From the Burlington Times-News (3/1/13): A group of Republican lawmakers wants governments across North Carolina to get serious about transparency. They have filed a bill that, if passed, will make if a crime to be secretive about the public’s business.
Excellent. Thanks very much. We need all the help we can get.
Indeed, it’s not a surprise at all that the Times-News and our colleagues in the media support this bill. Our job, protected by the First Amendment, is to serve as the watchdog of government and to report our findings so that the public is kept informed. Most don’t have the time in their daily lives to monitor government themselves. They count on reporters, photographers and editors to do so via print, the internet and TV.
But government transparency isn’t only about media access. It’s about the public’s right to know about government, too.