Tennessee Sunshine Week editorial roundup

For release Sunday editions, March 13, and thereafter

This may be reprinted by non-Associated Press members ONLY with credit to the Associated Press and attribution to the original source of the editorial.

The following is a roundup of editorials from Tennessee members of The Associated Press. In some cases, the editorials have been edited for length. They represent the opinions of the newspapers from which they are taken.

Chattanooga Free Press

" ... government of the people, by the people, for the people ..."

Most people may recognize those words as being from President Abraham Lincoln's famed Gettysburg address. They express the ideal of American government -- that "the people" rule.

When candidates for public office run, they appeal to "the people" and seek "the will of the people" and pledge to serve the interests of "the people." But it is amazing how many officials, once in office, seem to take an attitude that they "own" the office and "the people" are "outsiders" who may enter the office only at the sufferance of the officeholders.

We were reminded of that recently when a survey of Tennessee offices was made by this newspaper and others, to determine how freely -- or unfreely -- citizens could get access to "public" records.

Many officials simply did not know or understand the rights of the people to inquire of public records for public information, or were unwilling to "let the sun shine in," throwing up roadblocks _ "Who are you?" "Show me your ID!" "Why do you want this information?" "What right do you have to ask?" Etc.

Well, for those who don't know and for those who may know but not like it, this is what the Tennessee Constitution says in its Declaration of Rights about freedom of speech and press:

"That the printing presses shall be free to every person to examine the proceedings of the Legislature; or of any branch or officer of the government, and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof."

That's so we may have informed "government of the people, by the people, for the people." In other words, government business may not be done in the dark, behind closed doors, in smoke-filled rooms, with records locked up from public view ...

It has been aptly said that neither the making of laws nor the making of sausage is an exercise to be viewed by those with queasy stomachs. But while we may forgo the viewing of sausage-making, we should steel ourselves to watch our laws and other public decisions being made.

Whether the process is "pretty" or not, it's "our" business _ "government of the people, by the people and for the people" _ and the officials who make the decisions are "servants" of the people, not their masters. They should "let the sun shine in."

___

The Daily Herald (Columbia)

Perhaps the question that most citizens ask when they read stories about open records and government is: "Why should I care?"

For those who fight for openness and accountability who are often on the receiving end of such a query there is seldom a quick and ready answer. It is akin to asking "Why is air necessary?" ...

Secrecy seems to be more in vogue now more than anytime since World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. Our government, which derives its "just powers from the consent of the governed," has taken the position that it is here to take care of us, and we should not worry ourselves with the details.

We are sure they have our best intentions at heart, but as the wise have pointed out, this is precisely the construction material favored on Hell's highway.

And the secrecy is not limited to our national leaders. In recent years, the disturbing trend has exhibited itself in our state and local offices:

_A judge ruled that Tennessee's Open Records Law doesn't apply to state legislators.

_A Maury County Commissioner expressed outrage that the newspaper would print how he voted on a particular matter.

_Another commissioner wanted to outlaw criticism of county officials at public meetings.

_Our school board failed to give adequate public notice of a meeting where a controversial decision involving hundreds of families was made, resulting in a lawsuit.

_We believe many of our government bodies regularly abuse the executive session privilege, discussing and deciding many important public issues behind closed doors.

If such stories do not scare you, then you lack imagination.

It is our responsibility as citizens to watch those we have placed in charge, to bind down their mischief, as Thomas Jefferson put it. But to do that we must have information and must force our officials to conduct our business in the light of day. ...

There is some hope. Thanks to a recent audit by the Tennessee Coalition on Open Government -- a network of news organizations and citizens dedicated to the preservation and expansion of the state's freedom of information laws -- there has been a renewed interest in citizens' right to public records.

New laws are slowly making their way through the legislature which may aid Tennesseans in our quest for a more open and accountable government. With a bit of persistence and the cooperation of our leaders, the sun may once again shine on Tennessee.

___

The Tennessean (Nashville)

Here's a confession: This editorial is part of a vast media conspiracy.

Today is Sunshine Sunday -- a designation that doesn't appear on most calendars, isn't a national holiday, and isn't widely known outside media circles. This editorial and others like it published in newspapers across the nation are blatant attempts to push the media-created Sunshine Sunday up on the nation's agenda.

