A free and open press is the cornerstone of democracy and is required if we are going to remain a free people.
Benjamin Franklin wisely said, “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”
And yet, attacks on media have ramped up in recent years as news groups and readers grow more and more polarized. Media worldwide have been outraged as Russia detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, claiming he is guilty of spying. At the same time Twitter took a swipe at National Public Radio (NPR) by labeling them as “U.S. state-affiliated media.”
There is a war against the media going on in Augusta, just as there is elsewhere.
A notable leader of those who would condemn the media is unquestionably Sheriff Richard Roundtree. Make no mistake about it: if Roundtree could detain journalists to prevent them from reporting or covering his office, we suspect he would at least consider it.
Earlier this week, The Augusta Press filed yet another lawsuit against Roundtree for his failure to comply with the Open Records Act. The current case involves Roundtree’s refusal to provide body cam footage of the incident involving an altercation between a Burke County deputy and Richmond County deputy at the Hispanic festival.
The Augusta Press has another lawsuit pending against Roundtree for his failure to produce video related to the domestic abuse call of then Richmond County Chief Assistant Solicitor Geoffrey Alls. After leaving Augusta following the incident, Alls became a prosecutor in Savannah. The case between The Augusta Press and Roundtree is ongoing.
Local Attorney Randy Frails is Roundtree’s lieutenant in the war against the media. Frails is Roundtree’s adviser and makes it his mission to subvert the Open Records Act whenever he can.
On the city government side, city attorney Wayne Brown has made it clear that he is a good soldier. Brown is the city’s junkyard dog who is let off of his leash anytime an open records request is filed. Brown’s first response is to subvert it whenever possible. From previous lawsuits and multiple threats of lawsuits, its abundantly clear that he was absent from class the day they taught the First Amendment.
The Richmond County Board of Education and Augusta University are other examples. While RCBOE has gotten better since Lynthia Ross, the former public information officer and former Hardie Davis staffer, moved to a different job. But, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Hiring attorney Frails as the board of education attorney would ruin any progress towards transparency made there.
It could easily be argued that Augusta University is the worst of all. The university does everything legally possible to avoid transparency. At least their lawyers know the law and could probably school Wayne Brown on how to use it better.
Columbia County seems to have a very transparent government. When requests for information are filed, they are handled in timely and professional manner and without resistance. Columbia County rarely even charges for the requests whereas Richmond County will charge at least $1.50 if they can.
Regardless of how a citizen feels about the national media, they should be greatly concerned about transparency in local government. Any government agency that seeks to hide or subvert transparency lacks the ethos to be employed or elected by citizens and should resign. Citizens need to stand up and demand that these government institutions not only follow the open records laws but seek transparency and full disclosure whenever possible. Until then we will be the peoples’ iron rod fighting government to ensure the public’s right to know.
