Are media companies rolling over in FOI battles?
Denver investigative television reporter Brian Maass spoke out at a National Press Club forum Tuesday in Denver, pointing out that media companies appear to be less willing to push for access to public records, and government officials are figuring that out as the financial strength of newspapers weaken. The government has gotten "pretty canny in knowing" that with financial pressures "there's less fight in the media to battle for information," Maass said in a summary of the forum.
Is this true at your media organization? Are media companies less willing to go to court to get public records? Anecdotally it seems to be the case, although I haven't seen any studies that show a decrease in legal spending. If it's true, we're in trouble. At the very least, we need to continue for stronger laws that enable requesters to get attorney fees (and penalties) if they win in court against an agency. Some states have pretty good laws on that, and FOIA now includes such a provision, but we need better.