Published: September 04, 2008 10:46 pm      

Information freedom

W.Va. one of best in nation, but way short of being forthcoming

The good news: West Virginia was among only a dozen states to receive a passing grade in a national survey on compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, ranking 10th out of 50 states.

The bad news: That passing grade was a “D” — a 66 percent grade average.

Yes, government can tell a high school student he or she must have a 2.0 grade-point, or “C,” average to participate in extracurricular activities — which is as it should be — yet, for the most part, government can’t match that when it comes to complying with a law designed to ensure openness by public officials and employees.

Are we surprised? No.

The media have complained for years about abuses of open meeting and open records laws, but such outrage has largely been ignored.

“It is imperative that any government agency operates in the open,” said Andy Kniceley, president of daily newspapers for the West Virginia Press Association and publisher of the Times West Virginian in Fairmont.

“Compliance is critical for print media and any news media to do their job as the public watchdog of government.”

Part of the problem is that so many exemptions have been written into the law that it’s hard for anyone in government, particularly someone who is new and has had little or no training on the law, to interpret it, necessitating a team of lawyers to wade through the language.

Then, of course, there are others in government who could give a hoot about the law, preferring instead to treat their office like their own private kingdom and forgetting who they work for — the people.

And the public, to some degree, doesn’t seem to care. They should. The Freedom of Information Act is as much a resource and tool for the average citizen as it is for the media.

Kniceley says most agencies in West Virginia do a good job of working with local media and staying within the bounds of the law. That’s encouraging, but the law applies to all agencies, not most, and we should accept nothing less.

The survey also revealed West Virginia lacks stringent penalties for agencies that don’t comply with the law.

“It is almost incumbent upon the media to push the process through the circuit court to gain compliance,” Kniceley said. “Really, public opinion through the editorial page is the only real hammer we have short of taking them to court and paying heavy legal fees.”

There has to be a better way, but change won’t occur until there is a loud call for it.