Freedom of Information 

NEWS FLASHES FROM RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY

Cat.: Broadcasting Board of Governors, Free Agency, Freedom of Information, Human Rights
03. June 2009
4

Third article in our series “The Face of America Abroad” By Mitchell Polman Washington, June 3 -- Two former employees of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) recently sent to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder a petition alleging unfair labor practices at the U.S.-supported radio and information service.  The petition is the latest salvo in an ongoing labor dispute that is causing international embarrassment for a venerable institution of America's public diplomacy.  It is also causing some headaches for the Obama Administration and especially for Secretary of State Clinton, whom the plaintiffs at one point petitioned to appear before the court in her capacity as a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), RFE/RL's parent agency. The former employees of RFE/RL, Snježana Pelivan of the Croatian service, and Anna Karapetian of the Armenian service, are suing RFE/RL and the BBG in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg over the radios' employment practices.  The Croatian and Armenian governments are supporting their lawsuits.

NOLA REPORTER STILL WAITING FOR KATRINA PUBLIC RECORDS

Cat.: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Free Agency, Freedom of Information
27. January 2009
Comment

Jim Romenesko picked up this item from the Times-Picayune:  reporter Mark Schleifstein has been waiting since October 2005 for FEMA to respond to his request for public records about the Katrina disaster.   Sorry to use the very same quote Romenesko picked out.  It just can't be improved upon:

Almost ...

FED GOVT. STILL NOT HITTING “SAVE�

Cat.: Freedom of Information, National Archives and Records Administration, Once in a Lifetime
17. April 2008
Comment

The case of potentially millions of missing White House e-mails has illuminated the broader lack of a federal electronic recordkeeping system. House Democrats have introduced legislation that would get the National Archives and Records Administration to set a standard for capturing and preserving e-mails across the federal government. The ...

CONGRESS’S BEEF WITH THE AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT

Cat.: Dept. of Agriculture, Freedom of Information, Once in a Lifetime, Product Safety
07. March 2008
Comment

Another key sticking point of the CPSC bill is what should go into a public database of unsafe products on the market. As the Wall Street Journal’s Jane Zhang reports, the politics and practicality of public disclosure is an issue also besetting the United States Department of Agriculture.

...

OPEN WIDE…THIS MIGHT HURT A LITTLE

Cat.: Freedom of Information, Once in a Lifetime
19. December 2007
Comment

Congress has passed new legislation requiring greater transparency and quicker responses from federal agency to Freedom of Information Act requests.  The latest on FOIA has been published in the Lafayette, Indiana Journal and Courier.  Read the AP's Laurie Kellman here.

Rupert Murdoch’s Face — In Yours

Cat.: Departmentalized - Federal Agencies, Federal Communications Commission, Free Agency, Freedom of Information
18. October 2007
1

Remember when half of U.S. media outlets weren't owned by an Australian-born billionaire, and the other half by a handful of faceless corporations?  That was before the FCC pushed through new media ownership rules without public involvement, as they seem poised to do once again.

REAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION NEEDED: NY TIMES

Cat.: Departmentalized - Federal Agencies, Freedom of Information, Once in a Lifetime, Yesterday's News?
23. July 2007
Comment

David Carr of the Times writes about the gradual demise of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the real difficulty of getting facts from our government, in large part because of “agencies that flout the law through recalcitrance or ineptitude.”  See Carr’s commentary here.

Shhh! FOIA Success Story in Progress

Cat.: Freedom of Information, Workplace, Yesterday's News?
15. November 2006
Comment

All together now:  “Hip, hip, hooray!”

 

There’s something to cheer about in how federal agencies are improving responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from the news media and citizens.

However, backlogs are rather large in some organizations and much work remains to be done.  One option ...

FOIA: Freedom of Information May Become More Free

Cat.: Freedom of Information, Workplace, Yesterday's News?
27. September 2006
Comment

The Freedom of Information Act (commonly known in government circles as FOIA) was designed to allow citizens and the media much greater access to government files, deliberations, etc.

 

The following two articles, as well as other additional articles identified in these items appearing at govexec.com, show that further access to government ...