Back in December, we announced that we were taking a ride on the Mary Fallin Open Records Bandwagon. We, like other media organizations, simply wanted to view emails (a.k.a. public information) from the Governor's office that would shed some light on Mary Fallin's decision to not accept federal healthcare funding; emails the Governor's office refused to release.
In my post, I highlighted five reasons why we filed the request. These were the final three:
3. “Wait a second. You all don’t even claim to be ‘real’ journalists. Why are you doing all this?” Because someone has to. Some of the larger media outlets in our state, especially ones with conservative agendas like the Oklahoman and News 9, probably have too much to lose by taking on the Governor’s office in the courts. For smaller outlets, suing the Governor’s office to release the information may be cost prohibitive. Since we have a) nothing to lose and b) the legal backing of the ACLU, we’re the ideal outlet for this type of action.
4. Hopefully, though, it doesn’t get to that point. Once again, if any of our requests are denied, we’re taking this to the courts. And according to just about every lawyer or media law expert out there, we’re likely going to win. The Governor’s office can save everyone a bunch of time and hassle by releasing the records.
5. Like that’s going to happen. Logic and reason have never been Mary Fallin’s strong point.