Weaver: Hey, Marion. Stop playing games with public information

Some politicians like to play games with journalists.

That certainly seems to be what was happening throughout much of this year in the northeastern Indiana city of Marion.

Morgan Keller, then-managing editor of the Chronicle-Tribune, filed a public records request on June 28 to try to get the bottom of a situation that had developed since Mayor Ronald Morrell Jr. took office in January.

It seems that every time someone from the newspaper would attempt to interview a city department head, that person would decline to be interviewed and refer all questions to the mayor.

Keller wanted to find out if there were any written directives from the mayor to his staff regarding this policy and what exactly the policy required.

Keller, who still works as a freelancer for the newspaper, declined to be interviewed for this column. But information gleaned from public documents and the Chronicle-Tribune’s own reporting suggests that the only way Keller could determine these details was to file a public records request with the mayor, asking for any documents related to the city’s media policy.

Public documents show the mayor’s office initially was responsive. It immediately said it would review the request and respond in two weeks.

On July 15, Keller was notified by the city via email that a public record was available to be picked up and that the “one-page document regarding media communication will cost .10.”

But when Keller arrived at city hall she was told by a security guard that the document was not available at that moment and that city attorney Michael Hotz would email it to her later, according to news reports in the Chronicle-Tribune.

The next morning, she received an email from Hotz denying her public records request “due to its lack of specificity.”

“The sheer volume of emails generated since the mayor took office makes it unfeasible to conduct a reasonable search,” Hotz’s email continued. He also contended that such documents would be excluded from disclosure under a general section of Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act that provides more than five dozen exceptions.

Apparently frustrated by the strange turn of events, Keller filed a complaint with the state’s public access counselor to get an advisory ruling on the issue.

On Nov. 12, Counselor Luke Britt not only ruled in Keller’s favor but took the mayor’s office to task for its treatment of the young journalist.

“The public access counselor is certainly not the customer service police,” Britt wrote, “but telling a constituent to physically appear only for the document to vanish is not the kind of three-card monte suitable for a public records request.”

In terms of the law, the city eventually cited a more precise reason for denying Keller’s request: a provision in state law that exempts the release of deliberative materials that are “communicated for the purpose of decision making.”

Britt’s written opinion, however, said it “strains credulity” that a personnel policy on media relations would meet that threshold and determined that any pertinent documents should be turned over to Keller.

On Monday, the Chronicle-Tribune reported that the city finally did  release an email from the mayor dated Jan. 11 that flatly instructed city staff to direct all media inquiries to him.

Neither the mayor nor the city attorney returned phone calls seeking comment for this column.

But, hopefully, they have learned that hiding such a draconian media relations policy isn’t worth the trouble. The truth will come out.

The Chronicle-Tribune also reported Monday that the mayor has changed his media policy and is now requiring all media questions to go to the city’s supervisor of marketing and community development.

“As part of our efforts as a new administration, we have updated and streamlined communication to support new employees in smoothly transitioning into their roles…,” Morrell told the Chronicle-Tribune.  “We remain committed to fostering an open and transparent administrative environment.”

But the change doesn’t go nearly far enough.

At the very least, the mayor should allow city department heads to speak directly to reporters about their area of expertise, without the need for an intermediary.

And, if he’s not comfortable with that, he should provide his department heads with some media training so he can get comfortable.

That would demonstrate at least some effort toward openness and transparency.•

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Greg Weaver is the editor of Indiana Lawyer. Reach him at [email protected].

Editor’s note: This column has been updated from its print version to provide information on new developments.