Wobbing: it may not sound very serious, yet is an important investigative tool that every modern-day journalist should master.
The term ‘wobbing’ comes from the Dutch abbreviation WOB, short for Wet Openbaarheid van Bestuur or Freedom of Information Act. It refers to the activity of obtaining government documents through the Freedom of Information legislation.
“We need scrutiny of our administration”, says Danish journalist Brigitte Alfter, who was facilitating a workshop on wobbing the EU. And wobbing is the ideal tool to accomplish that goal. The most recent EU-related story that saw the light thanks to wobbing was an article on MEP’s who collected a daily allowance of 280 euros for a day of meetings, even though there were no meetings that day. “There were lots of rumours about this, but thanks to wobbing we now have the figures to back this story up. We can be very specific on how much money was collected by how many people”, says Alfter.
Specifically with regards to wobbing on the EU-level, Alfter advised the journalists present to take the cultural differences among EU officials into account: “You always have to think who you’re talking to and what country this person is from. Inside the EU, there are very different traditions when it comes to government transparency. Some people working for the EU don’t even know that something like the freedom of information law exists. Whereas a country like Sweden has a government transparency law that dates back to 1766.”
So how can you start wobbing yourself? It’s very easy, thanks to the new website wobbing.eu. There you can find all the details on the different procedures you have to follow to request government information, for the European Union as well as for all the different member states. The site, which was officially launched in October 2008, is an initiative of the Belgian Pascal Decroos Fund and can be consulted in English and Dutch.
Apart from a step-by-step guide to request government information, the website offers other useful tips and tricks, legal information, inspirational stories on wobbing and opportunities to network with other journalists. So, start wobbing today, because, as Brigitte Alfter rightly notes: “A lot of good stories are waiting for you.”
Posted in | 07.12.2008
By: Yannick Brusselmans
