Dennis A. Byrd, FOIArkansas Project

Testing compliance to freedom of information laws is not a new idea, but the recently completed FOIArkansas Project marks the first time such a test has been conducted in Arkansas.

FOIArkansas ----------------Unlocking the public's business

At least six states have followed Indiana’s lead in an attempt to find out if laws that allow citizen access to public records really work.

Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock launched the project earlier this year. Dennis Byrd, bureau chief, drafted Brenda Blagg, who covers government and politics for The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas, to help in the planning. Blagg is a member of the FOI Coalition, a watchdog group organized through the Arkansas Press Association to monitor freedom of information issues.

Byrd and Blagg recruited Robert McCord, a semi-retired independent journalist, who helped author the 1967 Freedom of Information Act. McCord obliged, agreeing in the process to write a column on the act’s history.

Team leaders were selected at Stephen’s three daily newspapers in Arkansas — the Pine Bluff Commercial, the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, and The Morning News — and the first planning meeting by the team was May 19.

Agreeing that the survey should include all 75 counties in Arkansas, the team sought two newspaper partners — the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway and The Jonesboro Sun, both with publishers experienced in defending the FOI Act.

Byrd was chosen project coordinator; he named Blagg assistant coordinator. The expanded team agreed to commit people, time and money to the monthslong project and to extend the survey statewide.

The project team included Tom McDonald of the Log Cabin Democrat; Larry Fugate of The Jonesboro Sun; Byron Tate of the Pine Bluff Commercial; Amy Sherrill and Perry Flippin of the Southwest Times Record; and Rusty Turner and Charlie Alison of The Morning News.

Team leaders recruited others from their newspapers and the bureau to do a variety of assignments, including reporting, editing and taking part in the field survey.

Donna Lonchar of The Morning News helped edit every story in the project package. Her contribution kept the package focused.

Judy Smith, administrative assistant in the Arkansas News Bureau, did everything from providing ideas for stories to planning lunches and preparing agenda packets for the five team meetings in Little Rock.

Elizabeth Caldwell and David Robinson of the Arkansas News Bureau staff did a lot of behind-the-scenes work in addition to reporting. Robinson’s wife, Tamara, also participated by conducting a survey by mail of county clerks in Arkansas to see if they would respond to FOI requests, even though the law is silent on whether such compliance is required.

The six participating news organizations divided up the state, agreeing to use employees and recruit volunteers for the walk-in survey.

Choosing which offices to go to and which documents to request was a work-in-progress over several weeks, although the team agreed early on to make requests of municipal, county, state and school offices.

The team determined that the walk-in survey should be done in one day, utilizing a different person in every county. The team settled on Monday, Aug. 23, when school would be in session in all of Arkansas, to make it more likely that targeted offices would be fully staffed.

Byrd and Blagg traveled the state conducting training classes, giving surveyors enlisted for the project some idea of what problems they might encounter and instructing them how to respond in a variety of situations.

All surveyors were to seek information as citizens, not reporters, although six of the 75 surveyors either were recognized as newspaper employees or were pressed into providing the information.

Surveyors were advised to be “polite and persistent, but not belligerent” and told never to lie in their quest for documents. Regrettably, a handful of surveyors unintentionally misrepresented themselves by saying such things as “I am just a citizen” or by saying they were not asking for the document for the newspaper. It was not apparent that any of the situations had an impact on survey results.

Surveyors filled out a form after each stop. In addition to marking whether access to the document was granted or denied, they also were asked to mark “yes” or “no” on such questions as whether they had to show or quote state law to get the documents, whether they were asked why they wanted the document and whether they were referred to a supervisor. The forms also contained a comment section for surveyors to recount any unusual circumstances.

The information they gathered is reflected in this series of articles and on a database available for review within this FOIArkansas Web site.

Perhaps “why” the survey was done is the most important question of all. The mission statement on the protocol given to each surveyor may answer it best:

“The FOIArkansas project will test whether the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act works in principle as it relates to citizen access to documents that clearly should be available to the public.”