“This situation has the alarming potential to evolve into a propaganda regime over time, requiring urgent attention.”
Press officers, once allies in the public’s right to know, are increasingly seen by UK journalists as barriers to transparency.
A study carried out by lecturer Jingrong Tong at the School of Journalism, Media and Communication at the University of Sheffield, identified a worrying rise in barriers to accessing public information in the UK.
The research involved a series of interviews with journalists across the UK. It was published in the academic journal Journalism Practice.
While participants acknowledged that they enjoy a level of press freedom far beyond that of journalists in more repressive regimes, all 31 expressed growing concern over the increasing difficulty of accessing information, particularly through Freedom of Information (FoI) requests. According to the study, nearly half of all FoI requests are now rejected, and those that are not, are often subject to lengthy delays, rejections, and obstructions, which threatens to undermine journalistic scrutiny of those in power.
“The amount of organisations who break the time limit is just par for the course now,” said one of the interviewed journalists, adding: “Even 15 years ago you could put an FOI request in, put a note in your diary that says you’ll get it back by 20 days on Thursday, and you could plan to do a story then. Now you cannot.”
The journalists reported that exemptions such as data protection and commercial confidentiality are routinely used to withhold information, often inconsistently. One authority may release information that another rejects under identical circumstances, suggesting a lack of clear standards and potential misuse of exemption clauses.
The study highlights a cultural shift within public bodies and government departments, where the attitude towards media inquiries has become defensive and opaque. Many journalists interviewed believe that institutions are no longer trying to assist them in accessing information but are instead actively working to prevent it to protect the reputation of their organisations
This trend has been exacerbated by the centralisation of government communications, particularly through press offices. What was once a collaborative relationship has, in many cases, become adversarial.
“Unfortunately, we have seen at the very centre of government in Downing Street and the cabinet office, that they’ve taken a very proactive approach to preventing information,” said one senior figure at a national newspaper.
An editor of a regional newspaper described the deterioration in relations with police.
They explained that when their parent was a journalist “you would go around to the local police station and ask police officers… what was going on in your city that day”, but journalists are now shepherded to press officers who are “incredibly protective of the information that they hold.”
Tong’s research points to several causes behind the increasing restrictions. A lack of resources, especially within local councils, was frequently cited. Additionally, public institutions appear motivated by a desire to avoid controversy or backlash, fearing that transparency could lead to negative media coverage.
In her conclusion, Tong warns of the broader implications for democracy:
“Without good access to information from public bodies, journalists cannot properly do their job to serve democracy. Increasingly restricted information access is not direct media control or censorship, but it is subtle and embedded in everyday journalistic practices.
“This would result in the alignment of official agendas and discourse of events with those of the media, suppressing critical voices and concealing the secrets of governments or powerful individuals.
“This situation has the alarming potential to evolve into a propaganda regime over time, requiring urgent attention.”
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