LLOYD GRAY: Public records, political hay
Every now and then I’m reminded that we in the newspaper business don’t do a very good job of explaining to readers how we do our work.
Last week provided one of those reminders.
As the Mississippi House of Representatives was considering a bill that would close conceal-carry gun permits to public inspection, it came to legislators’ attention that a Daily Journal reporter had made a public records request to the Department of Public Safety for the permit records in Lee County.
Some legislators, talk radio hosts and social media users jumped to conclusions about what we intended to do with those records. They assumed we would follow the course of the newspaper in New York state that published the names and addresses of gun permit holders.
Lloyd Gray
Daily Journal
2/4/13
