Tales of FOIA and Secrets, Then and Now

The Pentagon Papers case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Nixon administration’s attempt to bar publication of a detailed history of American involvement in southeast Asia prior to and during the Vietnam War, is rightly celebrated as a landmark decision in favor of government openness and accountability.

But the case also shows that tenacity and persistence is also required: by the journalists who analyzed and summarized the information in the documents, by the editors who resisted government pressure and by the owners who paid the bills for the court battle over publication. And two recent freedom of information cases—one national, one here in South Carolina—show that tenacity and persistence are still required for journalists to obtain public information and hold government accountable.

The government doesn’t dictate media here

My January column for the South Carolina Press Association:

Washington woes, a Charleston charade and some hope

My January column for the South Carolina Press Association...
 
When I was a legal fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press we had an “outrage meter” drawn on one of the whiteboards in the reception area. The “needle” on the meter would be redrawn frequently, either towards the left or right, depending on the latest developments in media law and the perceived threats to freedom of speech and the press.

During most of my tenure, the outrage needle mainly fluctuated in the middle range. But if the Reporters Committee still has such a meter, recent developments on the national level and here in South Carolina would be pushing the needle into the red danger zone, and perhaps beyond. But there are also reminders of the importance of the First Amendment, and the role of robust media in the democratic process.