Journalists' use of the UK Freedom of Information Act

Abstract

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 came fully into force in the UK in January 2005. There have been few studies exploring the users’ experience of using the Act. This paper seeks explore how one of the most visible ‘categories’ of requesters, journalists, have been using the Act during the first year of its implementation. Based primarily on interviews with journalists in the UK, the paper investigates and describes: journalists’ motivations for using the Act; journalists’ experience of the administration of the Act, and how the Act is performing in relation to the wider benefits that are often ascribed to it. Information gleaned from interviews with journalists is supplemented by content analysis of UK newspaper articles using information obtained under the FOI Act in 2005. The paper finds that although there is significant disappointment with the FOIA in its first year, journalists have been using the Act with to good effect in investigative stories, particularly those of a historical nature, those that entail statistical or performance data, or those for which access to original documents or papers are required.