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1 results

  • 16 - Returning FOIA to the Press

  • from Part IV - Legal Protection for the Press Function
  • Edited by RonNell Andersen Jones, University of Utah, Sonja R. West, University of Georgia
  • Book:
    The Future of Press Freedom
    Published online:
    25 July 2025
    Print publication:
    24 July 2025, pp 257-268
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  • Summary

    The Freedom of Information Act was imagined as a tool for the press. Journalists, it was thought, would use FOIA to unlock government files and inform the public to further democratic accountability. But, for the press, intractable delays and unchecked over-withholding render FOIA’s promise too often illusory. This chapter suggests structural reforms that would deliver FOIA to the press by making it work for journalists. First, it suggests opportunities for government to serve non-oversight FOIA users through other means, freeing up resources to better serve the news media. Second, it argues that creating an administrative oversight model rather than relying on judicial review would better vindicate the rights of news media frustrated with government noncompliance with the law. The chapter concludes by describing how these measures not only would improve FOIA’s functioning, but could transform FOIA into a tool that acts as true public support for and investment in journalistic efforts at a time that the news media industry faces existential challenges.