Sometimes it’s worthwhile to pull the curtain back on the struggles reporters go through in trying to get information one would normally assume would and should be public.
Mike Beaudet over at Fox Undercover WFXT-TV (Channel 25) has a post on his blog about a testy correspondence he had with MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. The exchange was similar to one we had at CommonWealth with Pesaturo last spring while trying to get public contracts regarding the deteriorating concrete ties on the Old Colony Commuter Rail lines.
Beaudet’s blog came on the heels of a report the Fox investigative team had that featured videos they got from bus security cameras showing, among other things, passengers being tossed around as accidents occurred. Fox got the videos after the T denied their initial request and they successfully appealed to the Secretary of State, which ordered the agency to turn the videos over.
Beaudet was seeking some additional information for his report but the exchange with Pesaturo shows just how tough those efforts can be when a government agency does not want to release records. Here’s one excerpt but the rest of the email swap is just as interesting:
From: Pesaturo, Joe
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 3:10 PM
To: Mike Beaudet
Subject: RE: info
Absolutely nothing is hidden. You’ve been given the number of discharges in the last two years (along with a wealth of other information). It’s not the T’s responsibility to present you with info in the specific formats and styles that you would like.
Pesaturo ultimately did give Beaudet the numbers and breakdown he sought but it really shouldn’t be that hard. It brought a sense of déjà vu from my go-around last June with Pesaturo that was not unlike pulling teeth. I asked Pesaturo, who would only respond by email, a number of questions pertaining to the growing problem with the concrete ties and his answers were terse and, in some cases, misleading. One of the questions had to do with so-called “slow orders” – reduced speeds for safety – that I had learned were instituted to deal with the deteriorating conditions. Here’s our exchange:
From: Pesaturo, Joe [mailto:JPesaturo@MBTA.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 1:43 PM
To: Jack Sullivan
Subject: follow-up questions
Your previous question was “ARE there any slow orders related to the ties”…. and the answer to that question remains “no,” there currently are no such orders in place. There have been a few isolated speed restrictions in the past to maintain compliance with MBTA maintenance standards while crews addressed any tie issues. These restrictions were removed as soon as the tie conditions were addressed. Railroads throughout the world place speed restrictions on tracks for many reasons and many times each day to address a multitude of issues ranging from high temperature, rough track, high water, strong winds, rail defects, etc. In each instance, crews are dispatched to begin corrective actions and once the corrective actions have been completed, the speed restriction is removed.
From: Jack Sullivan [mailto:jsullivan@MassINC.org]
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 1:53 PM
To: Pesaturo, Joe
Subject: RE: follow-up questions
No, Joe, you’re wrong. It’s not even a matter of semantics. This is the question that was sent and we both have copies:
7) Are there currently any slow orders in effect and have there been any slow orders issued on any section of tracks where defective ties are?
Why is this becoming such a battle? I really don’t grasp your adversarial attitude and approach to this.
From: Pesaturo, Joe [mailto:JPesaturo@MBTA.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 1:57 PM
To: Jack Sullivan
Subject: RE: follow-up questions
OK- so the answer to the first part of your question is ‘no,’ and I just gave you the answer to the 2nd part of your question
From: Jack Sullivan [mailto:jsullivan@MassINC.org]
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 2:01 PM
To: Pesaturo, Joe
Subject: RE: follow-up questions
Well, I still have to wonder why you’re turning this into such a fight? I can’t say you or the T have always been forthcoming in all the years I’ve dealt with you at the Globe and Herald but at least you’ve been fairly cordial. This issue is bringing out the worst in you guys. What gives?
From: Pesaturo, Joe [mailto:JPesaturo@MBTA.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 2:03 PM
To: Jack Sullivan
Subject: RE: follow-up questions
I don’t know what you are talking about. I believe you have received responses to your questions.
But not without a fight and, in many cases, still incomplete.
Jack Sullivan is senior investigative reporter at CommonWealth magazine.