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Open-government advocates mull strategyThose involved include NFOIC member Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information.from clarionledger.comBy Chris Joynerchris.joyner@jackson.gannett.comJACKSON, MS -- Newspaper executives and open-government advocates across the state are planning a campaign to roll back what they believe is increased secrecy in Mississippi government. In a meeting in Jackson recently, some of the state's leading voices for government transparency discussed plans to push the Mississippi Legislature to reform the state's decades-old open-meetings and open-records acts. Among the group's goals are increased access to records involving police investigations, political contributions and quasi-governmental agencies such as university foundations. Over the years, legislators have peppered the state code with exemptions to the open records law, reducing access to the machinery of state government for everyone from reporters to regular citizens, said Stan Tiner, vice president and executive editor of The Sun-Herald in Biloxi. "We have killed freedom with exemptions in this state," he said. Organizers envisioned a public awareness campaign to inform residents in the state on how exemptions in the state law allows government business to be conducted in secret. Participants in the strategy session said it is important to emphasize that open records is more than a newspaper issue and that it affects how state and local government serves residents. "We've got to tell people stories, not media stories," said Clarion-Ledger Editorial Director David Hampton. Visit clarionledger.com for more of the story. |
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