Sunshine Week reading room

Federal FOIA Guidelines Bring Back Presumption of Openness

There could be fewer Sunshine Week presents more welcome in the FOI community than the new "Holder memo," a directive from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder directing all executive branch departments and agencies to administer Freedom of Information Act requests with a presumption of openness.

The move overrides the Ashcroft memo, so-named for the former attorney general who gave agencies more leeway to deny FOIA requests.

"By restoring the presumption of disclosure that is at the heart of the Freedom of Information Act, we are making a critical change that will restore the public’s ability to access information in a timely manner," said Attorney General Holder.

"The American people have the right to information about their government’s activities, and these new guidelines will ensure they are able to obtain that information under principles of openness and transparency," he added.

"Today's memorandum sends a clear message: when in doubt, let it out. The lights are back on," noted Sunshine in Government Initiative Coordinator Rick Blum. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Executive Director Lucy Dalglish commented, "The Holder memo is a refreshing change from the disastrous standard set by former Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2001." And National Security Archive General Counsel Meredith Fuchs remarked, "The new attorney general guidelines read as if there is a new show in town and for the first time in eight years everyone is welcome to come see it."

Holder's announcement and a copy of the memo can be viewed at the Department of Justice Web site.

Sunshine Week 2009
Survey of State Government Information Online

Most Americans can easily find videos of water skiing squirrels on the Internet but they’ll have less luck finding out whether their children's school buses and classrooms are safe, or if neighborhood gas stations are overcharging.

The Sunshine Week 2009 Survey of State Government Information online found that while more and more government records are being posted online, some of the most important information is being left offline. And in some cases governments are charging taxpayers to access records that they already paid for, such as death certificates.Read the report....

Federal Government Still Viewed as Secretive;
President’s FOI Orders Get High Marks

For the first time in four years, public opinion about government secrecy has leveled off, although more than seven in 10 adults still consider the federal government to be secretive, according to the 2009 Sunshine Week survey by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.

Since 2006, the percentage of adults who believe the federal government to be somewhat or very secretive has grown steadily; from 62 percent in 2006 to 74 percent in 2008. The latest survey finds 73 percent characterizing federal government as secretive.

This mood is perhaps buoyed by the nearly eight in 10 adults who think President Obama's Freedom of Information directive calling for a presumption of disclosure is the right thing to do.

"Trust in government has been on the decline for some time in the United States. The previous administration's disclosure policies certainly contributed to public skepticism," said Jerry Miller, director of the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University. "People now appear more optimistic, but still guarded, about President Obama and the current administration's disclosure practices under the Freedom of Information Act."

As in previous years' surveys, people see their state and local governments as more open than the federal system. At the state level, 54 percent view government as open, 44 percent as secretive. People also are more trusting of local public officials. More than half, 56 percent, say their local government is very or somewhat open, with 44 percent rating it as very or somewhat open.

First Amendment Center: State of the First Amendment 2008

The State of the First Amendment 2008 report from the First Amendment Center finds, "Americans traditionally support the general concepts of free expression and religious liberty, but when asked about specific situations, many appear willing to accept a measure of government involvement or even control," according to First Amendment Center Vice President and Executive Director Gene Policinski.

"The nation's Founders, however, saw the First Amendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights as guarantees against a power central government created by the Constitution," he added.

Among the findings, 20 percent of Americans say the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees, down from 28 who responded similarly in the 1999 survey.

More than three-quarters of respondents agree that it's important for democracy for the news media to act as a watchdog over government, and two-thirds agree (64 percent) that bloggers should have the same First Amendment protections as professional journalists.

Read more from the report and Policinski's analysis here.

OpenTheGovernment.org: Secrecy Report Card 2008

The 2008 Secrecy Report Card from OpenTheGovernment.org found "both a continued expansion of government secrecy…and some movement toward more openness and accountability, particularly in the Congress."

Some of the secrecy trends highlighted in the report include: 5 percent growth in spending on maintaining classification versus declassification ($195 per $1, respectively); an increase in the number of new patents kept confidential under "secrecy orders"; greater backlogs in processing Freedom of Information Act requests; and the ninth consecutive year of growth in secret orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

On the openness front, the Secrecy Report Card noted that Congress has moved against unwarranted and excess secrecy with legislation such as the OPEN Government Act, which became law at the end of 2007 — though not without the administration's attempt to eliminate the office of FOIA ombudsman.

The 2008 Secrecy Report Card and press release are online at OpenTheGovernment.org.

CJOG: Missed Opportunities for FOIA Improvement

A report from the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, issued on the eve of the 42nd anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act, found that federal agencies and departments have made little, if any, progress in responding to FOIA requests, despite an executive order to improve service.

The report, "An Opportunity Lost," analyzed the FOIA performance of 25 federal agencies and departments. What it found was in stark contrast to a June report from the Justice Department that cited "remarkable improvements."

"The Justice Department analysis was based on the agencies' own performance goals," explained CJOG Coordinator Pete Weitzel. "The CJOG report used the agencies' own congressionally mandated FOIA response reports, which we believe is a truer test of actual performance in handling requests."

Several agencies did achieve significant backlog reductions, but overall, the CJOG analysis suggested, the principal factor in bringing down the backlog was a sharp decline in new requests, taking substantial pressure off the agencies. In 2007 the agencies reviewed received the fewest new requests since reporting began in 1998.

The CJOG analysis found reductions in FOIA personnel and spending, fewer information grants and lengthy delays. One area that saw quicker response time was administrative appeals: the majority of agencies responding to such appeals said "no" more quickly.

