The George W. Bush administration has been noteworthy for its attitude toward exercising executive power without regard for the other branches of United States of America government, or to the US people as a whole. The management and use of information is a key component of the Bush style of governing. The Bush team's information policy is three-fold. First, it involves careful control of access to information - access by the general public, access by the Legislative Branch, and even access by members of the Executive Branch itself. Second, the policy involves gathering information on individuals without their knowledge or consent. This is done in the name of fighting the war on terror. The far-ranging warrantless surveillance of telephone and Internet communications by the National Security Agency is the most glaring example of this program of personal information harvesting. Third, Bush's information policy involves manipulating public information for clearly partisan political ends. This is exemplified in the production and distribution with White House oversight of 'video news releases' by federal agencies to private broadcasting organizations. These videos present administration positions on matters such as health care, social security and education as if they were independently and objectively produced by broadcast journalists.
While it can be said that most American executive administrations engage in information politics, it is generally agreed that Bush's engagement is particularly aggressive. What accounts for this and what does it mean for American information professionals, and indeed, for American democracy itself?
The speaker: Tom is Senior Curator at the National Broadcasting Archives at the University of Maryland. He is an adjunct professor in the University of Maryland's College of Information Studies where he teaches a course on Visual and Sound Materials. He served on the national Council of the Society of American Archivists from 2000 to 2003. He is a founder and co-chair of SAA's International Archival Affairs Roundtable. In 2006 he was named a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists. He is also active in the International Council on Archives (ICA), currently serving on its Executive Board and Management Commission and as coordinator of ICA's North American branch.
Enquiries: Maggie Shapley 6125 9602 maggie.shapley@anu.edu.au