Think before speaking
I have seen the same scenario on Central Michigan University's campus more than once.
Faculty and administrators, or even finalists for administrative positions, hold open forums to speak on topics in light of bettering CMU.
The problem is, they don't realize what it means to speak at an open meeting, or at least the media's ability to report on one.
At a Monday 2010 vision plan meeting, four faculty members discussed their views on the university's priorities, some more candidly than they would have liked to see in print.
On Tuesday, calls poured into my office from concerned faculty members about what was said at the meeting.
One faculty member expressed how he wanted to retract any quotes that may be printed in the next day's newspaper because he did not want his name associated with what was discussed.
Another said she did not know that the meeting was open or that a reporter was present and claimed that erroneous quotes were reported.
I fielded these calls, explaining media law and the Michigan Open Meetings Act, a law every public official or person who speaks at public forums should be versed in.
The reason for the law is simple: to strengthen the right of all citizens to know what goes on in government by requiring public bodies to conduct nearly all business during open meetings.
The point is to know when you are at an open meeting.
In the case of the vision plan meeting, the faculty talked about temporary faculty members and tenured faculty members in a very nonchalant way. They said things in a focus group that were not called into any sort of closed session.
So, here's my solution to any future hullabaloo from anyone hosting an open meeting: inform those speaking, and address the crowd at the start of the meeting. Lay out some ground rules of what people can expect and what is expected of them.
Feel free to say, "This is an open meeting, and there could be a journalist in the crowd." I encourage you to speak freely so there is no confusion from either those involved in the discussion or the journalist covering the meeting.
It is not the journalist's responsibility to inform guests at a forum that they are at an open meeting. That duty sits with the host.
The journalist, whether a reporter, photographer or videographer, has every right to be there documenting what takes place, gathering information in the public's interest.
Anyone sitting in on an open meeting should know it is open for a reason. And a journalist has the right to report what is said at any open meeting.
It is a right that every dedicated journalist will pursue.
