Access to Information

UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES CARIBBEAN INSTITUTE OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION

COMM 2110: MEDIA ETHICS ND LEGAL ISSUES ASSIGNMENT 2: ACCESS TO INFORMATION

TUTOR: DAMIEN COX TUTORIAL: FRIDAY 2-4 PM I.D #: 620030702

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An essential component for any democratic society to function effectively is a free and fearless press. A free and secure press ensures that citizens are provided with necessary information for decision making and empowerment. Many societies around the world have recognised the need for public access to information pertaining to various government businesses and as a result have instituted Access to Information legislations. The access to information is a fundamental human right and a precondition to transparency and accountability in the public sector (Schenkelaars & Ahmad, 2004). The medias use of Access to Information is paramount in encouraging transparency, accountability and public participation in government. Access to information laws legitimises the publics right to access official documents created and maintained by government authorities. This is a bold initiative and one that was adopted by our own government here in Jamaica in the 2002 when the Access to Information Act was passed. The Act is intended to make Government more transparent and publicly accountable as well as to foster public participation in national decision making. The medias use of Access Information helps to accurately inform the public as well as help to expose corruption. Accordingly, transparency refers to free access to governmental political and economic activities and decisions. Accountability is the state being held responsible by the citizens for its choices and actions. Public participation incorporates some degree of equal political participation among citizens in their own governance. Using Access to Information the media helps to promote higher levels of Accountability, Transparency and Public Participation. Also, it contributes to building public trust in government, thereby raising the quality of democracy. Stakeholders in the accountability process cannot effectively full fill their obligations nor be held properly

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accountable unless the evidence of their actions is made available through organized, secure, yet easily accessible means. Additionally, records are the indispensable foundation of the accountability process; the media can only effectively use Access to Information if records of government documents are kept. Accountability and Transparency are dependent upon accurate and legal records, without which, officials cannot be held accountable and corruptions cannot be prosecuted which, thereby undermines the Access to Information Act. Subsequently, to operate a free and secure press the media must have access to information. Such access is also indispensable in fighting corruption, which has been defined as the primary obstacle to development. According to the Media Association of Jamaica (2009), journalists rely on sources regarded as being credible, often to their detriment. Sources will orally provide information concerning matters of public interest which causes a person or government bodys embarrassment and/ or exposes corruption or mismanagement, but these sources will not, out of fear, provide the media with documents in support. It is this fear that deters would-be credible sources from assisting the press in informing the public in matters of public interest thus undermining the press role as the publics watchdog and impedes the medias ability to provide accurate and reliable information. In this regard Access to Information is invaluable especially to the media and their role in keeping the public informed in a democratic society. It is a positive move away from our culture of secrecy surrounding the day to day operations of Government. Furthermore, Access to Information depends on the citizens knowing and understanding their right to know and being willing and able to act upon it (Schenkelaars & Ahmad, 2004). The

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argument here is that citizens cant act upon their rights if they dont know what those rights are. As the situation stands now, most of our citizens are not aware of their right to access information about government business. In this instance the media is an important tool in terms of informing the public of these rights. Often times than not the medias use of Access to Information tend to reveal scandals or to bring to light compromising information about the government that they wouldnt have gotten otherwise. For example, in the US in 2005 the Associated Press learned through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request that National Institutes of Health scientists received "millions of dollars in royalties for experimental treatments without having to tell patients testing the treatments that the researchers' had a financial connection." Also, The New York Daily News used a FOIA to find out that the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan incurred maintenance and cleaning costs that were twice what state court buildings paid, including a bill for $84,812 to polish the brass located in the building entrances (Penenberg, 2005). Our local media have used ATI to uncover stories regarding extravagant spending by the government for example the recent and over the top purchase of certain luxury vehicles for government ministers. Also using ATI our local media uncovered information about the governments handling of an extradition request for an infamous gang leader who was said to have ties to the then government and now opposition party. As powerful a tool that ATI is it is not without its flaws. The mere existence of it does not ensure proper functioning. It may take quite a while for a government agency to full fill a request for ATI. Also, there are documents that cannot be requested because they have been exempted from public disclosure. In Austria, the broadly defined exemptions in the law have led commentators

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to describe the right of access as often illusory. In the United States, there has been considerable controversy over reductions on access to data on internal decision-making, based on the claim of Executive Privilege. However, the Congress is in the process of amending legislation to resolve these problems. In the United Kingdom, the Government expects a pending proposal to impose fees significantly to reduce media use of the FOI Act. The Lord Chancellor said: Freedom of information was never considered to be, and for our part will never be considered to be, a research arm for the media (Haraszti, 2007). In Jamaica, our laws regarding ATI are a little bit more relaxed than these, though it is not without it is own flaws.

In Conclusion, the traditional role of the media as Watch Dogs of society is the cornerstone to transparency and accountability in the public sector. As noted above, a key function of the media is to give the public the information necessary to make good decisions. The media can seek to confirm official accounts, reveal official corruption, and correct errors of omission. Freedom of information is sacrosanct and the right of access to information must be encouraged in order for democracy to prevail.

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References
Media Association of Jamaica. (2009). Access to Information Act 2002. Retrieved from http://www.mediaassociationja.com/index.php
Haraszti, M. (2007). Access to Information by the Media in OSCE Region: Trends and Recommendations Retrieved from http://www.osce.org/form Penenberg, A. (2005 ). Journalism Handbook for Students: Ethics, Law and Good Practice. New York University Press, New York: NY

Schenkelaars, F. Ahmad, I. (2004). Access to Information, Transparency and Accountability. Retrieved From