Open government and access to records is important for all citizens — including students, said Steve Smith, University of Idaho School of Journalism and Mass Media lecturer.
Wednesday’s symposium, titled “Open Access: Citizens, Media and Government,” centered on this theme.
Betsy Russell, Boise bureau chief for the Spokesman-Review, said America’s democratic form of government would not work without openness in government.
“When we elect people to office, we need to know if the way they’re representing us is what we want,” Russell said. “We can’t honestly and effectively do that unless we know what’s going on in our government, and that’s what openness in government is all about.”
She said representatives who forget about the interests of their constituents turn democracy into oligarchy.
The symposium included a documentary film titled “Fighting Goliath: Megaloads and the Power of Protest” created by JAMM seniors, Hans Guske and Ilya Pinchuck.
The film followed Idaho residents Borg Hendrickson and Linwood Laughy in their battle to stop the Idaho Transportation Department from moving oversized oil refinery equipment up Highway 12 from the Port of Lewiston to Billings, Mont., and hold the state government accountable for informing the public of the project’s details.
Guske, film director and editor, said a misconception is that the documentary is specifically about megaloads.
“(The film) is not about megaloads coming through town,” Guske said. “We tried to make it as objective as possible while focusing on the fact that ITD was not following its own regulations as far as public information and permitting over-legal size loads.”
In the documentary, Hendrickson and Laughy said they found many inconsistencies in ITD’s regulations. For example, ITD said the megaloads were supposed to be required to pull over every 15 minutes to let traffic pass. Hendrickson said there weren’t enough pullouts along Highway 12.
A panel discussion, titled “In the Sunshine: Holding Government Accountable,” followed the documentary and centered on the issue of public access. Panel participants included Hendrickson, Laughy, Russell and William Spence, reporter for the Lewiston Tribune. Smith served as the panel’s moderator.
The panel focused on laws that promote access to government documents, such as the Freedom of Information Act on the federal level, and the Idaho Open Meeting and Idaho Public Records laws at the state level.
Russell said the Idaho Open Meeting Law states that whenever a governing agency is holding a meeting, the public is allowed to be there.
“It is still a law that states very clearly that every public record in this state is open unless a specific exemption says it’s not,” Russell said. “There are actually a number of states that have far more exemptions than we do.”
Smith said the government is less and less open due to these exemptions.
“They (exemptions) provide government officials, elected politicians and bureaucrats a place to go when they want to withhold information,” Smith said. “Some of it’s driven by privacy concerns, and some of it’s driven by just the self-interest of the government.”
Last in the series of events was a lecture by Russell titled “Open Government: Why it Matters.”
Russell focused on the aforementioned Idaho state laws that guarantee an open government. She cited specific local examples where citizens used these laws to hold government officials liable.
Russell talked about the action UI took to release former assistant professor Ernesto Bustamante’s personnel records.
“Now, there is an exemption for personnel records of a state employee or public official — or a former state employee or public official, unless that official signs a release,” Russell said. “But in this case, if the former employee is dead and can’t sign a release, does the exemption apply? Should it end at death? Should it last forever, since no one can sign a release?”
In conjunction with statewide media organizations, UI took the issue to court, Russell said.
During the day, students also had the opportunity to “exercise their write,” by typing messages and questions to people of authority using typewriters.
Smith said the symposium served as an important reminder to all citizens.
“I think citizens require a constant reminder — and students are citizens — that we travel on the edge of the knife blade in terms of access issues,” Smith said. “You have to be constantly vigilant, constantly aware, in order to advocate for the kind of openness that we require in a democratic system. And students are in as strong of a position to advocate as anybody else.”