Capital Editorial

Our say: Public recording as well as public records, April 18, 2017.

Snider Comment

“Open government is not just a privilege for journalists but a public right. And these days that means allowing the personal recording devices that have become ubiquitous and, on balance, do a lot of good — for instance, in broadcasting to the world the inexcusable treatment of an airline passenger.”

And why shouldn’t that include the public being able to both attend and record today’s SMOB debate and election? Can anything be more sacred in a democracy than an open election process? For an account of how that democratic norm was violated by AACPS administrators and police at last year’s SMOB debate and election, see the “The SMOB Election and Riva Road’s Culture of Intimidation” at eLighthouse.info.