journalism « Right to Know Coalition of Nova Scotia

the Wobbing Europe ‘wobsite’

by admin

Categories: Uncategorized

Tags: FOI, Freedom of Information Act, investigative journalism, journalism, Slang

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Published on: February 23, 2009

Wobbing Europe: Freedom of Information for good stories

Wobbing.eu aims to inspire and support journalists to use their right of freedom of information as a journalistic tool.
Wobbing.eu aims to build a network, where journalists who use freedom of information legislation can meet and exchange experiences.
Wobbing.eu aims to watch developments of freedom of information legislation in order to further stronger legislation useful for journalists.

Wobbing is a verb, it is Dutch journalist’s slang expression for Freedom of Information or Access to Documents legislation. It derives from the name of the Dutch and Flemish laws: Wet van Openbaarheid van Bestuur, which means Law about the Openness of the Administration.

Wobbing.eu is a trademark-protected name in the Benelux.

The Belgian Pascal Decroos Fund runs Wobbing Europe. The Pascal Decroos Fund is an independent Belgian-Flemish foundation working for special journalism and funded by the Flemish Government. It provides grants to journalists for investigative and special research projects, in print and audio-visual media in Dutch language in Belgium.
Pascal Decroos was a special journalist with special ideas. He was born in Ostend (Belgium) on 20 April 1964 and died in Brussels (Belgium) on 2 December 1997. Pascal Decroos is the exponent of a new generation of journalists. Someone with a passion for journalism and committed to the case of the weaker in our society. In the course of his professional career, Pascal Decroos earns himself the reputation of being a critical, inventive television journalist. His creed is: do not let yourself be carried along the stream of superficial news, but submerge. Do not content yourself with drawing the obvious conclusion, but investigate and probe until you find the truth.

Wobbing Europe, Editor Brigitte Alfter

The Pascal Decroos Fund for Investigative Journalism, Director Ides Debruyne

Rozenweg 4b
B-1731 Zellik
Belgium
Tel +32 2 705 59 19
fax +32 2 705 59 29
e-mail: ides.debruyne@fondspascaldecroos.org
www.wobbing.eu
Account number 422-8004971-11
IBAN: BE30 4228 0049 7111
KBC Bank NV BIC of SWIFT address: KREDBEBB
NATIONAAL NUMMER 463312580

http://www.wobbing.eu/

CBC’s Nora Young interviews Rahaf Harfoush on government transparency

by admin

Categories: Uncategorized

Tags: Barack Obama presidential campaign 2008, Canada, CBC, journalism, MP3, New media, Nora Young, Ottawa, Rahaf Harfoush, Spark

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Published on: February 16, 2009

Nora Young – Image by SparkCBC via Flickr

Full interview: Rahaf Harfoush on government transparency

As transparency and two-way communication become the norm in business, media, and journalism, why has so much of what’s happened in Ottawa recently taken place behind closed doors? Is there something Canada can learn from the transparency of the Obama campaign and transition in the US?

This week, Nora interviewed Rahaf Harfoush. Rahaf is a new media strategist, and she worked as a full-time volunteer on the Obama campaign’s new media program. A shorter version of this interview airs on Spark 57, but you can hear the full, uncut interview below, or download the MP3.

Rahaf Harfoush – Posted by Dan Misener under Uncategorized

Governments in Canada playing games with public’s right to know

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Categories: Uncategorized

Tags: Canada, Canadian Newspaper Association, Freedom of Information, Halifax, Halifax Regional Police, journalism, Right to Information Act

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Published on: January 22, 2009

Image by myrcell via FlickrFreedom of information
Governments in Canada playing games with public’s right to know
By FRED VALLANCE-JONES
Thu. Jan 22 – 6:25 AM

Canadians looking for a thrill have a new game to play. It’s called freedom of information roulette and it’s playing at a government near you.

Depending on which government you ask, you can get information on police use of Tasers, what bureaucrats are telling ministers about a carbon tax, and how much your city pays to different vendors for goods and services.

Or you can’t.

The latest Canadian Newspaper Association audit of government openness found that access to important information varies dramatically across Canada. When we sent identical requests for the same information, the responses ranged from quick release outside formal channels all the way to enormous fee demands nobody could reasonably be expected to pay.

And that’s a problem for us all because when the door to basic information is locked, we’re on the way to closing the door on democracy.

FULL ARTICLE

post #49

by admin

Categories: Uncategorized

Tags: CBC, investigative journalism, journalism, Tony Burman

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Published on: June 1, 2007

On CBC online, Tony Burman has started off a new blog called CBC Inside Media. The starting post from him is called ‘How do we protect the crucial role of investigative journalism?‘ Tony is currently ‘Editor in Chief of CBC News — which includes news, current affairs and Newsworld. He is CBC’s chief journalist, in charge of editorial content on radio, television and the internet’.

I have included a comment Darce posted to Tony’s first blog entry on investigative journalism below.

Cheers,

Greg Pemberton

RTKNS Web Admin

Tony, more journalists have to be aware that an important tool for
investigative journalism is freedom of information legisation. Yet during 11 years as the information commissioner for Nova Scotia I noted how few journalists use the Act. This means that governments (all 14 of our
governments have freedom of information legisation)feel little pressure from journalists to live up to their obligations to be as open and accountable as the law requires.

This is one of the reasons I decided,on my retirement, that Nova
Scotia should have a Right to Know Coalition. With the help and encouragement of a dedicated group of volunteers we now have one. Among the things we do is offer journalists training in how best to use freedom of information legislation. We offer assistance as well to individual journalists in making applications for information and, if
necessary, to prepare appeals. Those who use the freedom of information act know how frustrating it can be. But there is a lot of evidence it can also be rewarding.

I recommend all newsrooms put Alasdair Roberts’ “BLACKED OUT -
Government Secrecy in the Information Age” within easy reach of all their journalists.

Catch our website: www.nsrighttoknow.ca

Darce Fardy

Posted May 31, 2007 09:17 AM

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