Despite Budgets, Some Newsrooms Persist in Costly Fight for Records

As many companies have cut newsroom budgets they are also scaling back on another of their civic duties: legal battles to gain access to government information. But while many regional newspapers are choosing not to spend money on lawyers -- or are asking them to work pro bono -- another trend has developed that paints an opposite story, say press advocates and First Amendment lawyers. Some big companies, like Hearst and The Associated Press, have been quietly ramping up their legal efforts, by doing more of the work in-house -- and saving costs by not hiring outside lawyers -- and being more aggressive in states where they can recoup legal fees and at the federal level, which also allows plaintiffs in such access cases to sue for legal fees when they win.