Banner Online News

By Sunday Aikulola

Twelve years after enactment of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, participants at a two-day workshop, which held in Ibadan, Oyo State, recently, have described the Act as a powerful tool of information gathering for journalists and other media professionals that could significantly improve quality of media reporting.

Organised by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), with support from MacArthur Foundation through the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusion and Accountability (CMEDIA) Project, the workshop had as theme, ‘Using the FOI Act for Investigative Reporting.’

The CMEDIA Project is a multi-level intervention that supports media independence, improved transparency, accountability and good governance in state and local councils with more public awareness on need for accountability and amplified marginalised voices.

The workshop addressed different topics including, an ‘Overview and Elements of Investigative Reporting’, ‘The Role of Records and Documents in Investigative Reporting’, ‘Understanding the FOI Act 2011’, ‘The FOI Act and Investigative Reporting’ and ‘How Journalists and the Media Can Use the FOI Act.’

Other topics treated are ‘Fact-checking and Investigative Reporting’, ‘Making Requests for Information Under the Freedom of Information Act’, ‘Deciding What Investigative Reports to Carry Out’, ‘Interviews in Investigative Reporting’ and ‘How to Present Stories from Investigative Reporting’.

In his presentation, MRA Executive Director, Edetaen Ojo, who spoke on ‘How Journalists and the media can use the FOI Act’, said FOI requests could be used to target expense claims of public officials for a variety of activities, including travels or meetings, monitor processes of contract awards, the value of contracts awarded or the standards of performance, and check the revenue and expenditure profiles of public institutions.

Other usage of the Act, according to Ojo, include, obtaining raw data from public institutions, which are then analysed to establish patterns or detect any breaches of the law, rules, regulations, codes of conduct, extracting the results or findings of unpublished investigations or enquiries.

On her part, Head Legal Department, MRA, Obioma Okonkwo, who spoke on ‘Making Requests for Information under the FOI Act’, revealed every person has a legally enforceable right of access to records, documents and information held by public institutions, subject to certain exemptions stated in the Act.

Speaking further, she disclosed the types of information covered by the Act and which can be accessed include all records, documents and information stored in whatever form, whether written, electronic, visual images, sound or audio recording by a public institution.

According to her, an application for information, records or documents should include the name, address and other contact details of the applicant as would be included in any normal official correspondence.

She added, “the application should contain sufficient details that will enable the public institution to identify the record, document or information being requested. Public institutions have seven days to respond whether or not they are granting access to the information requested.”

Okonkwo said the timeframe for response could only be extended for another seven days under two circumstances as provided by Section 6 of the FOI Act: ‘Where the application is for voluminous records and meeting the original time limit would disrupt the institution’s operations and where consultations are necessary to comply with the application and the consultations cannot be completed within the original time limit’.

The participants further observed that though coverage of routine events by journalists has some value for the society as they inform members of the public about those events, which may be entertaining, educational or informative, however, the excessive preoccupation with such routine reporting, while neglecting more in-depth and impactful investigative reporting that help to ensure transparency, accountability and good governance needed to be addressed.

They further made a number of observations and recommendations, including the following: critical media stakeholders such as journalism and mass communication training institutions, media support and media development organisations, media professional bodies and associations as well as media organisations and newsrooms are encouraged to devote more time, effort and resources into creating awareness about the Act among journalists and building their capacity to utilise the law.

To engender better and more impactful reporting of various issues, particularly, those relating to transparency, accountability, good governance and development, participants urged key stakeholders to put more effort and resources into providing continuous training for journalists in other areas such as, investigative reporting techniques, fact-checking and information verification tools and approaches as well as the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, which could aid their work.

Journalists, particularly, those engaged in investigative reporting, should routinely mine available documents, records and data, including the yearly budgets of Federal and State governments, their audited public accounts and other reports for information.

They should analyse such documents, records and data to ascertain their level of compliance with applicable laws, rules, regulations, codes and other standards. Any identified breaches should be the basis of reporting aimed at holding the government involved accountable.

Participants also called on journalists to take advantage of various tools, which are available digitally, online and offline, which could enhance their work, including in conducting research; analysing data; verifying information, among others, by identifying such tools, obtaining them and learning how to use them to improve their reporting.

They also called on journalists to give greater prominence to issues affecting women and other marginalised groups. Women and members of other such groups should also be routinely reflected in news stories as important news sources in addition to focusing attention on how they are impacted by government policies, programmes and actions.

The workshop was attended by 30 participants made up of media professionals from broadcast, print and online media organisations from different states across Southwest geo-political zone. The training also held in Enugu, Enugu State for 26 participants from broadcast, print and online media platforms across the Southeast

The workshop aimed at sensitising participating journalists and building their capacity to effectively use of the FOI Act for investigative reporting by familiarising them with the key provisions of the Act, how to make requests for information under the Act to increase their chances of success, and the enforcement mechanisms and options available to them whenever they are wrongfully denied access to any information requested.

Source Link: https://guardian.ng/features/media/leveraging-foi-act-for-investigative-reporting-2/