Those unfriendly to the media's call for a freedom of information act have been challenged as to why the bedrock of an open government would not work in Bermuda.

Bill Zuill, Editor of The Royal Gazette, put the issue front and centre when he was guest speaker at the Hamilton Rotary Club on Tuesday.

Mr. Zuill highlighted that this newspaper, in particular, has been under increasing attack by some political pundits who may not be comfortable if a public access to information law (PATI) was implemented. Our A Right To Know: Giving People Power campaign, launched in January, calls for such a law to be passed in 2008.

Addressing critics who ask why calls for a more transparent Government by this newspaper were never made under the UBP Government, he replied: "The answers are various. The first and most important is that we should have been (calling for PATI legislation) and were wrong not to. But that doesn't make the cause any less important now.

"The second is that in general, reporters at The Royal Gazette find it harder to get information and straight answers from Government now than ever before.

"It is fair to say that some Ministers and Ministries are better than others. But, the point of open government is that access to information should not depend on the whim of a politician or civil servant — it should be automatic."

Mr. Zuill also made clear just why it's so important for a journalist to protect their sources — a position many non-journalists still struggle to understand.

"Courts have consistently found that journalists play a crucial role in pursuing truth and justice," he noted. "Journalists obtain information every day from sources who would stop cooperating if they thought their identities might be revealed.

"Journalists would lose their ability to alert communities to issues of compelling public interest.

"A reporter who complies with a subpoena demanding the surrender of notes or tapes, in effect, is forced to become an investigative arm of the government.

"That sounds suspiciously like the way the press operates in a totalitarian society. If the press is to remain free, it must operate independently of government."

Bermuda's Westminster-style government makes access to information difficult, Mr. Zuill contended, given the fact that public bodies which can have the most effect on ordinary citizens, often operate from the shadows.

He added: "Cabinet meetings by definition are secret. Publicly appointed boards meet in secret. Some, like the Development Applications Board, release minutes and provide the contents of planning applications to the public.

"Others are required to submit annual reports to the House of Assembly. But some have no public disclosure requirements at all.

"Select committees of Parliament meet in secret. The Corporations of Hamilton and St. George's are even worse — at least when the House of Assembly and the Senate meet, they meet in public.

"The Corporations meet in private, using the absence of parliamentary privilege as an excuse."

Former UBP candidate and Rotarian Jeff Sousa asked Mr. Zuill how he combats the perception by some that The Royal Gazette reflects the views of the "establishment".

The veteran journalist emphasised that as editor he is appointed by a board which entrusts him to treat the news fairly and accurately.

"You just have to keep plugging away at it, frankly, and you also have to work hard at things like diversity in the newsroom; making sure you are reflecting your community well," he said.

"And that, in Bermuda, given the labour market, is one of the greatest challenges that I have. Recruiting and retaining Bermudians is really difficult... but (the job) is tough, it's not an easy profession in Bermuda anyway.

"Much like Bermudian policemen, you do have to end up reporting on people you know; maybe someone you went to school with or maybe you're related to — it's not always in the best situations — and you have to do it, which can make life quite difficult at times."

Mr. Zuill also cited examples of other countries with freedom of information laws where there have been direct benefits for the public.

In one incident, the Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colorado, showed that a star doctor appointed to the faculty of the state's only medical school had a significant set of critics who questioned the quality of his work.

In another, the Sun-News of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, uncovered abuses of public money by a local bus company.

"Remember that these are your rights, not mine, not my newspaper's," Mr. Zuill stressed to the Rotarians.