Journalists Signal Upcoming Story Lines with FOIA Requests

FOIAengine: Insights From the Latest FDA and SEC Requests 

By Randy Miller, Law Street, Apr. 24, 2024

News media outlets are among the most prolific submitters of FOIA requests to federal agencies. These requests signal – in real time – the stories that journalists are researching and writing. To illustrate this point, we’re summarizing highlights of the hundreds of FOIA requests submitted by media organizations to the Food and Drug Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission during March (the most recent month for which information is available). 

News Media FOIA Requests to the FDA

Members of the news media submitted 97 FOIA requests to the FDA last month, addressing a range of hot-button issues, including FDA review of Alzheimer’s drugs lecanemab and donanemab; the existence of counterfeit weight loss drugs; information about pharmacies in Pennsylvania providing mifepristone; pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in India; the use of remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19; and the Wanabana recall of lead-tainted pouches of apple puree and applesauce. See our March 13 article on Wanabana.

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