Eisen recited a number of Obama orders and initiatives designed to open government records to the public. He compared the effort to “turning a battleship,” and said the need was not just to announce “quick hits” but to “reset government policy” in the long-term.

In response to evaluations of Obama administration policy that say information disclosure practice is lagging behind policy, particularly in some large agencies such as the Treasury Department, Eisen said the focus more properly should “not be on failing to make the grade,” but rather on agencies that — while facing some difficulties — are “rising to the challenge.”

Although her office’s work focuses on making agency responses to Freedom of Information Act requests more responsive, Nisbet also called on journalists to help ensure that information kept — and disclosed — by government is accurate.

OGIS provides both a mediation service to help resolve disputes between those requesting information and agencies with the records, she said, and a training and education effort for staff assigned to responding to FOIA requests.

Clay said that, under various presidents, agencies were told that they would receive White House support for strategies to deny disclosure, while other administrations championed greater public access to records and files.