An ordinary request from the Valley Morning Star in Harlingen, Texas, has turned into a showdown between the the newspaper and the local Public Broadcasting System affiliate, KMBH.
Last week, reporter Bruce Lee Smith requested financial information about the station, which is run by RGV Educational Broadcasting Inc. and receives funding from the Center for Public Broadcasting, reports Allen Essex of the Valley Morning Star. As a result of KMBH's agreement with the CPB, the station's financial statements and audits must be available to the public. On Nov. 2, the station manager agreed to turn over the documents, but when Smith arrived at the station there was a catch. Smith "learned KMBH officials had conditioned the release of the financial documents on Smith’s disclosure of confidential sources who provided background information to him about the station’s finances and operations," Essex writes. "A receptionist told Smith that he must sign a letter agreeing to turn over the names of his sources before the station would release the documents."
Smith refused, and later he learned that the station filed a complaint with the police saying he had engaged in disorderly conduct at the station's office. Earlier in the week, Smith and another reporter had attended a public meeting held by the station but had to identify themselves and their reporters — actions not allowed by the Texas Open Government Act. The Web site of KMBH currently features the headline "Financial Transparency Now Online," but the linked files are illegible. (Read more)
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