News-Record.com

In the past two months alone, the News & Record has written about several instances in which an arm of government has acted to shield itself from public scrutiny. Consider:

* During a state ABC board investigation into illicit liquor sales and conflicts of interest, the High Point ABC Board held closed meetings to address how to handle the state probe.

* Greensboro Police Chief David Wray resigned in January after an investigation of the department. Questions about racial profiling, activities of the department's Special Intelligence Section and the fairness of the investigation continue to swirl around the case. City officials have released a small amount of information, but not enough to satisfy many citizens. (There is an excellent discussion here about the newspaper's role in passing along information.)

* High Point City Council held two meetings with Guilford school officials -- half of its members in one meeting and half in the other -- conveniently seeming to skirt state law's open meeting requirements. The council also failed to give public notice of the meetings.

* A Guilford County public defender filed a motion to close the courtroom during testimony concerning the medical condition of a suspect accused of attempted murder of a police officer. Given that the case centered on the accusation that the suspect intentionally bit a police officer to infect the officer with the HIV virus -- information contained in the original indictment -- his health is pertinent. The motion later became moot when the suspect pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

These are the only ones we know about. I wouldn't be surprised if there are others.

Open government issues are often framed by elected and appointed officials as the pesky press getting in the way of efficiently run government.

I've always considered that an insult, but not of the news media -- we're fond of being considered pesky. Rather, it's an insult to the public and its right to know how government is operating. Journalists represent the public when we attend meetings and request public records.

We believe that the best government is the most open government. The more information citizens have about how their government operates and why decisions are made, the better they are able to decide if that government -- its employees and elected officials -- is serving them well.

It would be unfair to note only the failures. Just last week, Greensboro City Council member Tom Phillips told us that he would ask the full council to empower city attorneys to seek release of the investigative report on scandal-ridden Project Homestead.

"Without it getting out there, the average citizen will say, 'Ah, they’re just covering it up,'" Phillips told reporter Eric Swensen.

What does all this have to do with the First Amendment? The First Amendment seeks to put the power in the hands of the citizens. Occasionally, officials forget that and citizens need to know that it is in their power to hold government accountable.

I'm not sure about Homer and Bart, but I'd bet that Marge and Lisa can name more than one of the First Amendment freedoms.