HOMELAND SECURITY

JUVENILE RECORDS

TELECONFERENCING

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM RECORDS

One of the worst expungement bills to be introduced in years came from Sen. Shurden (D) Henryetta. It would have allowed DUI and drug felonies to be expunged from a person's record after three years. Law enforcement agencies were furious. The legislature is usually a friendly place for expungement legislation. However, this bill passed the Senate by only one vote, and died in the House Criminal Justice Committee the following week.

PHARMACIST DISCIPLINE

SECRET DEATH ACT

TRAFFIC COLLISION REPORTS

Tower Falls in Yellowstone, Wyoming., a boulder on the precipice precariously parts the roaring waters as they plunge hundreds of feet. More than 100 years ago, the first photos of the area showed the boulder on the lip of the falls. It is still there. Reminds me of the First Amendment, open government, and the role of a free press. The 18th Century boulder still resists a 21st Century flood trying to swamp our freedoms. The flood: political correctness, closed government records, Enron-influenced politics, intolerant religious-political repression, illegal, closed door meetings, a government trying to prevent you from knowing what's going on, trying to silence dissent. Yet, the rock: the First Amendment, a product of the 18th Century thinking of the founding fathers in the Age of Reason. The guarantor of our individual freedoms stands on the precipice against an increasing flood of totalitarianism. John Milton first talked of the Free Marketplace of Ideas in 1644. John Stuart Mill outlined the principles of free expression and open debate of all ideas in On Liberty in the early 1800s. The founding fathers believed in free citizens-in our ability to decide right and wrong-that the cream of truth would rise to the top-only when we had access to all the facts. Thus the rock. Thus the press and open government-- essential elements of the rock's foundation. But since 9/11, the flood has increased under the guise of "security." Terrorists can't comprehend what makes this a great country-a free people who have open access to a government they own, because the press helps keep it that way. You don't bring down a free people with an attack that collapses skyscrapers. But, if we dislodge the rock, the First Amendment, to protect ourselves against terrorism, the terrorists have won. A free people will plunge over the abyss. The flood of patriotism and loyalty and security is being used by all levels of the Bush Administration and in various states, including Oklahoma, to justify shutting the people and press out of our government records and proceedings or to excuse attacks on other liberties. More and more information-much of it without any relation to national security-- is being sequestered. The attacks are continually documented in national magazines and newspapers across the country, week after week. Not since the Nixon years has an attack on the press and open government been so blatant. The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) should be renamed to Forbidden to Open Information Act. That's why organizations like FOI Oklahoma are more important than ever. Those who would compromise our freedoms-indeed, who already are-are a greater danger to Americans than any terrorist. They would keep us from thinking, speaking, writing, attending church, knowing about our government--if it promoted "security." They can't do that? When government prevents the public and the press from getting information that is clearly owned by the people, it has already begun. Remember that 18th Century boulder when someone in the 21st Century tries to drown you with arguments about security over liberty. FOI Oklahoma, our newspapers and broadcast stations, should constantly remind citizens of their rights and freedoms. In the current world, that may be our most important role in FOI Oklahoma. The First Amendment, Freedom of Information open records and meeting laws stand between citizens and the abyss of a bridled press and a subjected people. Dr. Terry Clark is a professor of Journalism and Chair of the Department of Journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma. He is a columnist for Edmonds Arts and Leisure weekly newspaper and serves as President of FOI

Censorship rears its ugly head
An opinion by Ed Livermore
Former owner and publisher of theEdmond Sun

A new name appears on my list of heroes. It's that of Jeanne Heifetz, a quite bright New York lady who received page one prominence recently in The New York Times. Ms. Heifetz, who holds degrees at the bachelor and master levels in English from Harvard and New York University, has revealed shocking findings of some unusual research into literary material contained in questions posed on standardized examinations by New York's state regents. She found the regents' exams are a fraud! Her findings are an indictment of the zealous efforts of those who want to scrub and sanitize American literature from any reference deemed not politically correct. Ms. Heifetz became aware of this fraud one day while innocently glancing at a test administered to one of her children. It contained a question referencing a book with which she was familiar. The reference didn't seem correct, and she looked it up. The quotation was not correct. She wondered if the error was an oddity or a pattern. So, she secured copies of a number of previous exams. She found a strong pattern of re-writing. She "inspected 10 high school English exams from the past three years and discovered the vast majority of the passages - drawn from the works of Isaac Bashevis Singer, Anton Chekov and William Maxwell, among others - had been sanitized of virtually all reference to race, religion, ethnicity, sex, nudity, alcohol, or even the mildest profanity and just about anything that might offend someone for some reason," The Times reported. Students were asked to write essays and answer questions based on the doctored versions. Ellipses were not used to indicate changed material, yet the scrubbed versions were credited to a number of widely known authors. Reference after reference, all changed to reflect elitist views. So what did the regents' say when questioned? They admitted it completely! They said they modified the passages to satisfy elaborate "sensitivity review guidelines." Regents said they did not want any student to feel ill at ease while taking the test. Really! Protect those little dears from the truth as long as possible, huh? But a more careful analysis is that the regents actually want to protect them from views not deemed politically correct by educational elitists. Predictably, when contacted by The Times, the authors were furious. So are groups such as the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Association of American Publishers, and the New York Civil Liberties Union. They have jointly sent a letter to the regents calling for the practice to end. Cathy Popkin, a Columbia professor, described the censoring as "the practice of fools." Author Annie Dillard wrote to the state, "What could be the purpose of an exercise testing students on such a lacerated passage - on which, finally, is neither mine nor true to my lived experience?" I ask this: Is this type of thinking, and fraudulent re-writing, only prevalent among New York leaders in education? Or, does it exist elsewhere? Are other states' testing authorities also re-writing great literature to conform to elitist views? We would bet money that they are. It would make for great journalism if newspapers in many states would dig into a possible fraud being perpetrated in their local schoolhouses, against their readers' children. Censorship has no place in American life. Jeanne Heifetz's unusual feat of literary sleuth work brings to light just how insidious censorship is and how it continues to rear its ugly head, this time in the most unexpected place, in New York's bastion of learning. It seems New York's regents learned little during their school days.


