Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Thoughts on Free Press and Public Records

So I was perusing The Post's website just a few minutes ago in between some work and stumbled upon this kicker in their editorial (I am assuming for Thursday's paper).

"The board wants to put on a public mask that hides the sometimes-ugly realities of running a university. It expects students and taxpayers to believe that this board and the administrators it hires are the arbiters of good decisions, and it refuses to answer to those who question that authority.

But we should have seen this coming. The writing was on the wall in July, when The Athens News reported that C. Daniel DeLawder, the board chairman, opposed a records request The Post filed.

The News reported that DeLawder wrote this in an e-mail: “This is a very sore subject for me, and perhaps it’s time we started pushing back. And I am quite serious; I am even unsure that we should provide the next document without a fight. It sickens me to think of the waste and unproductive time being spent in the name of open records and freedom of the press.”"


NOTE: bold added by myself for emphasis.

Full article here.

Looks like something we, as an SPJ chapter, should be looking into...

What kinds of implications does this have on the media in the area? What kind of legal implications could this have on the university?

Should prove to be fodder for some good group discussions.

Evan

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