Sunshine Sunday was created to draw public attention to the issue of freedom of information. The first Sunshine Sunday was declared in Florida in 2001 when newspapers across that state agreed to publish editorials and articles on government openness on the same day -- the Sunday prior to James Madison's birthday.

This year, a coalition of media associations, including the American Society of Newspaper Editors, is spearheading the effort to make Sunshine Sunday a national event, and to extend it over a week to give it more public exposure.

One of the perpetual problems with newspaper efforts to champion government openness is that those efforts are perceived as self-serving: The media need access to meetings and access to records in order to do their jobs.

But freedom of information belongs to the public, not to the media. Most citizens don't have the time or inclination to pore through court documents or campaign financial disclosures. They rely on journalists to do the digging and provide the news. But public meetings and public records cover all citizens, not just journalists.

Over the last three years, this nation's foreign policy has focused tightly on spreading democracy to other parts of the world. While there has been vitriolic debate over the best way to achieve that goal, the goal itself has enjoyed near unanimous support.

But democracy is simply government guided by the will of the people. Without freedom of information -- public access to meetings where decisions are made, public access to documents that concern spending of tax money or public policy -- democracy cannot exist. To that end, the fight for government openness is a fight for basic democracy.

This fight will never end. It continues to be waged in city halls, courthouses, sheriff departments and state legislatures all across the nation. Just over the last few months, this newspaper and others had to go to court to get access to TennCare records. The Tennessean had to fight to get access to records of the Sept. 2003 nursing home fire in Nashville. In a statewide public records audit conducted last November by the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, requests for 356 public records yielded 117 denials.

Through the years, this newspaper, like many others, has encountered public officials who say they are committed to openness, but conduct public business behind closed doors. Some of them truly don't know that state law requires most public business to be conducted in open. Some of them are familiar with legal requirements, but argue that the business they are conducting is exempted.

Some of them offer the sorry explanation that it's easier to reach consensus behind closed doors.

But closed doors only invite tyranny and breed public suspicion. Freedom of information, on the other hand, gives citizens the tools they need to make informed decisions.

Whether the documents concern TennCare, or a senator's consulting contract, or the facts behind a nursing home fire, or the vice president's energy task force, they belong to the public. On this first national Sunshine Sunday, citizens should demand full access to the documents, for democracy's sake.

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The Knoxville News Sentinel

Sunshine, in journalistic terms, is not necessarily about solar power but openness: casting light on public meetings and records that in ways large and small affect all of the state's citizens.

Tennessee has good -- not great -- laws regarding open meetings and open records of government agencies. However, there are loopholes and weaknesses in the law.

Some examples:

_As an audit in November by the Tennessee Coalition on Open Government revealed, there is a crying need to educate public officials on the basic content of the laws, and there is a need for constant vigilance on the part of the press.

The audit found that 40 percent of the state's school districts refused to release information concerning school safety reports, and 45 percent of the state's county sheriff's would not release or produce basic information about crimes in their jurisdiction.

_The state Supreme Court reviewed Tennessee's laws and found more than 230 public records have been exempted from disclosure by the Legislature and courts since the public records act was initially passed almost 50 years ago. The court said that eight new exemptions are proposed each year.

_According to the coalition, the Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Better Government Association rate Tennessee's public records and open meetings laws the sixth worst among the 50 states and District of Columbia.

The primary reason for the negative ranking centers on the weak enforcement of the law: The only way to have it enforced is to sue those who do not comply, something the average citizen does not have the money or the time to do.

At the same time, there was a positive development.

The Tennessee Supreme Court in January issued guidelines that limit when judges should rule civil court documents be kept confidential. Currently, there are no written guidelines when judges may seal documents.

Those guidelines were under review by the Legislature, which must approve them to become effective by July 1, but were withdrawn last week after lawyers complained the guidelines could have an adverse effect on out-of-court settlements.

However, we agree with the coalition's Frank Gibson: The positive development fell victim to lobbying pressure in the Legislature, and the public's right to know outweighs whether the guidelines might reduce the number of cases settled out of court.

We urge the court not to abandon the guidelines and send them back to the lawmakers as soon as possible.

