Right to Know Coalition of Nova Scotia: More People See Federal Government as Secretive; Nearly All Want to Know Where Candidates Stand on Transparency

Sunshine Week Survey 2008

Published: March 15, 2008

Last Updated: March 15, 2008

Contacts:

For Sunshine Week:

Debra Gersh Hernandez

dghernandez@asne.org

703-807-2100

mobile: 571-238-1499

For Scripps Howard News Service:

Thomas Hargrove

hargrovet@shns.com

202-408-2703

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: Sunday, March 16, 2008

Note to editors: Graphics for this survey and other FOI issues are available from McClatchy-Tribune Graphics for use by clients and non-clients during Sunshine Week.

More People See Federal Government as Secretive;

Nearly All Want to Know Where Candidates Stand on Transparency

Washington — Three-quarters of American adults view the federal government as secretive, and nearly nine in 10 say it's important to know presidential and congressional candidates' positions on open government when deciding who to vote for, according to a Sunshine Week survey by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.

The survey shows a significant increase over the past three years in the percentage of Americans who believe the federal government is very or somewhat secretive, from 62 percent of those surveyed in 2006 to 74 percent in 2008.

"In a democracy whose survival depends on openness, it's sobering to see that three-fourths of Americans now view their national government as somewhat or very secretive," said David Westphal, Washington editor for McClatchy Newspapers and co-chairman of the American Society of Newspaper Editors Freedom of Information Committee. "On the other hand, it's gratifying to see that almost 90 percent believe a candidate's position on open government is an important issue when they make their Election Day choices."

The survey of 1,012 adults was commissioned by ASNE for Sunshine Week, a national initiative that encourages discussions about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Sunshine Week's 2008 Sunshine Campaign is a yearlong effort to have candidates for all level of office — from president to city council — discuss their positions on government access issues.

Half of respondents said government at the state level is secretive, while 44 percent viewed it as open. Nearly all interviewed, 92 percent, said open government is important to them in assessing candidates for state offices such as governor or attorney general. Those who see local government as secretive increased from 34 percent in 2007 to 40 percent in the 2008 survey. And 91 percent said the local candidate's position and record on open government are important to them in making a voting decision.

Although only about a quarter of adults believe the federal government has opened their mail or monitored their telephone conversations without a federal warrant, three-quarters believe it has happened to people in the United States and two-thirds say it is very or somewhat likely to have happened to members of the news media.

The survey was conducted by telephone from Feb. 10-28 under the supervision of Robert Owens, operations manager of the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University. The co-directors of the center are Jerry Miller and Ani Ruhil. Guido H. Stempel III, distinguished professor emeritus at Ohio University, also assisted the project.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Sunshine Week, www.sunshineweek.org, is a non-partisan open government initiative led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, www.asne.org, with online and broadcast media, public officials, celebrities, civic groups, non-profits, libraries, schools, religious leaders and others. Sunshine Week is endowed through a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, www.knightfdn.org, which invests in journalism excellence worldwide and the vitality of the 26 communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. It focuses on projects with the potential to create transformational change.

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The following are selected findings from a survey of 1,012 adult residents of the United States conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University in a study commissioned by the American Society of Newspaper Editors for Sunshine Week.

Here are some questions about whether you feel government in America is open and transparent or whether you think government is closed and secretive. When talking about the local government in your community, do you think local government is very open, somewhat open, somewhat secretive or very secretive?

Very Open	16
Somewhat Open	40
Somewhat Secretive	26
Very Secretive	14
Don't Know/Other	4

How about your state government? Is it is very open, somewhat open, somewhat secretive or very secretive?

Very Open	10
Somewhat Open	40
Somewhat Secretive	30
Very Secretive	14
Don't Know/Other	6

How about the federal government based in Washington, D.C.?

Very Open	4
Somewhat Open	16
Somewhat Secretive	30
Very Secretive	44
Don't Kknow/Other	6

How likely do you think it is that the federal government has opened mail or monitored telephone conversations of people in the U.S. without first getting permission from a federal judge? Is it very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely or very unlikely that the federal government has done these things without permission from a judge?

Very Likely	48
Somewhat Likely	29
Somewhat Unlikely	7
Very Unlikely	9
Don't Know/Other	7

How likely do you think it is that the federal government has opened your mail or monitored some of your telephone conversations?

Very Likely	11
Somewhat Likely	15
Somewhat Unlikely	17
Very Unlikely	47
Don't Kknow/Other	10

How likely it is that the federal government has opened mail or monitored telephone conversations involving members of the news media?

Very Likely	38
Somewhat Likely	26
Somewhat Unlikely	9
Very Unlikely	12
Don't know/Other	15

How important to you is a candidate's position on open government when you decide whom to vote for? So when you are voting for president, is a candidate's position on open government very important, somewhat important, somewhat unimportant or very unimportant to you?

Very Important	60
Somewhat Important	27
Somewhat Unimportant	6
Very Unimportant	4
Don't Know/Other	3

How about when voting for a member of Congress. Is open government very important, somewhat important, somewhat unimportant or very unimportant to you?

Very Important	60
Somewhat Important	28
Somewhat Unimportant	4
Very Unimportant	2
Don't Know/Other	6

How about when voting for a candidate for state office like governor or attorney general?

Very Important	64
Somewhat Important	28
Somewhat Unimportant	4
Very Unimportant	3
Don't know/Other	1

How about when voting for your city council or school board?

Very Important	69
Somewhat Important	22
Somewhat Unimportant	3
Very Unimportant	3
Don't Know/Other	3

Government records usually are considered public documents that people may view during normal business hours. Which of the following should be the government's policy when releasing government documents: First, that people should be required to show identification and give a written reason for seeing the documents? Or second, that people should be required to speak their names and say why they want to see the documents? Or third, that they should speak their names but not be required to give a reason why they want to see the documents? Or fourth, that they should give a reason but not give their names? Or fifth, that they should not be asked either their names or why they want to see the records?

Show ID and give written reason	36
Speak name and explain why	15
Speak name but not reason	12
Give reason but not give name	6
Should not give name or reason	22
Don't know/Other	9

Lawmakers at the local, state, and federal levels meet with a lot of different people over the course of a day such as lobbyists, voters, other government officials and campaign donors. They usually keep lists of those visitors. Do you think the public should be allowed to see with whom lawmakers meet?

Yes	82
No	11
Don't Know/Other	7

Just as with the question about access to public records, if people are allowed to see a lawmaker's list of visitors, should people have to identify themselves and state reasons why they want to see the lists?

Show ID and give written reason	42
Speak name and explain why	13
Speak name but not reason	9
Give reason but not give name	4
Should not give name or reason	26
Don't know/Other	6