Whitney Evans
Introduction
American newspapers and journalists seem to be trending toward less investigative journalism, including stories that involve the use of freedom of information requests. This can be attributed to public demand for instant information, limited budgets and non-compliance of those who respond to freedom of information requests.
The United States implemented the Freedom of Information Act in 1966, and led the world with its legislation.1 Since then, many responders have taken the law for granted; it was functioning well, agencies had specific freedom of information departments, so not much was being done to ensure the law adapted to changes in society and technology.2 It has since become “entrenched, old and crusty.”3
The United Kingdom was slower to adopt freedom of information legislation, officially signing the Freedom of Information Act 2000 into law in 2005. Because of the relative newness of their law, I wanted to see how well their new law was working. I undertook a study to compare the efficacy of the laws in each country and see what Americans could learn from fresh freedom of information legislation.
Methods
My research was qualitative. I interviewed advocacy groups, researchers, freedom of information officers and journalists both in the United States and the United Kingdom. I spoke with Ralph Nader, who helped with key changes to the United States’ Freedom of Information Act in 2004. I also interviewed Peter Bregman, CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc., a corporation that advises CEOs and teams worldwide, to get a perspective of how cultures are influenced, and what would need to be in place for a culture to change enough to embrace new legislation.
Results
A journalist in the United States said a major roadblock to Freedom of Information was that people knew that papers did not have the money to sue, so even if they illegally did not respond, they did not face consequences.4
The United States has appointed a freedom of information Ombudsman, Miriam Nisbet, to act as a liaison between requesters and responders. The role also includes proposing recommendations to Congress on how the law can be improved. The recommendations released in 2012 were delayed and did not suggest many improvements, a disappointment to advocates in the United States.5
In the United Kingdom, journalists who were initially excited about the act began to see its limitations, in terms of backlogs and lack of government support.6 The government also funds the Information Commissioner, who acts as a liaison between requesters and responders, making the ICO’s independence questionable at best.
Despite the initial positive reception of the Freedom of Information Act in the United Kingdom, many government officials fell in and quickly out of love with the Act. 7
The Justice Select Committee researched the legislation in the United Kingdom. In findings released in July 2012, the Act was shown to be working effectively.
The successful implementation of the law seemed to come down to whether members of the media, government and general culture embraced and cooperated with the legislation.
Discussion
The study of two countries barely scratched the surface of freedom of information and what makes it successful.
I was unable to speak with any federal government officials in either country, which would have added more balance to my findings. More research needs to be done on what factors influence the cultural shift toward government transparency, and to track trends in periods of responsiveness and non-responsiveness to freedom of information requests.
References
- Interview with Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in the Government Initiative. June 1, 2012.
- Interview with Miriam Nisbet, director of the Office of Government Information Services, May 31, 2012.
- Interview with Nathaniel Heller, executive director of Global Integrity, July 2012.
- Interview with Ben Lesser, staff writer New York Daily News, May 9, 2012.
- Interview with Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in the Government Initiative. June 1, 2012.
- Interview with Jeremy Hayes, editor, rural affairs, BBC Audio & Music, May 15, 2012.
- Interview with Ben Worthy, Research associate for the Constitution Unit at University College London, May 2012.