National FOI Day & other general information

Freedom of Information Act statute and Supreme Court cases from The First Amendment Library

FOIA Hall of Fame

State-by-state directory of open-records surveys

Associated Press FOI Web site

2009 National FOI Day resources
March 13, 2009: “Freedom & Information: Looking Back & Looking Forward”

• Agenda

• Conference video

• Conference coverage
  • Conyers: Probe of Bush administration to continue
  • Shining the light on presidential secrecy
  • Tom Susman receives James Madison Award

2008 National FOI Day resources
March 14, 2008: “Toward a More Open Government: Opportunities & Obstacles”

• Agenda

• Remarks
  • 'A New Balancing Test: How Excessive Classification Undermines National Security,' by J. William Leonard, former chief, Information Security Oversight Office

• Conference speakers' bios

• Conference coverage
  • When secrecy can make us less secure
  • New FOI bill signals renewed push for sunshine
  • Safety of bridges, dams and mines: an FOI issue
  • Press can aid security by conveying information, judge says

2007 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2007: “Access: Oversight & Priorities”

• Agenda

• Remarks
  • 'My first two years: access issues at the National Archives,' by Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein
  • 'Surge in secrecy: Democracy’s incremental disaster,' by Paul McMasters, former First Amendment Center ombudsman

• Conference coverage
  • Archivist: We're restoring records access
  • Probe classified documents, reporter urges
  • Bush presidency: accent on secrecy, panelists say
  • James Madison Award goes to Paul McMasters
  • McMasters decries current culture of secrecy

2006 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2006: “FOIA at Forty: The Past’s Lessons for the Future”

• Agenda

• Remarks
  • Keynote address: 'Fooling the People,' by Hodding Carter III

• Audio from conference

• Conference speakers' bios

• 2006 FOI updates
  • The courts
  • In Congress

• National FOIA Hall of Fame inductees

• Conference coverage
  • 'Law, retaliation doom whistleblowers, panelists say'
  • 'Challenge to government: Stop shutting off info'
  • 'President's open-records order: working or worse?'

• New reports and other publications

2005 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2005: "Congress and the Courts: Confronting Secrecy"

• Agenda

• Remarks
  • Keynote address: 'FOI and the Consent of the Governed,' by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas
  • 'Strange Bedfellows: Reconciling Privacy & Freedom of Information,' by Lee Levine

• Conference speakers' bios

• 2005 FOI updates
  • The courts
  • Federal legislation
  • Electronic access

• James Madison Awards

• Conference coverage
  • 'Openness must govern government: Sen. Cornyn'
  • 'Access faces formidable foe in privacy fears'

2004 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2004: "Secrecy as Public Policy: Is More Better?"

• Agenda

• Remarks
  • Keynote address, by David Sobel, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, 2004 James Madison Award recipient
  • 'Managing Secrets in a Changed World,' by J. William Leonard, director, Interagency Security Oversight Office

• Conference speakers' bios

• 2004 FOI updates
  • The courts
  • The states
  • Federal legislation

• Conference coverage
  • 'We're in a new era of secrecy'

2003 National FOI Day resources
March 14, 2003: "FOI: Survival Strategies for an Embattled Right"

• Agenda

• Remarks
  • Keynote address: “Government secrecy and the press,” by Jack Nelson, veteran journalist, 2003 James Madison Award recipient

• 2003 FOI updates
  • The courts
  • The states
  • Congress

• Other reports
  • “Press not spotlighting government secrecy ‘cloak,’ ” by Harry F. Rosenthal
  • “First Report” on privacy and access by Fred Cate of Indiana University, commissioned by the First Amendment Center
  • National Security Archive report on the first federal government-wide audit of FOIA compliance showing a mixed impact of the attorney general’s October 2001 memo, which urged federal agencies to be cautious in releasing records
  • “Homefront Confidential,” a compendium of restrictions on the press and access since Sept. 11, 2001, by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  • “Agenda For Secrecy,” a Common Cause report examining major businesses' involvement in getting a provision into the Homeland Security Act that seriously erodes the public’s right to know
  • Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project report on anti-terrorism legislation passed in more than 20 states
  • “Journalists Hear Grim News on Accessing Government Information,” by Robert B. Bluey, CNSNews.com
  • “Fretting About the State of FOIA,” by Joanna Glasner, Wired News

2002 National FOI Day resources
March 15, 2002: "Access & Security in a Time of Crisis"

• Agenda

• Remarks
  • Opening address: "History denied: restricting access to presidential records," by Richard Reeves, author, historian and syndicated columnist

  • Luncheon address: "Reflections of a former government insider," by Steven Garfinkel, 2002 James Madison Award recipient

• 2002 FOI updates
  • Bush administration
  • Federal legislation
  • Access in the courts
  • Government secrecy
  • State and local developments
  • International access developments

• Other reports
  • "Homefront Confidential: How the War on Terrorism Affects Access to Information and the Public's Right to Know," by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

  • "Leaks spark debate among journalists, legislative staff," by the Reporters Committee

2001 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2001: "Access, Privacy and Security: A Troubled Tangle"

• Conference overview

• Agenda

• 2001 FOI updates
  • Clinton administration
  • Federal legislation
  • Access in the courts
  • Government secrecy
  • Electronic access to court records
  • State and local developments
  • State privacy developments
  • International access developments

• FOI initiatives
  • Agenda for Access
  • ASNE FOI Project
  • Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project
  • Government information clearinghouse

• James Madison Award winner: Former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, announced by the American Library Association.

• Blueprint for Transparency

• FOI Coalition

• Conference coverage
  • Speakers make case for Web access to public records
  • Podesta details Clinton administration's open-government achievements
  • Anti-leak laws aren't the answer, panel says

2000 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2000: "Access and Technology: Recovering the Promise"

• Agenda

• 2000 FOI updates
  • In the courts
  • Federal legislation
  • Government secrecy
  • Press use of FOI requests
  • The Clinton years
  • State and local developments
  • International laws
  • Access to prisons
  • Access for prisoners

• Conference coverage
  • Journalists denounce government 'shutter control' idea for satellite images
  • Former Commerce official blasts notion that digital divide is gone
  • True nature of 'digital divide' divides experts
  • Experts debate e-threats to privacy, security
  • FOI Day: Kirtley warns government fear threatens right to information
  • Commentary: Access and technology: Change as an excuse for closure, by Paul McMasters

1999 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 1999: "Access to Information: Strategies and Solutions"

• Agenda

• Remarks
  • Remarks on security classification appeals.
    by Roslyn A. Mazer, chair of classification-appeals panel.
  • Remarks on government secrecy vs. disclosure
    by White House chief of staff John Podesta.

• Conference coverage
  • FOI expert: Government agencies remain tight-fisted with information
  • Public entitled to data on chemical risks, FOI Day conference told
  • Few JFK slaying documents merited secrecy, reviewer says
  • Top Clinton aide: Find balance between secrecy, openness
  • Declassifying government information: a good progress report
  • National FOI Day: Access is the key to good government
  • Conference on access, right to know will help mark Freedom of Information Day
  • Madison Award winners announced