A Conversation With Jeff Epstein and Patrick Duff Re: OPRA & Open Government

I recently spoke with Citizens’ Media TV’s Jeff Epstein and Patrick Duff for an audio interview.

Our conversation centered on the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), transparency & open government issues centered on my work with public records and how the three of us have made use of my OPRAmachine platform.

Epstein is an independent journalist who I’ve previously collaborated with on various projects, and he also has a role with OPRAmachine where has serves as one of the site’s administrators since its inception in 2017. He covers local and naitonal political issues and streams local government meetings on Citizens’ Media TV.

Duff is one of the most active users of OPRAmachine, having used the site to file numerous public records agencies to state agencies as well as local governments primarily in Camden County. He explained how he is using OPRAmachine further his research into the historical significance of properties tied to Martin Luther King in southern New Jersey. He explained how he used the site to streamline and track all of the public records requests he files to support his historical research. One of the public records requests Duff filed through OPRAmachine resulted in a lawsuit against the City of Camden, which he largely prevailed in since the recording of this interview. All of Duff’s public records requests and documents provided by government agencies in response can be viewed on the site here.

Listen to the full interview: