26° and Partly Cloudy
Freedom of Information Law and Freedom of Information Act are interchangeable to me. Both are state legislation.
No matter what you call it, some entities comply. Others don't. Most people don't have the resources for legal action.
Open meetings law often gets flouted, especially by school boards which tend to control larger budgets than municipalities. Public entities have very specific requirements for meeting in executive session. Things like litigation, negotiations of real estate or discussion of a specific person come to mind immediately.
As the legacy media dies (let me know if you want in on a death pool for the Gazette), we are left with citizen journalists as well as some who are trained, experienced and work for the greater good even if they have a day job that pays the bills. (Yes, like me.)
Most people don't understand what information they are entitled to and when politicians are allowed a quorum behind closed doors. It is going to get worse, not better because we all seek the sources that reflect our prejudices and read them first. That toxic trope "do your research" comes when the keyboard warrior keeps altering her search term and scrolling through multiple pages to arrive at the gotcha moment of "see. I told you so."
Worse yet, we get people who can no longer think use artificial intelligence to form responses and post them in this alligator pit. We walk away and shake our heads. I prefer to talk to people whose viewpoint disagrees with mine because their opinions are likely shaped by life experiences I can't fathom.
In the words of Supertramp, “Now I believe in what you say as the undisputed truth but I have to have things my own way to keep me in my youth.”
Some of us have lost the ability to disagree without being a jerk about it. If that describe you, either change your ways or be quiet.
