Freedom of the Press: Critical to Keeping Government in the Sunshine

By State Senator Rod Smith

A government that truly operates in the sunshine is critical to the future of our democracy. The people of Florida can only be confident in the actions of its elected officials and government agencies if those decisions are made in a process that is open and transparent. And except for a circumstance in which information that threatens personal privacy or public safety is at stake, if government action is in the best interest of the people of Florida, then there shouldn’t be anything to hide. In fact, if somebody in government is trying to hide something, you can bet it’s not in the best interest of the people of our state.

Florida’s voters clearly understand the importance and value of government in the sunshine, as demonstrated by their overwhelming vote in 1992 to add a public records clause to the Florida Constitution and their support of our government in the sunshine laws. One of the most solemn duties and obligations of elected leaders is to follow and uphold those laws even if – especially if – that means facing criticism from the people or the press.

Of course, few citizens have the time to personally observe government in action, so they rely on a free press as well as government watchdog groups. It’s critical that, in addition to ensuring that Florida’s government operates in the sunshine, we also ensure that Florida’s freedom of the press is protected.

That’s why I, along with Representative David Simmons, filed legislation this year to stop most so-called “false light” lawsuits. False light suits are brought when a plaintiff sues a newspaper claiming that a news story caused embarrassment – even if the entire story is true and accurate. In America, the standard for defamation is already very high – absence of malice. It makes no sense that the standard for false light cases would be any lower, as that would mean the press is more protected for telling a lie than for telling the truth.

In addition to being a threat to the freedom of the press, such suits can also serve as a mechanism to keep government out of the sunshine. The threat of a multi-million dollar lawsuit can act as a strong deterrent to prevent journalists or government watchdog groups from publishing the truth about the actions of elected officials or other government leaders.

The bill filed by Rep. Simmons and me will protect the rights of Florida’s media to publish the truth, thereby enabling the public’s most important source of information about government action to continue to hold us accountable for the important decisions we make every day as elected officials.

As Florida celebrates Sunshine Week, we should all be thankful that we live in a state and country that have some of the strongest public records laws in the world. While we may not always agree with the decisions made by our government, it is still the best and most successful system ever developed. And an open and transparent government is one of the defining characteristics that truly sets us apart from the rest of the world.

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