Abstract

Access to information (ATI) policies and legislations emerged globally from the need to enhance democratic systems, by allowing citizens to monitor political decisions and contribute to social change. However, ATI does not always play out in reality as it’s spelled out on paper. Brazil is one of the many countries that suffers from flawed access to information laws, with not-so-transparent documents being an all-too-common experience for requesters.
Fiquem Sabendo is an independent data agency that fights to hold the Brazilian ATI system to account. It is an organization committed to public transparency and, since 2019, has published 158 issues of the newsletter “Don’t LAI to me”, which includes “unpublished databases, news, tips and reports produced on or based on data obtained via ATI.”
Through a detailed a thematic analysis of 147 issues of the newsletter, this research project sought to observe whether it fulfills the journalistic role of “the watchdog,” and what other theoretical roles of journalism are expressed in its content. The research also examines the tools the newsletter provides citizens to help others access public resources and information in an autonomous way. One research goal is to answer the question of how the newsletter mobilizes key concepts in access to information legislation, like “human rights,” “transparency,” and “objectivity.” Overall, the driving goal of this research is to increase awareness about the LAI in Brazil and to add to discussions in the field, highlighting barriers and opportunities for improvement in information dissemination through the lens of journalism.