Survey of health journalists finds roadblocks to information at federal agencies

The first survey to focus on the newsgathering experiences of health care journalists has found that the federal government often blocks access to information, supporting assertions that the Obama administration has failed to keep its promise of transparency.

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Georgia: Open records indicate no requests from rival recruiters

Records show that UGA processed no open records requests regarding recruiting from opposing schools over the last six months. There were just two requests overall regarding potential recruits, and both were made by media.

That information runs contrary to what a state legislator said was the reasoning behind sponsoring recent legislation that now will give UGA 90 days to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.  Continue…

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Wisconsin DOJ handling open records requests faster, response time down from 2014

Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Justice say the agency is responding faster to open record requests.

A DOJ news release Tuesday says the agency took an average of 20 days to close a request this year, down from 59 days last year. Since the agency's new Office of Open Government opened in June, the average response time has been 16 days. Continue…

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The Obama Administration’s Newly Political Approach to FOIAs

At the Treasury Department, the memo came down from the deputy executive secretary, Wally Adeyemo, in December of 2009. Going forward, the memo stated, “sensitive information” requested under the Freedom of Information Act was to be reviewed not only by career FOIA officials but also by a committee of political appointees, including Adeyemo and representatives from the public-affairs, legislative-affairs, and general counsel’s office, before release.

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