RI Favorites - Lobbyist Series

RI Favorites - Lobbyist Series

As part of GoLocalProv's launch in April 2010 we prepared our first numbers-driven statistical piece: a hard look at the money behind RI's top-paid lobbyists. We wanted to know which firms (and individuals) were making money from which clients, and how much influence (in dollars and cents) was indeed being peddled in the marble hallways of the State house.

What we found was not only illuminating, but shed new light on a reporting system in the state that had remained fundamentally broken despite reform efforts.

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What GoLocal found by poring carefully through public records available through the Secretary of State's office, is that many loopholes still existed in the lobbying reporting system, and it was nearly impossible to fully compare firms, not to mention assess their full incomes - and contributions.

So one story became a dual investigation: what were the top lobbying firms making, based on the best information available, and why wasn't better information available?

RIers responded immediately. Despite GoLocalProv being a brand-new entry to the local media scene, thousands of Rhode Islanders read the multi-day series. One watchdog organization, on the basis of the series, began its own investigation into the system. And members of RI government raised issues as well.

For the original Lobbying piece and links to the follow-up articles, start here.