By: SHARON THEIMER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — As part of Sunshine Week, when news organizations highlight the importance of government openness, the nation’s new Freedom of Information Act ombudsman, Miriam Nisbet, took part in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

Nisbet heads the new U.S. Office of Government Information Services, which was created to help people who encounter obstacles using FOIA. Here are some questions and answers from the interview Friday:

Q: Why is this important to the average citizen, someone who doesn’t work for a newspaper?

A: “If people are going to know how their government is operating, what they are doing that affects them, what they are doing on behalf of the people, they have to be able to see the records that reflect that. The documents that are being created, the data that are being produced. Particularly, you look at huge government programs and all the data that come out of that. Those data belong to the people, and they should have a right to see them and then do with them what they want.”

Q: Why is it even after the president issued a directive to presume that information is public, that they’re still dragging their feet, the message is not getting to the agencies?

A: “You have to have people at the very top, people in leadership positions who not only are believing it and saying it and doing it but who are themselves accountable and who are willing to be accountable if it doesn’t work. There’s really got to be a culture change and that’s just something that doesn’t happen overnight.”