In order to make sure that Sunshine Week, open meetings at all level of government, and timely access to state and federal documents for us all doesn't whiz past the Kos, borne along by the flood of Bibidiaries and the hoopla over the fact (yes, true fact) that Republicans are sick puppies -- apologies to puppies --here's
Yet Another Sunshine Week Editorial Wrapped Around an Editorial.
Because no matter what certain simpletons here say ("AP hates Obama, therefore, who cares about the federal government's own FOIA compliance statistics," or "Hey, maybe it was the retailer") this is all very important. There are great reporters, good reporters, and bad reporters. There are good print news outlets, so-so news outlets, and lousy news outlets.
In broadcast media, American operations don't do so well.
But that's no excuse. The overall comprehension level on Daily Kos about FOIA and open meetings issues is around an F. I can't fix it for you. I sat in on close to 1000 local government meetings in 10 years and I wrote them up. Don't leave it all to me, or my underpaid colleagues.
You can fix it for yourself by learning your state laws and going to places like the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press on the web and learning more about federal FOIA.
You can only fix it for yourself and your friends and associates. Stop complaining about Fox Noise being biased. It is. It's crap. Learn the laws and dig the stuff out yourself.
Start locally, because that's where it affects you most. In other words,
TAKE
CLOSED
GOVERNMENT
PERSONALLY
Below by Brian J. Hunhoff
Opinion Writer, Yankton County Observer
Brian Hunhoff is the opinion writer for the Yankton County Observer. This was the fifth in his 12-part series of 2014 editorials about open government. Hunhoff is a two-time winner of the Golden Quill award for editorial writing from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors.
Don’t take it personally?
That’s usually good advice, but today we urge the opposite reaction to all government bodies operating in the shadows, purposely avoiding public scrutiny and genuine transparency.
In other words, take closed government personally. Please!
Take it personally when a reporter is kicked out of a city council meeting so members can hold an illegal or unnecessary executive session.
Take it personally when public access to government records is refused, limited, or attached to excessive fees.
Take it personally when a judge jails a reporter for refusing to reveal a confidential source.
Take it personally when government fails to limit political contributions, and ignores ties of mutual benefit between private business and elected officials.
Take it personally when a governor issues secretive pardons.
Take it personally when a presidential administration works vigorously to identify and criminally prosecute government whistle-blowers.
Take all of this personally because it directly affects the quality and scope of government information you get from the press.
Wouldn’t it be great if more people understood a reporter’s exclusion from a meeting also excludes them, the general public, from learning details that are being hidden?
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone embraced the notion that government openness is an essential pillar of democracy?
Wouldn’t it be great if more people remembered the press serves as their eyes and ears in the halls of government?
Wouldn’t it be great if more people became aware that jailing journalists not only intimidates the press, but also chills the public’s right to know?
Wouldn’t it be great to see thousands of citizens press Congress to pass a federal shield law protecting reporters from being locked up for doing their job?
We love that scene in “Return of the King” when a resurgent monarch inspires his small army to stand against overwhelming odds by delivering a stirring cry to arms.
Wouldn’t it be great to see people everywhere show that kind of passion and unity in the fight for freedom of information and the battle against government secrecy? With apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien, that speech might go something like this:
“A day may come when the courage of men fails and our freedoms die; when speech and religion are governed; when we forsake our reporters and break all bonds of fellowship with the Fourth Estate … but it is not this day!
“There may come an hour of darkness, wolves and shattered shields that bring our First Amendment crashing down … but it is not this day!
“On this day, we battle for our Bill of Rights! This day, we join with journalists in the war against government secrecy, corruption, and waste.
“This day, the press and public stand … together! This day, we fight ... together!”
Wouldn’t that be great?