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Elizabeth Caldwell, FOIArkansas Project

Journalists known for championing the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act seemed encouraged by the level of compliance shown by an August survey, but stressed the need for an even better response.

“Both good news and bad news,” is how Dennis Schick of North Little Rock, executive director of the Arkansas Press Association, described the survey results.

The FOIArkansas Project sent 75 people to the state’s 75 counties on Aug. 23 to survey four offices — the county jail, the county unit of the state Health Department, a school district selected at random and a city selected at random.

Municipal offices complied with 87 percent of the initial requests; school districts with 72 percent; and jails with 61 percent. State Health Department offices had the lowest response rate with 51 percent

Schick said he was pleased with the response of cities, where officials were asked to provide documentation of the state money received by the city.

“That’s not bad when talking about different personalities and different parts of the state,” Schick said.

But Schick said he was “very disappointed” in the state Health Department’s initial response to the walk-in survey of county offices. That and the responses by the school districts and county jails indicate the continuing need for education on the law, he said.

Robert S. McCord of North Little Rock, often called the “father of the FOIA” because he spearheaded the effort to get the law passed in 1967, was pleased with the survey results.

“Clearly, it’s a triumph for the Freedom of Information bill. Now we know that the bill has made an impression upon the public officials of Arkansas,” McCord said.

McCord, an independent journalist, was president of Sigma Delta Chi, now the Society of Professional Journalists, when the bill became law.

Journalists should be doing more to ensure access to the workings of government, McCord said.

“So many newspapers are still frightened to go to court” on FOI issues, McCord said. “So, you have to really appreciate the ones that do.”

He said about 15 percent of FOI lawsuits are filed by journalists, with the remaining ones filed by members of industry or private individuals.

Another independent journalist and FOIA advocate is Carol Griffee of Little Rock, who says she can be “a bear” when it comes to defending the act.

She said she is glad the project surveyors presented themselves as citizens, and not as newspaper reporters, because “it is a citizen law.”

She said the compliance with the survey was “pretty good,” but said “it shocks me that a state agency would not be more conversant with the Freedom of Information Act.”

Griffee said the Health Department’s compliance rate may be a reflection of local attitude rather than problems with the state office. She commended Dr. Fay Boozman, who has said he would quickly set in motion a plan to begin an employee education program.

“Historically, Republicans have been some of the biggest supporters of the FOI,” Griffee said, noting the bill was signed into law by Republican Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller. Rockefeller “regarded the FOI as one of the crowning achievements of his tenure. I think it’s a real feather in Arkansas’ cap and I think we need to keep it,” she said.

Steve Voorhies of Fayetteville, assistant news director of television station KFSM in Fayetteville and Fort Smith, said the fact that surveyors declined to say who they worked for or why they wanted the material probably worked against them.

“In rural areas, it becomes a power struggle” with local people reluctant to give information to “some stranger,” he said.

Some officials feel more comfortable giving information to the media, having been conditioned to giving information to reporters, Voorhies said.

Former state Rep. Charlotte Schexnayder, D-Dumas, who with her husband, Melvin, owned the Dumas Clarion for 45 years until they sold it in 1998, said she was not surprised by the numbers.

“Oftentimes, departments or agencies feel the information they have is their own information and not available to the public,” she said. “I feel there is an immense education campaign needed.”

She noted that she appreciated being sent information on the FOI when Gov. Mike Huckabee appointed her in August to the state Transitional Employment Board. Huckabee said his administration has made a point to try to educate those appointed to state boards and commission about the FOIA.

Schexnayder said the news media cannot depend on others to provide education on the law, but rather should be ready to inform public officials and others about it.

She recalls a time before her election to the state House when she suspected members of the local city council were conducting business in secret. She personally went to each council member’s home.

“I stood in the door of the house and read them the FOI,” she said.

“I think the majority of the people will comply if they realize what they need to do to comply. We, probably as the press, have not done a good enough job for them to understand what records are open,” she said.

Louie Graves III, publisher of the Nashville News in Nashville, said the survey showed there is definite room for improvement.

“Elected officials still don’t understand that what they’re doing is the public’s business. It belongs to the people who are asking for it. I think there are far too many employees who have not taken this to heart,” Graves said.

He said it will take prosecutors willing to file criminal charges against suspected violators and judges who crack down on violators.

Graves said more media organizations need to be willing to go to court to enforce the law.

“The survey may inspire some hometown newspaper or radio station to take an official to court,” he said.

Schick said his first hope is that associations that represent county and municipal officials will take responsibility to sponsor FOI seminars at their annual conventions.

Also, he hopes the associations will send their members memoranda telling them they must comply with the law and giving them guidelines on what is public record.

The Arkansas Press Association, with other sponsors, puts out an FOI handbook every two years and distributes it to public officials and media organizations.

The main financial sponsors, in addition to the press association, are the Society of Professional Journalists, the attorney general’s office and the governor’s office, Schick said.

This year’s edition will have an initial press run of 25,000 copies.

Schick travels the state conducting FOI seminars wherever he is invited. He has presented three this year — in Harrison, Arkadelphia and Mountain Home.

Schick and other journalists say they are concerned about future changes to the FOI law.

They acknowledge some changes are needed because of new technology, such as guidelines dealing with the internet, e-mail and other electronic records.

An Electronic Records Study Commission, established by the Legislature, will recommend changes to the law for the legislative session in 2001.

However, most journalists say the law should not be tampered with.

“We are concerned that any time you open up the act, there is the possibility that it will be weakened in some fashion,” Schick said.

McCord said the law has been harmed by past amendments, such as the one exempting certain personnel records from disclosure.

“I would like to see all agencies of government, all meetings, all pieces of paper available, and all meetings open. We don’t have that,” McCord said.

Graves said he is “almost afraid of changes because changes have an equal chance of weakening what’s there.”

Each exemption from the law chips away at the foundation, he said.

“The first (exemption) is not any more damaging than the last one, but it’s the last one that makes it fall down,” Graves said.