A Magazine by the Society of Professional Journalists



February 28th, 2018 • Freedom of Information
Washington’s governor needs to use veto pen to make stand for transparency

As Yogi Berra would say, it’s déjà vu all over again. A legislature has rushed through a bill curtailing the state’s public records act, waiving rules to minimize public comment and present the governor with a bill that has enough votes to override any veto, and members of the public are as mad as hell.


January 30th, 2009 • Quill Archives
Public’s right to public records

An incident that happened while I was an editorial page editor at a small newspaper in Utah illustrates a problem we have in promoting open government laws. The editorial board discussed how the Juab County Planning Commission chose to visit a controversial animal rendering plant in small groups, thus allowing them to legally avoid being accompanied by reporters.