Information is too important to leave to governments
Even the best governments love their secrets.
It's in their nature. Some secrets, like those tied to security, are arguably necessary. But most governments, if they have their way, would keep their little secrets too.
You can't really blame them. Nobody likes to see their errors played across the front page, and opening public records to scrutiny simply increases this possibility. Doing government business in full view can make life more difficult for government officials.
Nevertheless, the benefits of open government are obvious. Most people recognise the role that access to information plays in democratic societies, where the press is free to fulfil its role as a watchdog of those in power.
The media, notably newspapers, are the primary check, monitor and revealer of incompetence, mismanagement, corruption, lack of transparency and absence of accountability in all areas of government policy and action.
But for the press to fulfil its role exposing corruption or abuse of power, uncovering public policy failures, or simply informing the public about the issues they need to know to practice their civic responsibilities certain conditions are needed to allow the independence and freedom necessary for media to do their job.
These conditions include freedom from government retribution for critical reporting, an independent judiciary that cannot be used to punish the press, reasonable libel laws that don't encourage self-censorship, a system of political alternance, economic conditions in which newspapers can thrive as businesses, and liberalised access to government and other public records.
This last point is a critical factor for the press to fulfil its role in democratic society. A free press needs freedom of information to be effective. Too many governments hide their activities behind secrecy laws in an effort to prevent public knowledge about corruption, failures of public policy or even to simply avoid the hassle and embarrassment that providing documents can bring.
The fact of the matter is, if the conditions exist for the press to have the independence and freedom necessary to do its job, then its influence on improving governance will invariably occur. It is simply an outgrowth of that freedom.
Freedom of information is too important to leave to governments. Even the best ones.
