What happens when a group of broadcast journalism students set out to inspect the public files at their local television stations?

Three out of four stations refuse to let their cameras in.

“Cleveland television stations,” one student said, “don’t like television cameras.”

The journalism students were inspired by Bill Moyers’ recent suggestion that people inspect these files in person. The students had one simple question for TV station staff: Should these public files be posted online?

One station did provide an answer. “Political advertising records should be online for easy access,” said Bill Young, integrated media sales manager for WEWS. 

Watch the video below for more and sign up here if you want to do an inspection yourself. (Note: This video has been updated since this post was originally published.)