The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will give $2 million in grants to the National Freedom of Information Coalition to help state and local open government organizations file freedom of information requests over the next three years, the foundation recently announced.
The grants will help groups cover filing and deposition fees, as well as court costs in legal suits to promote freedom of information and open government on the state and local levels. The grants are meant to make up for declining private investment in freedom of information cases.
"Many efforts to improve and preserve freedom of information and keep government open to the public would have been impossible in the past without the support of Knight Foundation," said Tennessee Coalition for Open Government executive director and NFOIC president Frank Gibson.
The Knight Foundation cited a recent survey conducted by the Media Law Research Center in which 53 percent of respondents said that the frequency of open government violations have increased over the last two to five years, and less than one-third said reporters in their areas were increasing numbers of freedom of information requests.
An ailing media industry may be to blame for the decline in information requests. Fifty-three percent of respondents in the same Media Law Research Center survey said their resources have declined in recent years, while 35 percent said they have eroded significantly.
"Media companies have for generations taken on the lion’s share of the legal work surrounding freedom of information. But as media economics restructure, new approaches are needed," said Knight Foundation vice president for journalism programs Eric Newton.
Signed into law by President Johnson in 1966, the Freedom of Information Act allows any person to petition previously classified documents from the federal government for release. People may petition for the release of eligible documents by filing FOIA requests to government agencies.