Journalist files FOI request for Obama's Game of Thrones advanced screeners
A new season of Game of Thrones is just days away. For a year now, fans of the HBO series have been on tenterhooks — desperate to learn whether the series' beloved character, Jon Snow, is alive or dead. His fate has been a fiercely-guarded secret, with little to no information escaping beyond the network's studio walls. With one notable exception, that is: the White House.
President Barack Obama asked for advanced copies of the show. And what the American President asks, he generally receives.
New-York-based journalist Vanessa Golembewski saw that presidential privilege as an opportunity. She filed a freedom of information request to get her hands on Mr. Obama's copy of the show.
Ms. Golembewski is a writer for the website Refinery29. Here's some of what she shared with As it Happens host Carol Off, during an interview from New York City.
Carol Off: Vanessa, why does it bother you that Barack Obama gets to see Game of Thrones first?
Vanessa Golembewski: Well, I don't know that it necessarily bothers me. But I thought it would be an interesting way to test just how the Freedom of Information Act could work. I kind of said it as a joke to my coworkers, you know, when we learned that he was getting the screeners, and no one else was. And then i thought, "Well, let's just try it — let's see what happens." There are so many huge secrets around the show this season that they don't want to risk any leaks.
CO: What are the big secrets that you think might be revealed in Season 6?
VG: Well, I think that the question on everyone's mind is what's going on with Jon Snow.You know, it's been a huge point of speculation for months now, to the point where people look at Kit Harrington's hair, and they think, "Oh! He didn't cut it, so that means he's still alive or" —
CO: Oh, really? So people see the see the actors in real life, and speculate as to what's going to happen to their character in Game of Thrones?
VG: Yeah.
CO: Oh dear. Now how is your freedom of information request going?
VG: I checked today, and it still says "submitted", which is this the first stage. And some of my more political reporting friends have advised me that they're still waiting on requests from 2014, but that sometimes, when a request is very easily dismissed — like, "there's no way we're going to give it to you" — they'll get a notification right away. So I'm not sure how long it will take. Maybe we'll never know. But yeah, as of right now — still waiting.
The only reason that they can really expedite it is if someone is in physical danger, or if someone is in danger of losing their due process in court, or some civil right. So I responded, 'This is timely. Jon Snow may be dead. We need to know that.'- Vanessa Golembewski
CO: But wait a second. I mean, I'm sure the Freedom of Information requests are like those in Canada — there are limited reasons for not giving you the information. I guess the threat of national security would be one of them, [but] what are the possible reasons why they could turn you down?
VG: Yeah, that's exactly it. I think there are nine exemptions for information that could not be released to the public. I unknowingly stumbled upon a gray area in the Freedom of Information Act, because the White House — from what i understand — is exempt from from these things. The president isn't necessarily subject to them. But then I file to the General Administration, and technically, Obama has received a gift...I dunno. It's all very complicated. I don't think that there is a real reason why they wouldn't give it to me. I think the heart of my request was just a fun thing. There's a field that says "Is this timely? Is there a reason that your request should be expedited?"
CO: Timely?! It's an issue of life and death!
VG: Yeah, exactly. The only reason that they can really expedite it is if someone is in physical danger, or if someone is in danger of losing their due process in court, or some civil right. So I responded, "This is timely. Jon Snow may be dead. We need to know that."
Imagine being the person wading through all those FOIA requests, and coming upon a request for Jon Snow. Maybe it made someone laugh.- Vanessa Golembewski
CO: Did you actually put that on the form?
VG: Yes I did. It was really just a fun exercise. Imagine being the person wading through all those FOIA requests, and coming upon a request for Jon Snow. Maybe it made someone laugh.
CO: What's your theory? Dead or alive, Jon Snow?
VG: My theory is that Jon Snow is probably animated in some way — walking around — but not fully human.
CO: This is for sure you speculating. You're not spoiling anything here are you?
VG: This is pure speculation, based on having just finished Season 6 of The Walking Dead. All zombies.
Season 6 of Game of Thrones debuts on HBO this Sunday (April 24th), at 9 PM.
For more on Vanessa Golembewski's FOI request, take a listen to our full interview.