anyone wondering about data centers and secrecy, I am speaking tonight in Haymarket, Va. about #backroomdealsinourbackyards Open to the public. mailchi.mp/protectpwc/p...

I am excited for this book talk on the Maryland campus in College Park. Young people are our next best hope for insisting on government transparency and accountability. I have thus far been to Auburn, Berkeley, DePauw , Ohio State law school, and Syracuse. Would love more campus visits!

November book talks!

Join me at 6 p.m. PDT on Thursday at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social to discuss #backroomdealsinourbackyards with @jenniferlafleur.bsky.social journalism.berkeley.edu/event/author...

Author Talk with Miranda Spivack: “Backroom Deals in Our Backyards"

UC Berkeley Journalism offers a two-year Master of Journalism (MJ) degree and a summer minor, preparing students for careers in journalism.

journalism.berkeley.edu

Looking forward to an Ohio trifecta: Hudson Library on Tuesday, 10/7 at 6:30 p.m.; Joseph-Beth bookstore in Cincinnati 10/8 at 7 p.m. with @laurahancock.bsky.social and then onto OSU Law School on 10/9.