Washington Examiner: News media should press presidential candidates on open govt
http://www.examiner.com/printa-1287016~AP_CEO_Pushes_for_More_Open_Government.html
Politics
AP CEO Pushes for More Open Government
By HOPE YEN, The Associated Press
2008-03-19 01:32:40.0
Current rank: # 4,675 of 9,698
WASHINGTON -
At a time of continued government secrecy, the news media should press the presidential candidates on whether their administration would enforce "the spirit as well as the letter of the law" protecting the public's right to know, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said Tuesday.
"Secrecy is one of the handiest tools for government that wants to be accountable only to itself regardless of the spirit of any law," he said in a National Sunshine Week speech.
Curley praised congressional passage of legislation that toughened the Freedom of Information Act. But he chided Bush administration efforts that he said undercut the measure.
The presidential election provides a good opportunity to press for open government policies, he said.
"We need to ask the candidates - at every opportunity until we have a clear answer - whether they are willing to appoint an attorney general willing to follow the spirit as well as the letter of the law that protects the people's right to know what their government is doing," Curley said in his speech Tuesday night at the National Press Club.
President Bush signed into law last December a toughened version of the Freedom of Information Act, the first such makeover to public access laws in a decade. It establishes a hot line service for all federal agencies to deal with problems and an ombudsman to provide an alternative to litigation in disclosure disputes.
The legislation came partly in response to an order by former Attorney General John Ashcroft in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in which he instructed agencies to lean against releasing information when there was uncertainty about how doing so would affect national security. Although the legislation is aimed at reversing Ashcroft's order, it fails to explicitly do so.
Earlier this year, the administration submitted a budget proposal that would move the ombudsman's office to the Justice Department instead of the National Archives. Open government advocates including Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., say that would be a conflict of interest because Justice would be defending federal agencies seeking to keep records secret.
In his speech, Curley criticized the administration move as a "sucker punch" to cripple the new FOIA law. He urged advocates to push back and called for the next attorney general to explicitly reverse the Ashcroft memo.
"We must do more because the entrenched powers have become far more determined to avoid public scrutiny when it matters most," he said.
Addressing the issue of whether journalists should be open government advocates, Curley said it would be a disservice to the public to pretend to be "disinterested observers." He noted that journalists already routinely badgered executive agencies and courts "for information and access we think the Constitution says the public is supposed to have."
"The brightest rays from Sunshine Weeks have spotlighted countless efforts by citizens to hold their governments accountable," Curley added. "By reporting on their efforts, we have revealed for millions important lessons in fighting city halls, statehouses and, yes, even Washington."
In his remarks, Curley:
-Cited the case of former USA Today reporter Toni Locy as a "dramatic example" of why Congress should pass a federal shield law. Locy recently was fined up to $5,000 a day by a federal judge unless she disclosed anonymous Justice Department sources to lawyers for a former Army scientist who came under scrutiny in the 2001 anthrax attacks. Locy also at one time worked for the AP.
-Urged release of any evidence the U.S. military has to justify its detention of AP photographer Bilal Hussein, who worked in the Iraq war zone. After Hussein spent 19 months in prison, his case was referred to the Iraqi criminal courts last year. Pentagon spokesmen have alleged that Hussein was suspected in a range of terrorist-related activities.
Curley said he thought the Locy case had gotten good public attention. On Hussein, he said, "I don't know how many people are interested in one more Iraqi. I wish there were."
- Predicted the media would not shy away from reporting about the human rights abuses or protests in China during the Summer Olympic Games. He noted that one journalist across the world is beaten every two weeks in pursuit of the news.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Politics
AP CEO Pushes for More Open Government
By HOPE YEN, The Associated Press
2008-03-19 01:32:40.0
Current rank: # 4,675 of 9,698
WASHINGTON -
At a time of continued government secrecy, the news media should press the presidential candidates on whether their administration would enforce "the spirit as well as the letter of the law" protecting the public's right to know, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said Tuesday.
"Secrecy is one of the handiest tools for government that wants to be accountable only to itself regardless of the spirit of any law," he said in a National Sunshine Week speech.
Curley praised congressional passage of legislation that toughened the Freedom of Information Act. But he chided Bush administration efforts that he said undercut the measure.
The presidential election provides a good opportunity to press for open government policies, he said.
"We need to ask the candidates - at every opportunity until we have a clear answer - whether they are willing to appoint an attorney general willing to follow the spirit as well as the letter of the law that protects the people's right to know what their government is doing," Curley said in his speech Tuesday night at the National Press Club.
President Bush signed into law last December a toughened version of the Freedom of Information Act, the first such makeover to public access laws in a decade. It establishes a hot line service for all federal agencies to deal with problems and an ombudsman to provide an alternative to litigation in disclosure disputes.
The legislation came partly in response to an order by former Attorney General John Ashcroft in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in which he instructed agencies to lean against releasing information when there was uncertainty about how doing so would affect national security. Although the legislation is aimed at reversing Ashcroft's order, it fails to explicitly do so.
Earlier this year, the administration submitted a budget proposal that would move the ombudsman's office to the Justice Department instead of the National Archives. Open government advocates including Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., say that would be a conflict of interest because Justice would be defending federal agencies seeking to keep records secret.
In his speech, Curley criticized the administration move as a "sucker punch" to cripple the new FOIA law. He urged advocates to push back and called for the next attorney general to explicitly reverse the Ashcroft memo.
"We must do more because the entrenched powers have become far more determined to avoid public scrutiny when it matters most," he said.
Addressing the issue of whether journalists should be open government advocates, Curley said it would be a disservice to the public to pretend to be "disinterested observers." He noted that journalists already routinely badgered executive agencies and courts "for information and access we think the Constitution says the public is supposed to have."
"The brightest rays from Sunshine Weeks have spotlighted countless efforts by citizens to hold their governments accountable," Curley added. "By reporting on their efforts, we have revealed for millions important lessons in fighting city halls, statehouses and, yes, even Washington."
In his remarks, Curley:
-Cited the case of former USA Today reporter Toni Locy as a "dramatic example" of why Congress should pass a federal shield law. Locy recently was fined up to $5,000 a day by a federal judge unless she disclosed anonymous Justice Department sources to lawyers for a former Army scientist who came under scrutiny in the 2001 anthrax attacks. Locy also at one time worked for the AP.
-Urged release of any evidence the U.S. military has to justify its detention of AP photographer Bilal Hussein, who worked in the Iraq war zone. After Hussein spent 19 months in prison, his case was referred to the Iraqi criminal courts last year. Pentagon spokesmen have alleged that Hussein was suspected in a range of terrorist-related activities.
Curley said he thought the Locy case had gotten good public attention. On Hussein, he said, "I don't know how many people are interested in one more Iraqi. I wish there were."
- Predicted the media would not shy away from reporting about the human rights abuses or protests in China during the Summer Olympic Games. He noted that one journalist across the world is beaten every two weeks in pursuit of the news.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
