By Anjali A. Sarkar
The lively and interactive panel discussion “How to use FOIA laws and public databases to find stories” covered a wide range of questions including why science journalists should regularly file FOIA requests, which agencies can (and cannot) be ‘FOIAed’, tips on how to file a FOIA request, what kind of information can be requested under FOIA, how to decipher the disclosed information, exemptions which allow federal and state agencies to decline FOIA requests and alternatives to FOIA.
Moderated by Tiffany Stecker, reporter at Bloomberg BNA, the panel consisted of Kevin Bogardeus, federal agencies reporter at E&E News; Kevin Goldberg, attorney at Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, P.L.C.; Dina Maron, health and medicine editor at Scientific American; Dan Metcalfe, professor at American University Washington College of Law; and Steve Reilly, reporter at USA Today.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. The panel agreed it can be highly rewarding for a journalist or science writer to have first-access to a story, but some of the frustrating roadblocks to receiving the requested information are long delays and hidden charges in the form of search and review or duplication fees. Once a FOIA request is filed, the specified federal agency is required by law to search for the records requested and disclose any information unless it falls under one of nine exemptions that protect interests, such as personal privacy, national security and law enforcement.
One of the most common exemptions used by federal agencies to deny FOIA requests is ‘pre-decisional’ under exemption 5. This accounts for ‘deliberative-process’ privilege. If the information is generated in advance of a decision being made, the agency can withhold the information on discretionary grounds, the rationale being that during a discussion or deliberative process, before a decision is made, one should be able to talk freely without being held to it. All members of the panel advised that requesters should always appeal a denial and request reconsideration.
Any public record can be requested in a variety of formats, be it paper, electronic, audio or video data. A FOIA request phrased in the form of a question is generally declined, Dan Metcalfe said. A FOIA request should be in the form of a statement, preferably broken up into a number of sub-requests with defined, narrow limits. Making the request too broad or vague is another sure way to invite rejection, he said.
It is also important to check out the reading rooms of the federal agency before making a FOIA request as an incredible amount of information is constantly being disclosed. Although more federal agencies are now under FOIA, some federal agencies are not, including part of the Library of Congress, part of AMTRAK, the Smithsonian Institution, and the White House.
What do you do if you do not receive a reply to your FOIA request? If you don’t get a response within 21 working days, you can get in an administrative appeal, call the agency’s FOIA officer or sue the agency. The cost of filing a case is around $240. However, it’s important to remember that the first day of FOIA submission is when the agency actually receives and acknowledges the receipt of your request and not the day you make your submission.
Dina Maron provided participants with a convenient handout of six public government resources for data science reporting. Maron said it is important to think creatively about where and how to look for the information you need. Once when she hit a roadblock due to the lack of published peer-reviewed outcome data on maternal health care in remote rural areas compared to urban locations, she was able get the information using CDC’s WONDER (Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiological Research) database that contains extensive maternal mortality data.
Other useful public resources Maron mentioned are Ereporter, which can be used to find areas of active research funded by NIH, CDC’s PulseNet, which uses DNA fingerprints of bacteria from patients to detect possible outbreaks and FAERS (FDA Adverse Event Reporting System) to find out about adverse effects of drugs. Maron suggests talking to the agency before filing a FOIA request as an agency may be inclined to just give you the information to avoid the hassle.
An alternative to filing a FOIA request at federal agencies is filing at state agencies that are usually much more responsive and most times have the same information. However, the consensus appeared to be that it is increasingly difficult to get information under FOIA, which demands perseverance, regular submissions and tracking of multiple submissions.
The panelists concluded that it is important to find a way to stay on top of the process as at times it can get long drawn and convoluted. It’s important to know your rights and treat the FOIA request like a story and to understand what you really want, as too broad or narrow a request gets you cut out.
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.