Our founders would celebrate The Gazette

There is a big birthday coming up in Cedar Rapids, and while you may not make the connection right away, it ties in with one of the bedrock decisions in American history.

When our Founding Fathers were mapping out plans for what we know as the United States, they recognized how important it was to ensure that journalists have freedom to go about their work without government interference.

One of those Founders, Thomas Jefferson, offered this eloquent explanation: “A press that is free to investigate and criticize the government is absolutely essential in a nation that practices self-government.”

This month’s 140th anniversary of the creation of The Gazette provides a reminder of the Founding Fathers’ recognition of the importance of strong news media.

The Gazette is more than merely a business. The information it gathers and disseminates is vital to the well-being of its community and this state.

Beyond telling readers what is going on, Gazette journalists are asking questions of their government leaders that might not get asked otherwise. The commentary in Gazette editorials and in staff and guest columns — even if some toes sometimes get stepped on — is an important sounding board for the people of Eastern Iowa and, increasingly, for digital customers well beyond The Gazette’s hometown.

Very few people have the time to attend meetings of the city council, the local school board, the county board of supervisors, or planning and zoning committees. Very few people have the time to ask questions of these officials and state government leaders in Des Moines. Busy readers have little time to closely monitor how their tax money is being used, or misused.

That’s where journalists step in, serving as the public’s eyes and ears, examining questionable or controversial decisions, asking “why” or “why not” questions — all while keeping readers informed.

Week after week, Gazette journalists routinely shine their spotlight on state government and local governments in Eastern Iowa, informing people about important matters the public might not know about otherwise, and always asking “why?” .

That’s what The Gazette did a few years ago when the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City school district leaders refused to tell The Gazette — and parents, too — why an increasing number of elementary students there were being locked in so-called “seclusion rooms.”

These small, padded enclosures were not supposed to be used as discipline for non-violent infractions. But in a troubling change in policy, administrators refused to tell The Gazette how many times the rooms were used or the reasons students were placed there.

The secrecy was preposterous. It kept residents from fully understanding what confronts teachers at a time in our history when violence and behavior problems among young people are growing.

When Iowa’s three state universities made a U-turn on transparency in 2021 and began keeping information about some hiring decisions secret, The Gazette was there with its spotlight shining on the officials’ actions.

For many years, the universities followed affirmative action hiring practices that were intended to ensure a diverse array of qualified candidates is considered when jobs are filled. University administrators were able to seek waivers from affirmative action requirements under certain circumstances. But the documents justifying the hiring waivers had been available for public review, allowing people to know when and why the universities chose not to follow the traditional affirmative action practices.

The new policy of refusing to make those documents public was disclosed by The Gazette. In the height of irony, The Gazette found that one such job that was filled by bypassing the affirmative action process was the University of Iowa’s hiring of an associate vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Gazette’s reporting provided important information for readers, including this uncomfortable fact of life for university officials: If it is not an invasion of privacy for the public to know the reasons and rationale for a government employee being fired, then it certainly should not be considered an invasion of privacy to know why an employee is hired by a state university by skipping the customary hiring process.

The topics Gazette reporters dig into affect real people in significant ways. Consider Anthony Watson. The Coralville man stopped for gas a few years ago. Within minutes, an Iowa City police officer pulled in to check a report of a reckless driver in the area.

The officer was convinced Watson was impaired by alcohol, marijuana, or another controlled drug. But a series of field sobriety tests, two breathalyzer samples, a blood test, and a urine test all showed no evidence of impairment. Nevertheless, before his criminal case finally was dismissed, Watson had spent nearly three months in jail — losing his job and his apartment during that time.

Under the American system of justice, we do not lock people up on a hunch and then go looking for proof. But that is what happened to Anthony Watson. The public should hope the disclosures by The Gazette will keep such a travesty from occurring to someone else.

Take time to celebrate The Gazette’s 140th birthday. And remember what Thomas Jefferson said, because journalists like those at The Gazette are important to the health and well-being of this place we call home.

Randy Evans is executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. He can be reached at IowaFOICouncil@gmail.com.