Yes, this is a media issue, but it is much more than that. It is the right of citizens in this nation to know what its government is doing in the broadest as well as the most specific sense. Anything short of that imperils our freedom and contradicts the foundations of our democracy.

_AP-CS-03-10-05 2202EST

Chattanooga Times

Media groups, supported by a broad coalition of citizens who instinctively understand the need and value of transparency in government, have declared the next seven days to be Sunshine Week.

The official designation and the educational campaign that springs from it are designed to make Americans aware of the increasing propensity of government at every level to choose secrecy over openness and to hide rather than share information that is essential to the fair and efficient operation of democratic institutions.

Sunshine Week is not an exercise in the abstract. It is a call to the public to demand accountability from elected and other public officials. It also is a reminder that the creeping tide of secrecy violates long-established federal law -- the 38-year-old Freedom of Information Act that is popularly known by its initials or as a "sunshine law."

The shame is that such an awareness campaign is needed at all.

The FOIA requires the federal government to share information, documents and material with the public, with understandable exceptions for items related to national security or to information that might violate the privacy of individuals or businesses.

States have public records laws as well. Most are based on federal statues. All have worked relatively well over the years, even when the inherent conflict between the media and public and the keepers of the nation's secrets sometimes has led to confrontation before the requirements of the act were met.

That uneasy but serviceable relationship is a thing of the past.

Since the terrorist attacks of 2001, federal and state governments increasingly have restricted information through general practice and by proposing new legislation designed to tighten controls on public access to records.

There is, of course, a need to prevent dissemination of information truly related to national security. It is not necessary, however, to use that as an excuse to broadly shut off the flow of records to a public that needs and is entitled to information for personal use or to assist their communities.

In this matter, the Bush administration is at odds with the public. It prefers overkill and has made no effort to seek a sensible balance between the need to protect the nation and the open government required by the FOIA.

Simply put, current federal practice is to routinely deny disclosure unless pressed by the media or required by law to do otherwise. That contrasts sharply and sadly with the Clinton administration's stated rule that encouraged "maximum responsible disclosure" in matters relating to open records requests. ...

The growing tendency of government to protect itself at the public's expense is pernicious. Sunshine Week is a positive and powerful reminder that government operates most efficiently and that citizens are best served when sunshine, not the darkness imposed by secrecy and censorship, is not the exception but the rule.

___

Bristol Herald Courier

This is America. We take it on faith that our government operates in the light, not in some shadowy netherworld.

When we ask the questions, we expect answers. And, the law _ specifically the Freedom of Information Act -- backs us up.

That's the ideal. Reality is a bit different.

How different? As part of a nationwide project dubbed "Sunshine Week," we sent four reporters and an editor to ask for public records in Bristol, Va.; Bristol, Tenn.; Sullivan County, Tenn.; and Washington County, Va. The results were decidedly mixed.

Our staffers were questioned, sometimes pointedly; asked to fork over hefty "deposits" in exchange for records; stonewalled and made to wait for days. One even had a mini-background check performed on him.

Some of the grillings made our professional news gatherers uncomfortable. In the case of average city or county residents, such treatment could deter all but the most determined community activists from seeking public records. If the bar is set high enough, most folks will get discouraged and won't even try to make the jump over it. It's not too far-fetched to assume some officials like it that way.

In our small survey, we made 16 requests for public information under the Freedom of Information Act. Six were acted on immediately; five were never met. The remaining five were honored, but only after hours or days passed and in some cases only after the people seeking the information identified themselves as members of the press.

We asked for police incident reports, a report on a fire call, police and sheriff's personnel records, a zero-tolerance report from a school system, an official's travel expenses and a legislative dinner bill. These aren't records that are in a gray area; they are clearly public under Virginia and Tennessee law. ...

Unfortunately, reporters and citizens, alike, can do little to punish those who break the law. The courts will sometimes force compliance, but battling it out in the courts is a costly and complicated remedy.

Our message to lawmakers: The Freedom of Information Act needs teeth; there should be sanctions for those who refuse to comply. Local officials don't get a pass here, either. Some clearly told us they used a double standard -- freely handing over information and documents to known news reporters and denying it to the general public. That's wrong. They're called "public records" for a reason.

_AP-CS-03-11-05 1610EST