FOI OKLAHOMA, INC. receives grant for police training video

FOI Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Chiefs of Police Association in conjunction with the Attorney General's office and the Oklahoma County D.A.'s office is moving ahead to produce a police training video. Spearheading this effort is Keith Swezey, UCO Broadcast Media Department and Brian Walke, FOI Board member. Similar to the "Your Right to Know" video produced by FOI 3 years ago, Drew Edmondson will comment on what the Openness ACT says about who releases records, the timeliness of release, copying charges, electronic records surveillance videos, etc.


Oklahoma Supreme Court network vs. Court Clerk offices
Terry Watkins

Sometimes I feel spoiled. I have been a reporter from the time we dragged our own copy machines into buildings to the day we simply pressed a keyboard to get that information. Now we are fighting for the right to receive that information at our desk rather than ever setting foot in the room where it is kept. I use all this to preface the fact that there is an ongoing political fight over the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network as I refer to it or the Oklahoma Court Information Network as it is called in the law and the Court Clerk offices. -A fight we were asked to take a stand on. The Governor, at the request of several groups including the Oklahoma Bar Association, recently vetoed the measure that would have allowed court clerks in the state to either join the network or create their own. The concerns were that we would not have easy access to the information. But the battle between the Supreme Court and some of the Court Clerks was over money. The clerks argued they were paying outrageous amounts of money for the service the Supreme Court was providing and could actually do it better and cheaper on their own. My concern is that in the name of Freedom of Information and easy access we get involved in a political battle between the clerks and the courts. I cannot tell you who is right and who is wrong in the battle. I know there is currently a financial audit of the Network and its expenses and we are still awaiting the outcome. I know I would rather have access to all the courts through one quick click. But I also don't know that I have the right to force a county to spend tens of thousands for a system they do not want because I want to go to one web site instead of three... There are many other issues. The ability to cross check court dates and criminal histories. There could be incompatible systems that will keep police or the courts or us from being able to effectively check backgrounds and history, exactly what this system was designed to eliminate. There is probably good and bad on both sides; I simply became frustrated that like pushing one hundred page bills at legislators in the last day of session, we were being asked to support a veto on an issue that was much more than it appeared on the surface.

Meet the new Dean of the OU Journalism School

Charles C. Self became the first dean of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of Oklahoma in July 2001, coming from Texas A&M where he was Head of the Department of Journalism. He has served as president/chair of several national journalism organizations such as the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Southwest Education Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the AEJMC/ASJMC Joint Committee on Alliances. He was founding editor of The Journal of Communication Inquiry, has authored an editing textbook, 28 articles, 18 book reviews, and scores of grant proposals and research presentations. His research interests include new media technology, international communication policy, news credibility, and communication theory and philosophy. He has conducted international comparative studies of media policy formation in England, Germany, Japan, and France, and established international programs with Germany, China, and Mexico. He has taught broadly across the curriculum including courses in reporting, editing, mass communication and society, and communication theory. He has been active in journalism and mass communication education since 1973. He served on the steering committee for a national program for agricultural journalism editors and educators, served on the executive committees of both the national educators' group and the national association of deans and directors of journalism and mass communication educational programs. Self received his Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Iowa in 1974, his MA in journalism from the University of Missouri in 1971, and his BA in English and Political Science (with an International Relations emphasis) from Andrews University in 1966. In addition to his academic career, Self has had a professional career in journalism. He worked as a reporter and editor for United Press International, the Mobile Press Register, the Louisiana (Mo.) Press-Journal, and the Columbia Missourian. He served for two years in the U.S. Army, during which he worked as a combat correspondent for the Asian edition of the troop newspaper Pacific Stars and Stripes. He also was editor of the Army's 25th Infantry Division newspaper Tropic Lightning News; and the Fort Sam Houston post newspaper, Talon. A native of Abilene, Texas, Self has been a member of the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Public Relations Society of America, and many other national organizations.

