DOJ official: FOIA pilot program is aware of some journalists’ exclusivity concerns

Some journalists have expressed concerns over a federal government pilot program that would release documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the public via online portals. “It would absolutely hurt journalists’ ability to report on documents they obtained through a FOIA request if the government agency is going to immediately make records available to the public,” noted Vice News investigative reporter Jason Leopold. The concerns follow the news that seven agencies -- including the Environmental Protection Agency, the office of the Director of National Intelligence and offices in the Pentagon, among others -- would be propagating an approach known as “release to one is release to all.”

The Justice Department’s Melanie Ann Pustay signaled that she is aware of the concerns from news organizations, noting that one of the goals of the pilot program is to “to look at impact on outside stakeholders and certainly journalists would be included” in that group. As to the idea that requesters might preserve a head start or exclusivity in the procurement of documents, Pustay said, “We have not made determinations about that. It’s definitely an aspect we want to look into as we go into the pilot.” A “practical” solution of sorts looms over the program, said Pustay. There could well be a lag between the time that government records are ready for release to a requester and the time they’re ready for online posting, she says. To explain further: When released to the public via agency Web sites, documents need to be carefully coded so that people with disabilities can read them. Doing so can be a laborious process -- and a costly one, too. Such efforts aren’t necessary when the agency simply passes them along to requesters. That delay could well resolve the media’s concerns about getting exclusive stuff.