Title: Access to Information:
1Access to Information
Access to Information Jamaica
The use of Access to information in Investigative
journalism An International perspective
- The use of Access to information in Investigative
journalism An International perspective
2- There is not a crime, there is not a dodge,
there is not a trick,there is not a swindle,
there is not a vice which does not live by
secrecy.Joseph Pulitzer
3What is a right to Information?
- New Human right
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Article 19
- Knowledge is Power
4What is a right to information?
- It is a right to know what your government is
doing and to view the information they hold or
create.
- The opposite of secrecy
- It is the acceptance of the principle that the
Government does not own the information which it
holds but it belongs to the people
5Why is a right to information important?
- Greater accountability and transparency
- Allows fulfillment of civil and political rights
- Prevents and reveals corruption
- Increases public participation in a democracy
- Lack of information can deny us food, minimum
wage, medicine, hurricane relief and a hospital.
6What is its value to society?
- Inequality of access to information is a form
of poverty
- Amartya Sen Noble Peace Prize Economist
- Thai School
- Moratorium Crime Statistics- South Africa
7Do we have a right to information in Jamaica ?
- The Access to Information Act 2002
- Section 6 of the Jamaica ATI Act 2002
- "Every person shall have a right to obtain access
to an official document other than an exempt
document."
- Passed in Parliament July 22, 2002.
- Brought into effect January 4, 2004
8What has the experience been in implementation?
- Twenty (20) Public Authorities under the Act
- December 2004, 279 applications for access to
Government.
- By July 2005 all Public Authorities will be
bought under Act
- ATI Appeal Tribunal has received ten (10) appeals
9What types of requests have been made?
- Persons have made requests for-
- Cost of the stay of President Aristide
- The number of cases concerning persons being
beaten by Police Officers while in custody
- The contract for the renovations of the Governor
of the Bank of Jamaicas House
- The ratio of nurses to doctors at a Hospital in
Montego Bay
- The basis for the grant of a duty concession to a
popular entertainer
10What is Investigative Journalism?
- Investigative journalism is ...
- In-depth, long-term research reporting
- Documentary research and use of public and
private records, following the paper trail
- Extensive interviewing
- Crime-solving tools and methods (undercover
reporting, hidden cameras, surveillance)
- Revealing information others want to keep secret
or information not known to the public
- Materials form Conference on
Investigative Journalism in South East
Asia
11Why is ATI important for journalists?
- Investigative Journalists need access to credible
reliable information
- Important for journalists who want to rely on
facts instead of innuendo
- Journalists depend on having a free flow of
information
- Journalists are watchdogs
- Information access no longer discretionary or
solely dependant on sources
12What is the role of ATI in Investigative
Reporting?
- ATI can play an important role in investigative
journalism.
- It can be a Story e.g.refusal
- It can be used to build a story
- The use of ATI is based on Document oriented
reporting
13 Importance of ATI to Journalists
- ATI is simply a tool of getting information out.
-
- A successful or semi-successful FOI request ought
to be the springboard for follow-up
- ATI requests can throws extra light on an issue,
changes the complexion of a problem or otherwise
brings out a good story.
-
-
14How have journalists used their RTI in other
countries ?- United States
- Pictures of coffins of Soldiers who died in IRAQ
- Minutes of meetings of energy industry with Dick
Cheney
- Federal program to give money to large fast food
companies to advertise over seas (200 million)
15How have journalists used their RTI in other
countries United States?
- The Albuquerque Tribune filed requests for
information on victims of governmental radiation
experiments in the early 1990s
- The Dayton Daily News used the Act to peruse
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
databases obtained through the Act to identify
the most dangerous work places in the country.
16How have journalists used their RTI in other
countries? -Ireland
- Journalists made 17 of the 3,000 applications
for information in the first year of the
operation of the Act
- An RTE journalist, Charlie Bird, used the Act to
obtain correspondence which revealed there had
been political interference in the promotion of
diplomats. Other stories as a result of the Act
have dealt with the expenses of ministers and how
much MPs spent on foreign trips.
17How have journalists used their RTI in other
countries? United Kingdom
- Freedom of Information Act passed in England on
January 1, 2005, 4,000 requests in 1 month.
- Agencies receiving the most requests-The
National Archives, the Ministry of Defence and
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
- Requests include restaurant hygiene inspections
to loaned artwork and ministerial residences.
- 2000 requests have come from journalists.
