Ever since the Aug. 9 murder of 18-year-old Michael Brown, it seems as if the city of Ferguson, Missouri has had a breaking news story every day. However, a Monday Associated Press accusation reveals the city is taking drastic measures to reverse this reality.
Journalists have been stationed in the city for weeks. Accounts of the protests, the burnings, the shootings and everything in between are never-ending, and these stories require facts. Any journalist educated in ethics is aware that facts come from confirmed official documents, which is why reporters hound city halls and state governments for access to their files. Because we live in a free country, many documents are public, meaning that anyone who wants them has the right to read them. In some states, public documents are accessible free of charge, while in other states, someone may be asked to pay a small fee.
The Associated Press published a Monday article accusing the city of Ferguson of charging exorbitant prices for documents concerning Brown’s shooting and its aftermath in order to discourage further investigation. Although Missouri law stipulates that documents of interest to the public could be given away for free, Ferguson is charging hefty sums without a fair explanation.
“In one case, it billed The Associated Press $135 an hour — for nearly a day’s work — merely to retrieve a handful of email accounts since the shooting,” The Associated Press reported. “That fee compares with an entry-level, hourly salary of $13.90 in the city clerk’s office, and it didn’t include costs to review the emails or release them. The AP has not paid for the search because it has yet to negotiate the cost.”
Giving the public fair access to government files is one of the ways the public can prevent its governing body from becoming too corrupt, and most states have laws to protect that American right. In fact, Missouri’s very own Sunshine Law specifically ensures that residents can obtain documents of interest at the lowest possible cost, although the guidelines for charges are not explicitly specified.
“Based on the scope of the request, the governmental body shall produce the copies using employees that result in the lowest charges for search, research and duplication,” the Missouri Sunshine Law states. “A person requesting the records may ask for an estimate of costs before copies are produced.”
It is understandable that Ferguson is tired of being in the news. Everything that happens within their city lines has been under scrutiny, a reality that most likely puts a lot of pressure on government officials and police officers to not screw up. Additionally, with its low per capita income of $21,000, the impoverished city is probably looking to make any profits it can during its time in the spotlight. Surely, charging media outlets for the means to conduct fair and factual investigations is a sneaky way for the city to earn a few extra bucks.
However, the fundamental idea of a public document is that they are accessible to anyone, including the average person. The Associated Press may have the bank account to accommodate Ferguson’s enormous charges, but not every average person does. The little loophole in the Sunshine Law may not provide a limit to what Ferguson can charge, but as an impoverished city itself, Ferguson should know the limits of the average person’s wallet.
Furthermore, the Associated Press asserts the documents they were looking for were in email format, therefore accessible by computer. Some town governments that are not technologically up-to-date may charge a small fee for converting their print documents to a digital format, but Ferguson’s files are already digital, and giving news outlets access to them is literally a couple clicks away.
In overcharging journalists for the sake of preventing more news reports, Ferguson is achieving the exact opposite of its goal. The Associated Press is a wire service to virtually every news outlet in the United States, a force to be reckoned with. Therefore, in making an enemy of them, Ferguson is burning bridges with media across the country. Investigations of Ferguson’s government are likely to increase now that the Associated Press has charged the city with corruption.
