A win for transparency

Having lived in the world of journalism—albeit only tech journalism—for more than a decade, I've encountered a number of companies that claim one thing publicly and another thing privately. Often these private companies are, at best, perturbed if one questions the claims, let alone publishes an article on the disconnect.

In the world of economic development, similar issues arise, where claims are made and then verified or questioned. Most are covered by the private side of the public-private partnership, even though the public desire is to have an accounting of where the funds are spent on a frequent, transparent basis.

From time to time, though, the hand of law must be applied to crack open the window so that the light of transparency can shine in.

Such was the case in mid-November in Kingsport, TN, when the parent company of the local newspaper filed suit against the county under the "open records law" that is often

“We take no pleasure in filing suit against Sullivan County for what the county’s own attorney agrees are clearly public records,” said Ted Como, managing editor of the Times-News, at the time of the lawsuit's filing. “But we have been given no choice due to the continuing refusal of Mayor Godsey to release information that is the property of county residents."

Turns out the saber-rattling worked: today, the newspaper announced a two-fold win for journalistic integrity: first, the records had been released shortly after the lawsuit's filing and public announcement; secondly, that the county mayor himself had covered the legal fees of the newspaper's parent company, so that the suit cost would not fall upon the county taxpayers.

Hats off to the newspaper for taking the unflinching high road in a matter of public record. In the days of WikiLeaks, it's nice to see the system work swiftly and correctly. And kudos to Sullivan County Mayor Steve Godsey for taking personal responsibility for the issue at hand.