Assistant general counsel for The Associated Press Karen Kaiser, who leads the Freedom of Information Act legal work for AP, recently offered tips for news organizations and citizens in pressing FOIA requests. She was speaking at the Iowa Freedom of Information Council's annual meeting last week in Des Moines.

The fact that newsrooms are shrinking raises the possibility that news organisations might no longer have the staff or money to continue fighting to force government agencies to abide by the law, she said. However, she stressed that technology-driven change is not only threatening business models: "it has also brought us better tools to perform our watchdog role."

For a start, more information is available to journalists online due to regulations that outline what government agencies need to make available on the Internet. And computer assisted reporting, or CAR, and other technologies allow journalists to analyse and review enormous quantities of data far faster and more efficiently than they did before. She offered an example of an AP story on the US Cash for Clunkers programme, which she said would never have happened without FOIA and without journalists skilled in CAR.

Despite "flaws in the statute" and "problems that must be corrected," Kaiser believes that FOIA is an "extraordinary tool." She offered tips to news organisations that she believes will help make government agencies more responsive to requests. Even newsrooms with limited resources should be able to follow them, she said.

• 1) Be more aggressive in seeking material through FOIA. "The more requests they [agencies] see, the more they will respond," she said.
• 2) Increase direct discussion with government agencies - through formal appeals or informal discussions, if a request is denied. Build relationships with the agencies you are covering.
• 3) Increase education and training on how to use FOIA and state open records laws, as "without training, reporters do not fully know what to pursue, or what remedies are available to them if denied a request."
• 4) Engage in accountability reporting and write about FOIA efforts, describing the problems encountered. This brings the government to task.
• 5) Go to Congress or the state legislature to seek changes. She cited the Sunshine in Government Initiative as an example of an effort by media organisations to further the cause of FOIA.

Kaiser drew attention to the Office of Government Information Services, which provides a new way to persuade government agencies to be more responsive and transparent without bringing litigation. OGIS will act as a mediator between those requesting information and those denying it. She also mentioned the Media Freedom and Information Practicum at Yale Law School as an example of "legal support sprouting up to assist in the fight for public records."

"Despite all the changes we are seeing in the news industry, one thing will never change - and that is the daily job of newsgathering, and the need to inform the public about government doings, and government wrongdoings," she concluded. If news organisations are to continue to play a central role in democratic societies, they must undoubtedly be prepared to fight for access to information and those in power should be prepared to release it.

Source: AP press release