Panel: FOIAs can pay off, but they take persistence

When President Obama took office, he and Attorney General Eric Holder promised a more transparent government. That promise has not entirely been fulfilled, a three-person panel discussing the Freedom of Information Act said at a May 11 professional development event.

The panel - Lucy Dalglish, Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press executive director; Matt Winkler, Bloomberg News editor in chief; and James Grimaldi, a Washington Post investigative reporter - told of their frustrations and successes in using FOIA.

"While the policy at the top has changed, you end up with the same FOIA offices with the same problems," said Grimaldi, who used FOIA information to report on animal deaths at the National Zoo.

Bloomberg News is engaged in a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve after the Fed denied the news organization's requests under FOIA. Winkler told of the company's struggle to obtain information under the law, which is supposed to open records to public scrutiny, including by journalists. The effort, which could ultimately land before the Supreme Court, led to the first lawsuit by a news organization against the Fed.

Most news outlets don't have the financial means to pursue a lawsuit to obtain information under FOIA, said Grimaldi, who suggested pooling resources even with competitors. He suggested being firm but nice with FOIA officers, who can be helpful, especially when looking for information such as details on what other news outlets have asked for or received. He also recommended following up regularly with agencies after filing FOIAs.

For more information about FOIAs, see: http://www.rcfp.org/foia/