In Mississippi, we have laws that help ensure citizens have access to public meetings and to records (documents, emails, videos, etc.) created by public bodies and employees. These laws are collectively referred to as Sunshine Laws.
Ensuring public bodies adhere to these laws is one of The Dispatch’s top missions. When we have concerns Sunshine Laws have been violated, the Mississippi Ethics Commission is who we turn to.
Once a complaint is filed, the MEC gathers facts and makes a determination based on law and prior rulings.
Last week, the MEC dismissed a complaint The Dispatch filed against East Mississippi Community College in a disagreement about whether The Dispatch had a right to obtain copies of videos made by the community college’s staff. State law normally allows people to not only view but also make copies of public records. The videos allegedly contained song and video clips that violated copyright law, so EMCC was understandably balking at turning over copies of the videos. It was afraid doing so would open the school up to additional liability.
Essentially, the commission ruled the videos were public documents but that federal copyright law held precedent over the state’s open records law. In short, the ruling said EMCC would be forced to violate federal copyright law if it complied with The Dispatch’s request.
It should be noted that prior to us filing the complaint, EMCC allowed three of our reporters to view the videos at their attorney’s office. We pushed to receive copies of the videos for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that it’s always ideal if we have source materials in hand. This allows our reporters to refer back to it while reporting the story.
The other reason is a little more technical.
Sometimes, we file complaints because we are convinced of the merits of our argument, but there are also times when we seek clarity on where the line is drawn on Sunshine Laws. In short, the only way to know the answer is to ask the question. Ethics complaints are sometimes the only available avenue to the answer.
That was the case with the EMCC complaint. We simply wanted to know if our request for the information was valid under the law.
In this case, we understand the commission’s ruling and do not object to its findings. We also appreciate EMCC’s willingness to comply with the law by showing the videos to our reporters.
Even so, we believe filing the complaint was a necessary step because we also believe it was a part of our obligation to the public.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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