Sunshine under attack?

Kingfisher Times & Free Press denied access to fire records
When a reporter for the Kingfisher Times & Free Press was denied access to the fire department's log books on April 30, Publisher Gary Reid decided to take action. Reid personally went to the fire station to ask for access to the records but was told that the shift on duty had been instructed not to release them. When Reid asked who had given the order to withhold records, he was told it was City Attorney Sara Boeckman. In a telephone conservation, Reid repeatedly asked Boeckman if the records were going to be made available to the public. "No," she replied, later adding, "not in their present form." She later indicated in a conversation with Matt Oppel, the newspaper's attorney, that she was creating a separate fire department log for the news media. However, Reid was denied access to that log a week later when he visited the fire department. Fireman Tom Hendricks told Reid that the new log form had been returned to city offices for revision. The newspaper did not receive a copy of the revised ambulance and fire logs until its attorney requested the information. The revised logs list the dates and times of fire and ambulance calls and identify the location where emergency vehicles are dispatched by hundred-block addresses only. Also included in the fire department log is a section labeled "type of fire." Both logs delete names of those who requested the emergency vehicles, the nature of the illness or injury of the person requesting an ambulance and the location of where they are transported. Reid said that the Times & Free Press "will not accept such sanitized records." "We have consulted legal counsel and engaged local attorney Oppel to pursue complete access to the city's records, both at the fire department and in the municipal court," he said. Boeckman cited a section in the Code of Federal Regulations as her reason for altering the records. Fire and ambulance logs aren't the only information Boeckman has tried to keep the newspaper from obtaining. Earlier in the year, she told Reid that she was tired of providing records that the city is not legally required to. That statement, said Reid, dealt with municipal court records. Boeckman claims that confidentiality requirements in the Oklahoma Children's Code justify the city's denial of the city's municipal court filings to the Times & Free Press. Reid said that the Times & Free Press will continue to press for release of complete records, which is entitled by law.

Eldorado publisher banned from city hall
Darlene Leese has been banned from the Eldorado City Hall. The motion was made to ban Leese, publisher of The Eldorado Courier, at the April 4 city council meeting. "I knew by reading the agenda that they were going to discuss my two requests [for open records], but had no idea of the pending ban," said Leese. Item 10 on the agenda was listed as: "Discussion and possible action in regard to implement a policy for copying documents and transcripts of regular meetings and procedures for release of records subject to the Open Records Act without disruption of city business." Leese said this item was in regard to a request she wrote asking the clerk to furnish tentative minutes of every regular and/or special meeting of the Town Council. "This was filed by the Courier because a request to listen to the tape of March 7 was denied," said Leese. "The city attorney, Charles Horton, advised them not to let me hear it." Item 11 also concerned a request from the Courier to have written notice of all special meetings delivered to the newspaper office. Leese enclosed a check for $18 with the request. "The reason for this is that the meeting notice is put on the door but since most of us do not go to City Hall every day, we don't know about it or find out very late." When Leese asked why her request had not been honored, Horton replied, "The statutes states mailed or delivered and the governing body selects to mail." Leese also wanted to know why her request to see Ronda Stevens application for the position of city clerk/treasurer was denied. As she attempted to read Oklahoma Statute § 24A.7, which regards Personnel Records, the council made a motion to return to item 11 on the agenda, "Discussion and possible action in regard to implement a policy to end harassment of employees and respond to request for production of documents." A motion was made and approved to ban Darlene Leese and Dan Carter from city hall, except for special and regular meetings. As they returned to item 12 on the agenda, Leese asked the council what they were referring to as harassment. "I can tell you what was related to me," said Horton. "It was abusive language, calling employees names, keeping them from doing their duties and, basically, berating them based on advice that they were given by me." Leese tried to respond to the allegations, but was told she was out of order. "I will abide by their ban at this time and will get the news of city happenings by all legal means that are necessary," said Leese. Her requests for public records continue to fall on deaf ears. On April 14, Leese asked for a copy of the city's expense sheet that was approved at the April 4 meeting. Horton responded by fax saying, "Your request of April 14, 2002 for expenses paid will require copying of all invoices and purchase orders created by the Town of Eldorado for the month of March 2002. This will cost 25¢ per page, for 400 document pages, and $6 per hour, for 3 days of 24 hours, for research time and copying. "The approximate total cost will be $250. When you deposit $250, we will begin the process of researching and copying. The town of Eldorado does not create a balance sheet or income statement on a monthly basis therefore none are available."

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