@Society of Editors: The public’s right to know
Posted by
Martin Stabe
on 6 November 2006 at 16:49
Tags: Freedom of Information, Journalism, Society of Editors
The panel, chaired by Fiona Armstrong of ITV Border, is Alistair Bonnington, a lawyer for BBC Scotland; the Scottish Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion; Sir Christopher Meyer of the Press Complaints Commission; and Caroline Kean, a partner at media law firm Wiggin.
Lord Falconer, who was originally scheduled to appear on this panel and who has proposed some restrictions on Freedom of Information, might have been irked by what Dunion, the Scottish information commissioner, had to say.
It is a myth, Dunnion said, that the costs of FOI implementation are out of proportion.
It is also a fallacy, he said, that journalists are not expected to make heavy use of the Act. He notes that in the United States, journalists are priveleged in making FOI requests because their fees are waived on the grounds that their requests will be published in the public interest.
Around 10 per cent of requests under the UK Act are from journalists; in Scotland nearly 50 per cent of requests to some public bodies (including the police services) in Scotland appear to come from journalists. In Ireland the media share is being reduced as the public at large is becoming more accustomed to making requests, he said.
A third myth, he said, was that journalists are making frivilous requests. “That was a hand in the sweetie jar phase in the early days of the act”, he says. His impression now is that it is being used very well. The Evening Times did serious research into crime statistics in Glasgow, for example.
Sir Christopher Meyer agrees, saying that he can understand why Lord Falconer did not turn up. The Government, he said is talking the talk, but failing to walk the walk on Freedom of Information. It is far too early, the PCC chairman says, to talk about changing the FOI Act.
(As expected, he also announced interest in regulating newspapers’ online multimedia content.)
Tags: Freedom of Information, Journalism, Society of Editors
