Sunshine Week survey
finds concern about
secrecy, government access

WASHINGTON » A new survey conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs on behalf of Sunshine Week shows that seven out of 10 Americans are concerned about government secrecy, and more than half think there's not enough access to government records.

Undertaken in conjunction with Sunshine Week, March 13-19, a nationwide, multi-media initiative to spark public dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information, the survey repeated several questions asked in a 2000 poll, providing a benchmark in public attitudes on these issues.

The response on the secrecy question was virtually unchanged from the earlier survey, suggesting that Americans remain troubled by government secrecy even in the face of their heightened national security concerns following 9/11.

In the new survey, 35 per cent said they were "very concerned" about government secrecy; the same percentage said they were "somewhat concerned." In the 2000 poll, 38 percent of respondents said they were "very concerned," and 34 percent were "somewhat concerned."

Significantly, more people (68 percent) in the new survey said they felt public access to government records is "crucial to the functioning of good government." In the 2000 poll, 60 percent answered similarly.

"We were surprised to see that there was little change in public thinking on secrecy after the attacks of 9/11," noted Andy Alexander, chairman of the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Freedom of Information Committee and Washington bureau chief for Cox Newspapers.

"With the ongoing war and continuing concerns about terrorism, you might think that people would be more tolerant of government's tightening control of information, but these results suggest that's not the case. The survey indicates people are not only concerned about secrecy but also recognize the importance of access to information about their government," Alexander added.

Despite their concerns about government secrecy and access to information, almost four in 10 of the adults surveyed in 2005 (39 percent) said they had heard nothing in the news lately about "freedom of information" or "sunshine laws." Nevertheless, six in 10 adults (61 percent) said they'd heard at least something about the issue.

"These numbers show us that although people are concerned about access to government information, they may not be as aware of the specific laws that protect that right," Alexander explained. "We hope that the critical mass of news, opinion and programs about FOI during Sunshine Week will help spark public discussion and raise that awareness."

Other results from the survey include:

More than half (52 percent) of respondents said there is "too little" access to government records, compared to only a third (36 percent) who believe the amount of access is "just about right" and only 6 percent who think there is "too much" access. In 2000, 48 percent said "too little"; 30 percent, "just about right"; and 7 percent, "too much" access.

Although nearly half of Americans (48 percent) said there is "too little" access to government meetings and hearings, a close 42 percent believe the amount of access is "just right" and 5 percent think there is "too much" access to these events. In the 2000 survey, 45 percent thought there was "too little" access, 38 percent said "just right" and 5 percent responded "too much."

When it comes to court records, however, fully half of adults (50 percent) said the amount of access to court records is "just about right" while only a third (33 percent) said there is "too little," and just 9 percent responded that there is "too much" access to court records. In 2000, 45 percent of adults said there was "too little" access to court records, 32 percent said it was "just right" and 7 percent thought there was "too much."

The number of people who requested records from a government agency jumped 10 percentage points from 2000 to 2005, to 30 percent. Most of those requests in 2005 were from local government (24 percent), followed closely by state government (21 percent) and only 10 percent from the federal government. The 2000 report found only 13 percent who had requested records from a local government agency, 7 percent from the state and only 3 percent from the federal government. Nevertheless, more people have not requested records from a government agency -- 69 percent in 2005, 80 percent in 2000.

An encouraging note is that among those who had requested a government document or record, two-thirds (65 percent) had a good experience; only 20 percent reported a bad experience.