Order photos

Why Freedom of Information faces problems, how this can be solved

by | Mar 17, 2017 | Latest

By David Cuillier and Eric Newton

People must be able to get facts from their government to make smart decisions and hold public officials accountable. Politicians from both parties agreed on this long ago when they first passed federal, state and local open government laws.

But the things people build — be they bridges, roads or freedom of information laws — wear out without regular maintenance. That’s why Sunshine Week exists, to remind us that it takes effort to keep freedom working. “The natural progress of things,” Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground.”

Jefferson, our third president and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, still sounds right more than two centuries later. A timely piece of evidence is “Forecasting Freedom of Information,” a study of more than 300 of those who seek (or provide) public records, released Sunday, March 12, by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Half of those surveyed said that access to public records has gotten worse during the past four years, and nearly 9 of 10 predicted that under our new national leader access will get even worse.

The previous presidential administration, while saying it would be more open, was considered by many freedom of information experts to be too secretive. The new presidential administration has started out by questioning core elements of the machinery of liberty — the courts, the media, and freedom of information itself.

“What I hear from reporters in Washington and my students is that exemptions are being used in way too many cases and delays are still very long,” said Leonard Downie, former Washington Post executive editor and current Weil Family Professor of Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. “I hope the door doesn’t get shut tighter.”

Rising denials are particularly acute at the local level, where daily newspapers have cut some 20,000 journalists in the past 10 years. More than half of those surveyed — 56 percent — predicted local and state information will be harder to get in the next four years.

What is going wrong? Survey subjects reported long delays, documents excessively censored, costly copy fees, out of date technology and, too often, public officials not knowing about or caring to follow their own freedom of information laws.

How can it be fixed? Expert advice ranged from use of digital tools that make it easier to request records to tougher laws that penalize violators. One of the ideas is aimed directly at you — how to expand Sunshine Week and other efforts to show the value of open government.

Why should you care? Because no matter who you are and what you believe, you have the same right as everyone else to ask for and get public information. Whether you seek government efficiency or just the location of your properly line, you should have access to all the information the law allows.

This Sunshine Week, take a minute to learn more. The open records laws are listed by the Reporter’s Committeee for Freedom of the Press. State groups are listed at the National Freedom of Information Coalition. Visit the Sunshine Week web site. Want to file a records request? Try Muckrock. Take a minute to thank the  American Society of News Editors and many other groups (from librarians to good government organizations) that make Sunshine Week possible.

Each spring Sunshine Week honors the March 16 birthday of James Madison, our fourth president, called “father of the Constitution” for his key role in writing and promoting the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. “I believe,” Madison wrote, “there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.”

What our founders are saying seems clear: We must watch over freedom if we wish to keep it. The same idea applies to open government. Keeping freedom fresh is up to you, your friends and your neighbors. Let’s face facts: Our right to vote isn’t worth much if we don’t know what’s really going on.

David Cuillier of the University of Arizona School of Journalism wrote “Forecasting Freedom of Information”; Eric Newton of Arizona State University was consulting editor.

WEDC Gift Guide jpeg

0 Comments

Order photos

Related News

Secondary Teacher honored among ‘best of the best’

Secondary Teacher honored among ‘best of the best’

The hard work of a longtime teacher in Wylie ISD paid off with honors that placed her among the top recognized professionals in the district. Breegan Gholson, an 18-year teacher finishing her eighth year in Wylie ISD, was recognized May 5 during the Wylie Way Awards...

read more
Councilmembers consider zoning changes, splash pad bid

Councilmembers consider zoning changes, splash pad bid

After several discussions among the city’s planning and zoning commission, Wylie councilmembers got the process of codifying recommended changes into the code of ordinances. Amendments to zoning regulations governing smoke shops, smoking establishments — such as a...

read more
Juneteenth celebration planned at Olde City Park

Juneteenth celebration planned at Olde City Park

A national holiday celebration for Juneteenth is open to individuals across the community to gather and celebrate freedom and the end of chattel slavery — the system that considered people as property to be bought and sold — at Olde City Park. The free event, now in...

read more
Wylie East graduates 567 students

Wylie East graduates 567 students

The top two graduates of the Class of 2023 focused on being judged by numbers and staying true to oneself in their commencement speeches to their classmates. The 567 students of Wylie East High School’s most recent graduating class walked the stage Saturday, May 27,...

read more
711 Wylie High grads walk stage

711 Wylie High grads walk stage

The top two graduates of the Class of 2023 focused on each graduate’s uniqueness and the continuous ability to improve oneself in their commencement speeches to their classmates last week. Wearing the school’s colors of maroon, black and white, 711 students of Wylie...

read more
Senate prepared to hold trial in AG impeachment

Senate prepared to hold trial in AG impeachment

On the final day of the 88th Legislature, lawmakers in the Texas House of Representatives delivered 20 articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton. By delivering the articles Monday, May 29, the Texas House triggered an impeachment process that is set...

read more
Early voting for runoff election begins May 30

Early voting for runoff election begins May 30

Runoff election early voting is right around the corner as voters will cast their ballots for two trustee positions on the Collin College board. The runoff election day is Saturday, June 10, with an early voting window that is set to begin Tuesday, May 30, and run...

read more
Memorial Day activities set for May 29

Memorial Day activities set for May 29

With Memorial Day on the horizon, it is a chance to reflect on the lives lost in defense of the rights and freedoms enjoyed by those across the United States. Residents and veterans alike are invited to honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in a...

read more
Watch center proposed

Watch center proposed

Speaking on the importance of identifying and preventing school shooting threats, a representative from the Collin County Sheriff’s Office presented a proposal for a watch center funded by school districts. The North Texas Fusion Center, which exists under the current...

read more