Posts Tagged ‘media coverage’

  • 19 March 2010

    Notable Canadian News Stories Based on ATIA requests

    By Stanley Tromp The value of a strong Access to Information Act is better demonstrated than just asserted. To counter negative claims made by bureaucrats and politicians about FOI law usage, here are summaries of Canadian news story on issues as diverse as health, safety, government financial waste, public security, and environmental risks. They all […]

  • 29 January 2010

    Anti-Corruption Activist Satish Shetty Slain in Retribution for RTI Work Murder: Highlights Need for Whistleblower and Activist Protection

    by Yvette M. Chin Pune, India — Several men attacked and murdered Indian RTI activist Satish Shetty with swords the morning of January 13, in a killing that activists say is the result of Shetty’s RTI work. To date, local police have taken five men into custody for Shetty’s murder, including lawyer Vijay Dabhade and […]

  • 16 November 2009

    In Shanghai, President Obama Recognizes Access to Information as Universal Right

    by Yvette M. Chin Shanghai, China — On his first trip to Asia, President Obama made unequivocal statements about access to information as a universal human right at a rare town-hall style meeting of university students November 16. Over 2 years ago, the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information (OGI Regulations) […]

  • 30 September 2009

    OSCE Ambassador Statements Mar International Right to Know Day Event

    by Yvette M. Chin Podgorica, Montenegro — The head of the the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission to Montenegro, Ambassador Paraschiva Badescu, committed a diplomatic faux pas in the middle of an International Right to Know Day event, asserting that requests for information “need to be justified.” Civil society organizations rejected these unfounded […]

  • 25 August 2009

    US Torture Files and Access to Human Rights Information

    By Jesse Franzblau and Emilene Martinez-Morales Washington, DC — The US government’s August 24, 2009, release of a controversial CIA 2004 Inspector General report on torture brings new attention to the issue of how information on human rights abuses is treated and should be treated under freedom of information laws. Deadlines set by a federal […]

  • 17 July 2009

    Safeguarding the Right to Information: Report of the People’s RTI Assessment 2008 in India

    A Comprehensive Look at the Implementation and Use of India’s RTI Act New Delhi, India — In the first two years of access-to-information implementation in India, about 1.6 million requests for information were made in urban areas, while an additional 400,000 applications were made in the rural villages. Taking such a large-scale access-to-information regime head on, […]

  • 19 June 2009

    Lessons from Media Coverage for the Right-to-Know in Latin America

    By Greg Michener In the last year or so, Latin America has been abuzz with news on right-to-know campaigns. But some countries have been buzzing louder than others. Uneven media attention to transparency policy is a global phenomenon with serious implications for institutional effectiveness, especially given the significant connection between news coverage and the strength […]

  • 19 May 2009

    Freedom of Information Legislation and the Media in Latin America

    By Greg Michener 2008 was a big year for freedom of information movements in Latin America. Three countries passed access to information laws last year (Uruguay, Chile, and Guatemala), officially institutionalizing the publics right to know. Varying degrees of media attention, however, had a significant effect on the relative strength of each law. I have […]

  • 8 May 2009

    Jimmy Carter Presses for Greater Access to Information in the Americas

    Sao Paulo Gives Jimmy Carter Highest Award in Recognition of Human Rights Former US President Jimmy Carter publicly pressed for widespread support for Brazil’s pending transparency law last week. The government has pledged to pass an access to information law this year, as reported previously by freedominfo. On Sunday, May 3rd, Carter was given the […]

  • 24 February 2009

    UK Justice Minister Jack Straw Vetoes the Release of Pre-Iraq Cabinet Minutes

    First Use of Veto Provision in UK’s 2000 FOI Law Sets Dangerous Precedent London, United Kingdom – Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw today used his veto power to block the release of minutes from two controversial cabinet meetings in March 2003, when the British government signed off on joining the Bush administration’s invasion […]

  • 28 September 2006

    International Right to Know Day 2006

    International Right to Know Day was established to mark the founding on 28 September 2002 of the global Freedom of Information Advocates Network. The 4th International Right to Know Day is being celebrated in 2006. The aim of Right to Know Day is to raise awareness of every individual’s right of access to government-held information: […]

  • 9 August 2005

    Pakistan Newspaper Reports on Nonpublic World Bank Document

    A newspaper in Pakistan has written about a nonpublic World Bank report evaluating ten years of World Bank activities in Pakistan and shedding light on the process of preparing such major evaluations. The evaluation report is generally unfavorable to the World Bank, according to the Business Recorder, which wrote about the conclusions in a July […]

  • 7 February 2005

    Report on free expression in Tajikistan shows situation worsened for media in 2004

    SOURCE: National Association of Independent Mass Media in Tajikistan (NANSMIT), Press Release (7 February 2005) “Access to information, which is also guaranteed under Tajik law, is not protected in practice. In fact, the most common infringement of journalists’ rights is the restriction of access to information. Violations may take the form of direct denial of […]

  • 14 May 2004

    INDIA: The Largest Democratic Election in Human History

    By Vivek Ramkumar The largest democratic election in human history ended yesterday in India. Most of the headlines today focused on the horse race, that is, the surprising defeat of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the return to power of the Congress Party. But the election process itself deserves attention, both for its extraordinary […]

  • 25 August 2003

    THAILAND: Deputy PM Discusses Official Information Act

    The Bangkok Post reports on the Thai Deputy Prime Minister Visanu Krue-ngam’s recent remarks at the at the United Nations building on the Official Information Act. Kruengam stated that when the act was first introduced, state agencies had complied strictly with the law requiring them to disclose official information on public demand. But as time […]