Once more without Ian at the helm, we went over the Freedom of Information Act. The main reason we went back over this is because it is such a useful tool for Journalists to have that it helps to know as much about it as possible. Where subjects such as Defamation and Copyright are there to teach us to be careful in what we do and what to look for when undergoing our journalistic duties, the Freedom of Information Act is a useful addition to our various arsenals that we have.
To start with, the Freedom of Information Act works around the basis that we (i.e. the general public) pay taxes which in turn fund the government. Workers for the government are paid to produce documents filled with information and pictures that are useful. So, in effect, we are paying people to make this kind of information that we as journalists might need, readily available should we actually require it. Around 130,000 bodies and authorities are covered by the Act, to which there are over 100,000 information requests per year, which actually costs them around £34 million each year to answer them all!
Depending on who it is you ask, a lot of this number isn't actually journalists. Journalists only total up to 12% of the actual number of requests per year, and the rest tend to be general public (although, it is now thought that perhaps the number is slightly higher since these governing bodies are somewhat reluctant to give information out to journalists who might use it for some story that can have ramifications, and as such the percentage might be closer to around 45% with some journalists only claiming to be general public...).
One example of just how useful the Freedom of Information Act can be is how it was used during the Kingsnorth Climate Protest in August 2008. Because of the Freedom of Information Act, a request was fulfilled and it was found out that the "70" that were injured was actually about 12, and of that number only 4 needed any kind of medical attention (it turns out, one was in fact a particularly nasty bee sting...), which successfully disproved any prior claims made about the actual number of injured public. Politicians have claimed that the Freedom of Information Act has a "chilling effect" on the government because of ramifications that can occur.
The Freedom of Information Act gives you full access (within reason) to request information on anything EXCEPT:
--> When the cost goes over £600 (sometimes £450 for smaller bodies).
--> When the information is exempt, to which there are 2 kinds:
- Absolute, which applies to security services and court records.
- Qualified, which applies to ministerial communication and commercial confidentiality. There are actually 23 different possible exemptions under Qualified Exemption, such as when the information is likely to jeopardise National Security or if the information is intended for future printing.
Either way, the body you have requested information from must respond to you within 20 days, even if it is to say that they are going to take another 40 days to process your request and check that it does not contrast with public security interests. Ultimately, 60 days is the maximum that any authority should take over giving a definite response either way.
So, what happens if they say "No, you can't have the information", even if you think you should? There are various ways you can go about it from there, but the first step would be to have an internal review of the company to see if there are any other ways you can get hold of the information. If that does not work, then you can take your request to the Information Commissioner. After that point, you are entering the realm of going all the way up to the High Court to get hold of the information you need!
After this, we had a go at sending off our own request for information from a governing body that is covered by the Freedom of Information Act. The body that my partner and I decided to investigate was the Highway Council, and we wanted to know how many Speed Cameras were vandalised last year to the point that they had to be replaced. We will soon see if we hear anything back regarding the subject...
For more on this subject and many other Journalism subjects, go to http://www.winchesterjournalism.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment