If the IJ wants numbers that go beyond the basic reporting requirements, they're asking for something closer to the raw data. They have 2 main ways to get that: FOIA or convincing the SMART Board to order the GM to give it to them. The latter would probably look better for the critics and worse for management. The former has loopholes that SMART could exploit to avoid passing out the raw take. In either case, with a small staff (and looking at a budget document published in a Board packet, they don't have a huge one), assembling a large data dump will cause some other (perhaps necessary) thing to not be done; that's life.

Given that it's Marin, with no lack of lawyers (a few might even work for the paper), the fact that no FOIA has been filed (yet?) suggests that it's more of a hit piece than a real deficiency. Which would surprise nobody. The IJ should know how to use the legal process to get the data if they really want it. As Bob2 notes, a lack of smarts (at least regarding public and press relations) at SMART's management should surprise nobody at this point; lack of such smarts at a news"paper" (how much of their output is still actually printed?) would be more surprising.