CNHI News Service
It just got a bit brighter.
During last week’s Sunshine Week, an annual observation to promote freedom of information, the Obama administration announced it will reveal more government records to the public.
Many records hidden in dark shadows during the Bush administration now will see the light of day. In addition, federal agencies have been told not to withhold records merely because they are technically covered by an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act. They’ve also been urged to voluntarily make information public in widely useable formats even before people request it.
Of course journalists celebrate the change because it makes their jobs easier and who can argue with that? But beyond what appears to be our selfish motives of needing to produce a daily newspaper and post online news, the flow of information benefits citizens.
Sunshine is a year-round goal. The more information that comes to light, the better off a democratic society is. Everything from tracking federal bailout payments to marriage licenses is a part of the public information realm. Without it, not many news stories would be written about what’s going on in our community. Even council meeting agendas and restaurant inspections fall into the public information category.
Although the federal government’s action to open up records is a huge step, much information comes from other local government entities and their accountability to the public is an ongoing issue. In a recent study of five Midwestern states, including Minnesota, it was determined none of the states has a government office specifically created to oversee and enforce open government laws and poorly trained state employees may be unintentionally violating the law.
Ohio was the only state that requires every elected official to receive three hours of training regarding the state’s open records law.
As technology evolves, gaining access to public records should be made even easier, but it’s citizens and their political representatives will need to push for that. A new survey of journalists says 65 percent of Minnesota state government records are available to the public online, so there’s a ways to go.
If the Obama administration’s example is followed though, we’ll be soaking in a lot more sun
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— The Free Press, Mankato, Minn. © 2009 Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.
