South Carolina paper gets county credit card statements
Here's a great use of public records laws that any journalist can do. The Aiken Standard of South Carolina obtained through a public records request employee credit card statements from the county government, then posted the statements online to let the public view them. The newspaper did this following allegations of financial mismanagement by two employees. While no misuse was found in the statements the newspaper acquired, viewing these records routinely can yield stories, keep officials honest and build trust between citizens and their government. See
story.