A PDF file of the complete CJOG study, including a variety of tables showing both full 2007 results and comparisons by reporting categories, can be downloaded here.

NFOIC: How States Resolve Access Issues

The National Freedom of Information Coalition has released a study of the various ways states resolve access to information disputes without litigation. The report,"Mediation Without Litigation," reviews state models such as formal and informal resolutions, and mediation by attorneys general or government-sponsored entities.

"In the end, the effectiveness of any given system depends largely on the political support provided by government as well as state access advocates," Hammitt writes. "Beyond political support, however, these offices are most effective when their employees believe deeply in the right to access."

The complete report, written by Access Reports Editor and Publisher Harry Hammitt, a board member of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, is available on the NFOIC Web site.

Spotlight on Secrecy: "Unprecedented Rise" In Information Limits

Simply stated: "Openness is an American value."

So begins a new report on the alarming rise in excessive government secrecy by the People for the American Way Foundation and OpenTheGovernment.org.

The report, "Government Secrecy: Decisions Without Democracy 2007," chronicles what it calls an "unprecedented rise in government secrecy."

"In the past six years, the basic principle of openness as the underpinning of democracy has been seriously undermined and distrust of government is on the rise," the report states.

Bright Ideas for Sunshine Week 2007

The 2007 edition of "Bright Ideas for Sunshine Week," the annual collection of examples from Sunshine Week is available online.

The collection from Sunshine Week 2006 features a variety of news and opinion from print, broadcast and online outlets, photos from events, creative graphic presentations, examples of student work and, new to this edition, The Big Picture, which shows how several newspapers incorporated Sunshine Week into print and online packages.

In addition to showcasing the myriad ways open government was celebrated in 2006, Bright Ideas is designed to be a source of ideas for participation in Sunshine Week 2007, March 11-17.

Also online: "Bright Ideas for Sunshine Week 2006."

CJOG: FOIA Research Reports

The Waiting Game: FOIA Performance Hits New Lows.Research by the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government showed that the government’s overall FOIA performance was at the lowest point since agency reporting began in 1998. Requests remained heavily backlogged, requesters still had long wait times for a response from many agencies and people seeking records and information remained less likely to get the information they seek than in the past. (Feb. 14, 2007) More...

Commercial Uses of Government Information Outpace Requests by Journalists and All Others: The federal Freedom of Information Act is a critical tool for businesses seeking government information and companies conducting competitive research; an analysis of FOIA use showed that about two-thirds of the requests to 20 departments and agencies were from commercial requesters. The CJOG study also showed FOIA use by the media is considerably less than conventional wisdom. (July 3, 2006) More...

Federal Government Continues to Fall Behind In Responding to FOIA Requests: The federal government continues to fall further behind in getting information to people seeking public records under the Freedom of Information Act. The backlog of requests, a critical indicator of information delays, rose from 20 percent in 2004 to 31 percent in 2005, despite a decline in the volume of requests, according to a CJOG survey of 22 agencies and departments. Had these departments and agencies maintained their 2004 level of processing requests, there would have been no significant backlog. (June 30, 2006) More...

The Freedom of Information Act at 40

On a special page marking the 40th anniversary of the signing of the federal Freedom of Information Act on July 4, 1966, find links to new usage data, historical documents, news and commentary.

Journalist Judy Woodruff hosts a video history of the Freedom of Information Act. Click here for a .mpg file. Go here for a .mov file.

FOI-First Amendment Bibliography

David Shedden, library director for the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, has developed a comprehensive Freedom of Information-First Amendment bibliography that includes links to relevant sites and articles, as well as a list of books on the subject. The bibliography is available online at the Poynter Institute Web site.

Speeches, Testimony and Event Transcripts

On Sept. 17, 2008, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives held a hearing on Implementation of the Office of Government Information Services. The OGIS, designated by the OPEN Government Act of 2007, would serve as a Freedom of Information Act ombudsman, ensuring that government agencies properly respond to public requestors. Though the law calls for OGIS to be housed at the National Archives, and allocated $1 million for its operation there, the Bush administration FY2009 budget placed OGIS in the Justice Department, the very agency that defends government decisions to withhold information. "[T]he last thing that those who championed the FOIA reforms in Congress wanted was for Justice to be both the federal government's lawyer and independent mediator. The conflict of interest is inherent and unavoidable," Sunshine in Government coordinator Rick Blum testified. Read Blum's and other hearing testimony on the Subcommittee's Web site.

"The next President could achieve a systematic reduction in government secrecy by directing each agency that classifies information to conduct a detailed public review of its classification policies with the objective of reducing secrecy to the essential minimum and declassifying everything that does not meet the standard for classification," noted Steven Aftergood director of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy in a statement Sept. 16, 2008 to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Read more here.

Citing "some good days recently" for the Sunshine community, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said, "After years of playing mostly defense, and mostly getting beat, we've finally been able to get back on offense and score a few points." Speaking to a Sunshine Week 2008 dinner crowd at the National Press Club in Washington, Curley noted, "When a matter of public policy poses a straight-up choice between the public’s rights of access to its government and a government effort to infringe or even narrow those rights, journalists cannot pretend to be disinterested observers." Read the speech here.

Speaking at a 20th anniversary celebration of the National Security Archive at George Washington University, Bill Moyers, now president of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy, in a speech developed with his colleague Michael Winship, noted, "The country suffers not only when presidents act hastily in secret, but when the press goes along." Read it here.