There's something admirable about fighting for democracy to work. It's probably a very overlooked aspect of prospective journalists, but the discussion with Tim Nickens framed it perfectly. Without Florida's Sunshine Laws and the relentless pursuit of their enforcement, our democratic institutions suffer a great deal.
Nickens spoke as if around every corner there is someone trying to trip up the average citizen. The legislators and lobbyists have private dinners to keep their plans secret: policy is made soviet style over booze and a good meal instead of in the public sphere. Obviously that's a stretch, but our tradition of laws ought to be decided in the halls of congress, not the kitchens of lobbyists.
For example, Nickens brought up one incident in a lobbyist's condo where late at night a one-cent tax increase was levied on dry cleaning and legal fees. It was written on the back of a pizza box.
If the legislators do meet in public, that does not mean their work is then available. Behind every desk is a bureaucrat trying to grease his pockets by stopping you dead in your tracks on retrieving paperwork or any type of record.
But breakthroughs have been made.
"Audio recordings of court proceedings" are now considered public record, according to Tim Nickens of the St. Petersburg Times.
One of the biggest existing loopholes, said Nickens, is "e-mail... it should be public record" instead commissioners and officials get to decide which of the many e-mails on their official e-mail account get distributed for public scrutiny.
The emphasis of this discussion was knowing your rights. You are entitled to those records and all you have to pay for is the actual work it costs to produce them. A good journalist knows Chapter 119 by heart, said Nickens. The less exceptions to what is public record, the better.
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