Government undermining ‘right to know’ laws

It’s getting harder and more expensive to use public records to hold government officials accountable. Authorities are undermining the laws that are supposed to guarantee citizens’ right to information, turning the right to know into just plain "no."

Associated Press journalists filed hundreds of requests for government files last year, simply trying to use the rights granted under state open records laws and the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. What we discovered reaffirmed what we have seen all too frequently in recent years: the systems created to give citizens information about their government are badly broken and getting worse all the time.

By Gary Pruitt
President and CEO
The Associated Press

Full Story: http://www.ap.org/Content/Press-Release/2015/Gary-Pruitt-Sunshine-Week-column