18How have journalists used their RTI in other
countries? -Australia
- In Australia, a reporter for the Canberra Times
made a request that involved the oil painting of
Malcolm Fraser. It was commissioned by Parliament
but Fraser did not like it so it was sent to the
warehouse and another 12,000 portrait was
commissioned. They asked to see the reject and
were told no. Access was sought under FOI
arguing that, an oil painting was a document.
Access was given to TV stations rather than the
paper making the original request.
19How have journalists used their RTI in other
countries? Canada
- A Health Department memo was obtained under the
Access to Information Act of Canada that stated
that there was use of U.S. prison blood products
in Canada after being halted in the United States
because U.S. authorities did not tell a Canadian
broker the products were unsafe. - An estimated 1,000 Canadian hemophiliacs, many of
whom had died, were exposed to blood products
manufactured from plasma collected through U.S.
prisons, notably the Cummins Unit at Grady, Ark.
- Canadian hemophiliacs launched a 5-billion US
lawsuit alleging the FDA was negligent in
continuing to license prison blood centres
despite evidence that prisons are rife with
infection-drug use and high-risk sex.
20What are some of the problems Journalists have
with ATI?
- Time to obtain information
- Requests can be ignored
- ATI is not geared towards all-news-all-the-time
media
- Costs
- Government may make public requests made or give
tips to journalists who can create a spin to
information
- Need support from Editors
21What are some of the problems Journalists have
with ATI?
- Not every request results in a story
- Getting a story through ATI may take human
resources assigned to one story,It is easy to
fill up a newspaper, television report or radio
program with material which does not cost a lot
to generate. - JOURNALISTS, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
LEGISLATION AND INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
Jack Waterford ,Editor The Times
22What should journalists in JA be doing?
- Before making an ATI request about Government,
research your topic thoroughly.
- Look at the public record first. "Fishing
expeditions" can only occasionally be productive.
- Establish who the official is with charge over
the area and contact them.
- Read information the Government provides
publicly.
- Make a request usually only if regular inquiries
have failed to produce what you want.
- Determine the material nature of the information
is it held on paper, in electronic form, or both?
23What should journalists in JA be doing?
- Review publication schemes of Public Authorities
to ascertain what documents are held by the
Authority
- Take care in making requests be specific-You can
frame your request in terms of information or
documents e.g. "I want all documents that would
enable me to discover how the tender process
worked, or I want all the contracts award to
X.
24What should journalists in JA be doing
- Do not be deterred by an initial refusal. Ask
again.
- When refused access, one should not automatically
appeal. One should look at the reasons and see
whether they stand up. The onus of proving that
information should not be released is, entirely
on the agency. - May make requests for documents for potential
stories or to come up with a story e.g. a request
for a list of all files in a registry
- Read your obtained documents very carefully they
can provide additional leads.
25What should journalists in JA be doing?
- Journalists have to understand their rights
under the Act, know how to frame a request and
understand types of documents which might be
available and what they might expect - Making requests even though it may take weeks to
get the information
- Reporting on Appeals and Refusals
- Monitoring the implementation process
- Testing different access system to information
which should be publicly available e.g. Info from
court houses, on registers.
- Making requests for ATI logs of requests made
26What is the public interest in having
information released?
- Journalists have to be prepared to argue that
there is an overwhelming public interest in
disclosure including that disclosure may help to
ensure that - informed public debate
- Public participation
- Scrutiny of the decision-making process
- Accountability -spending of public money
- No misinformation
- Information about possible dangers to health and
safety or the environment are released
27Jamaica Access to Information Act FAQ
- Comes into force in stages
- Covers entire public sector except Governor
General where uses powers and duties under
constitution, judges, Police and JDF in relation
to their intelligence gathering activities - Includes a right to information not absolute
narrow categories of exemptions s.7 s.14-21
28Jamaica Access to Information Act FAQ
- Obligation of Government bodies to publish what
information they hold s.4
- Obligation to respond within a specific time s.7
30 days after receipt of request.
29Jamaica Access to Information Act FAQ
- A right of internal review and to appeal when
refused information s.30 32
- A right to information at a reasonable cost s.12
- A right to information without proof of an
interest or reason for wanting the information s.6
30Case Studies
- Pick out one story from these case studies and
discuss the following
- 1.Is this a good story?
- 3. How will you approach this story using ATI as
a tool?
- 4. Where will you get the information?
- 5. What arguments will you use to support your
claims for access to information?
- 2003, Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA),
Colombo, Sri Lanka
31 Freedom, prosperity and the development of
society depend on education as well as on
unrestricted access to knowledge, thought,
culture and information International
Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions, 2005