Access to information in oral cultures: Legislation vs. negotiation
Many countries around the world have passed access to information (ATI) legislation in the past decade, not least in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is the base for the current study. More specifically, the study focuses on four countries in Eastern Africa which all have embraced ATI laws lately: Ethiopia (2008), Uganda (2011), Rwanda (2013) and Kenya (2016). The aim of the study is to describe experiences that journalists in the four countries have with the new legislation, which is introduced to make it easier for reporters and citizens to search and retrieve public information. In-depth interviews were conducted with experienced reporters and editors from various media houses, mostly in the capital cities of the four countries.
Although practices with information retrieval are somewhat different between the various media cultures and media outlets, the study found common experiences among the journalists covered by the study. Firstly, although it is clear that media professionals are aware of the new legislation, access to information (ATI) requests have not become part of the daily news routine. Few of the informants, if any at all, have attended trainings in how to use the new legislation. Secondly, the journalists perceive the exemptions allowed by the ATI regulation to be so broad that officials easily can find a reason to reject an information request if they so wish. The time limit for giving the information is also seen as a hindrance. Few of the researched media houses have a practice of lodging formal complaints when an information request is rejected, even though the legislation allows such complaints. Thirdly, on the positive side, the ATI legislation creates a sense of equity between journalists, insofar as all journalists have an equal right to request information, contrasting previous times when sharing of information often was restricted to named reporters according to reputation and kinship with higher officials.
Most interestingly yet, the study points to a paradox in information retrieval practices in the researched countries: While ATI legislation, often inspired by regulation in European countries, treats information as essentially written, much information-sharing taking place between public offices and the media in East Africa and the Horn of Africa is not about exchange of documents and records, but more about negotiated oral communication. Arguably, this is one of the reasons why journalists tend not to use ATI laws very actively in their daily news work.
Although practices with information retrieval are somewhat different between the various media cultures and media outlets, the study found common experiences among the journalists covered by the study. Firstly, although it is clear that media professionals are aware of the new legislation, access to information (ATI) requests have not become part of the daily news routine. Few of the informants, if any at all, have attended trainings in how to use the new legislation. Secondly, the journalists perceive the exemptions allowed by the ATI regulation to be so broad that officials easily can find a reason to reject an information request if they so wish. The time limit for giving the information is also seen as a hindrance. Few of the researched media houses have a practice of lodging formal complaints when an information request is rejected, even though the legislation allows such complaints. Thirdly, on the positive side, the ATI legislation creates a sense of equity between journalists, insofar as all journalists have an equal right to request information, contrasting previous times when sharing of information often was restricted to named reporters according to reputation and kinship with higher officials.
Most interestingly yet, the study points to a paradox in information retrieval practices in the researched countries: While ATI legislation, often inspired by regulation in European countries, treats information as essentially written, much information-sharing taking place between public offices and the media in East Africa and the Horn of Africa is not about exchange of documents and records, but more about negotiated oral communication. Arguably, this is one of the reasons why journalists tend not to use ATI laws very actively in their daily news work.
Publisert i The annual congress of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), Madrid, Spain, 2019
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