In nearly one year in publication, members of The Augusta Press staff have learned a few lessons. Chief among those is that many in local government look on the news media as the enemy. Well, we didn’t exactly learn that lesson so much as be reminded of it.
Fear probably explains the disdain some, but not all, government leaders hold for the media. Over the past 10.5 months, the majority of Richmond and Columbia county elected officials and law enforcement agencies treated us with respect, transparency and openness. The ones who have refused to operate with transparency seem to do so because they are afraid of the media and the truths that good journalism can unearth.
In Richmond County, some government employees and officials are fearful of talking to the press, and they avoid cooperating at all costs. They are fearful not because they lack the desire for transparency but because they fear being fired from their jobs or losing the next election.
Our local government has gotten a pass for many years as good journalism has dwindled in the area. Free to operate without impunity, government was wasteful and unaccountable to its citizens. Now that local journalists are demanding accountability and shining a light on problems, it is no surprise that leaders are bucking – and instructing their staffs to do the same. For example, Richmond County hired a public information officer to deal with questions and demands for accountability. The person in that position has provided information when doing so benefitted the county government, but when release of information would benefit the public – the citizens of Richmond County – she has done much to stall the flow of information.
The first major issue to arise since we began publication involved the selection of the Augusta fire chief. We, along with other local media, filed a Georgia Open Records Act request for information about the candidates for the position, and we were flat-out ignored. It took a court case and thousands of dollars to get the Augusta government simply to obey the law. Without good local journalism, Chief Burden’s lack of qualifications for the position would have remained secret. So would the unorthodox method City Administrator Odie Donald used to get Burden included in the list of finalists.
When the city figured out that local newspapers and television stations had no problem dragging its government officials before a judge, the political establishment simply changed tactics. Instead of flaunting the law, they now use it to their advantage.
Since January, The Augusta Press alone has spent well in excess of $10,000 on obtaining public documents. Likely, other Augusta media have spent similar amounts when they joined in quests for documents that are supposed to be created on behalf of and to serve the residents of Augusta.
The Georgia Open Records Act allows the government to charge a reasonable fee to fulfill open records requests. The law predates the widespread use of the internet. Prior to the advent of electronic record keeping, a city employee would have to rummage through file cabinets, make necessary redactions, run off physical copies and mail the requests.
All that has changed. An employee only needs to access a file on a work computer, attach it to an email and press the send button. Redaction, that is, removing some types of personal or other sensitive information, will still, of course, require a human touch.
More recently, The Augusta Press requested to review the budget proposals from city departments for fiscal year 2022. That request was met with a demand for $2,500 and a proposed seven-week time frame for the preparation and redaction of the documents. What information needs redacted on a budget request?
All of the requested budget information is located in a computer file in the City Administrator’s office – probably specifically on his computer. There is no need to redact information, except, perhaps, with regard to private medical information for an individual, but that seems an unlikely line item in a budget request.
The Richmond County Sheriff, Richard Roundtree, is the most blatant in his disgust of The Augusta Press and its mission. Almost from the day of our launch, Roundtree made it clear that he would not add us to his press release/conference distribution list or meet or speak with any of our staff.
Despite the fact that the staff of The Augusta Press helped Richmond County investigators identify a serial killer operating in Richmond County, Roundtree has made it clear in writing that he will not cooperate with our news organization at all. His reason? He didn’t like a person who wrote a few columns in the early days of the paper.
Now, Roundtree holds an annual summit with his favored media organizations and The Augusta Press was informed by letter that our representatives are not invited to attend. Our complaint about not being included is not sour grapes. Our complaint grows out of our mission as journalists to serve the public’s information needs.
While Columbia County is much more transparent and officials there have never resorted to the level of shenanigans Richmond County officials have, they, too, are clever at keeping information close to the vest.
For example, Columbia County commissioners earlier this month traveled to Athens to discuss county business. They went to Athens to avoid “distractions,” according to their spokesperson. While the commission staff provided the media the proper notifications about the meeting, it is alarming that commissioners feel the need to drive so far away to hold a meeting. That certainly is one way to avoid public scrutiny, even if that was not their objective. Public scrutiny keeps government accountable. They should welcome the “distractions” and input from citizens.
As The Augusta Press publisher, I feel compelled to put the local political establishments on notice that The Augusta Press is not some idea that was conceived overnight. It took almost a year to put together this news organization, and now that we have been publishing for almost a year, we have grown immensely.
City administrators come and go in Augusta on a regular basis. County commissioners and school board members come and go also. And thank goodness mayors are not kings, and they also come and go. The Augusta Press is not going anywhere. We are filling a niche in local journalism, and we will be here long after Sheriff Roundtree, Mayor Davis and Odie Donald are gone. Further, If the public’s First Amendment rights continue to be violated, our response, our obligation and our responsibility, will be to litigate.
To our loyal readers, I want to say thank you for your support. The reason you do not have to navigate around endless ads, get fooled with click bait or have to skip over the latest controversy involving Prince Harry to find out what is happening in our community is because you subscribe and pay good money to get your local news. That’s what we promised to provide for you, and we intend to keep that promise.
Please continue to tell your friends about The Augusta Press and share our stories on social media. As our subscriber list grows, our content will grow, and we will continue to bring you the truth despite the obstacles placed in front of us by the political establishment.
Joe Edge is the Publisher for The Augusta Press. Reach him at joe.edge@theaugustapress.com.
