Press Releases

101 Organizations Urge Bringing OPEN Government Act to Senate Floor

Contact: Patrice McDermott, (202) 332-6736 May 17, 2007 – Today, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell received a letter signed by 101 organizations urging them to support   Read Full

May 17, 2007

Second Annual National Event Will Explore Government Secrecy and Openness

Contact: Emily Feldman or Patrice McDermott, (202) 332-6736 Closed Doors; Open Democracies? A national dialogue with government openness experts Join Ira Flatow, host and executive producer of NPR’s Science Friday,   Read Full

March 21, 2007

DVD on Government Secrecy Conference Released

Contact: Patrice McDermott or Emily Feldman, 202-332-6736 A DVD examining the issues of government secrecy is now available for purchase on the Special Library Association (SLA) website for the cost   Read Full

September 28, 2006

Secrecy Report Card 2006: Report Finds Federal Government Still More Secretive

Contact: Emily Feldman or Patrice McDermott, 202-332-6736 View the Secrecy Report Card Government secrecy saw further expansion last year despite growing public concern, according to a report released today by   Read Full

August 30, 2006

Agency Responses to President’s Call for FOIA Improvement Do Not Disclose Much, Report Shows

Contact: Patrice McDermott, 202-332-6736 View the report July 3, 2006 In recognition of the 40th anniversary of FOIA, members and staff of OpenTheGovernment.org, the Sunshine in Government Initiative (SGI), Coalition   Read Full

July 3, 2006

Post Katrina-Related Contracts Online, Groups Tell Bush

December 15, 2005 — Contact: Emily Feldman, 202-332-6736 View the letter More than 50 organizations, including civil liberties, media, library, and environmental groups, sent a letter to President Bush urging   Read Full

December 15, 2005

Secrecy Report Card 2005: Government Secrecy Grows, Few Controls

September 1, 2005 — Contact: Patrice McDermott, 202-332-6736 View the Secrecy Report Card 2005 See Representative Shays’ statement   Government agencies are expanding secrecy in many areas, according to the   Read Full

September 2, 2005

MEDIA ALERT: Media Call for Release of 2005 Secrecy Report Card

OpenTheGovernment.org will hold a conference call for reporters and editorial board members for the release of its second annual Secrecy Report Card on Thursday, Sep. 1, 2005 at 12:30ET. This   Read Full

September 1, 2005

The Federal Government Keeps More Secrets for Longer, New Data Shows

The federal government set a new record for keeping secrets in 2004, during which government employees chose to classify information a record 15.6 million times, according to new government figures   Read Full

April 5, 2005

OpenTheGovernment.org Lauds Journalists Celebrating Sunshine Week, Places Ads Online

Washington, DC – The OpenTheGovernment.org coalition applauds journalists across the country who are taking part in Sunshine Week, the first national effort by journalists to focus attention on the importance   Read Full

March 17, 2005