This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Looks like GRAMA WATCH is here to stay.

The WATCH shined a bright light on legislative action during the 45 days of the 2012 session of the Utah State Legislature.

How appropriate it is that the WATCH wraps up its first legislative session during Sunshine Week — a national initiative championed by the American Society of Newspaper Editors to create awareness about the importance of freedom of information and open government.

Creating a bit of controversy when it launched, the Utah Media Coalition's effort to monitor bills for accessibility and openness proved successful by most measures. GRAMA refers to the state's model Government Records Access and Management Act.

GRAMA WATCH — of which The Salt Lake Tribune is a member — rated 13 proposed bills and awarded eight Bright Lights, one Pale Light and four Lights Out. If you want to see the list, go to utahsright.com/grama. If my tally is right, legislators agreed with eight of the group's recommendations. Only one Lights Out passed, but then only after it had been altered to be more in line with open access. Two other proposals the group had concerns about were dropped.

The media coalition represents a broad coalition of print, broadcast and digital news organizations from across the state and is committed to the cause of open government. The group formed GRAMA WATCH after state legislators' fling with HB477 in the 2011 session — a bill designed to neuter GRAMA and cut off public access to an entire classification of government records.

HB477 was passed in the waning hours of the session and quickly signed into law by the governor, but the public outcry that followed was so strong and so unified that shaken and chastened lawmakers hastily repealed it.

During this year's session Sen. Curt Bramble sponsored SB177, a bill designed to clarify the language and meaning of GRAMA. The bill grew out of the GRAMA Working Group formed after the repeal of HB477. It was carefully crafted and serves well the cause of open government and the best interests of Utahns. For his work on this bill, the media coalition awarded Bramble its first GRAMA WATCH Shining Light award.

Believing that a strong watchdog media is the best protection for open government, the coalition plans to extend the WATCH beyond the legislative sessions and cover all levels of government across the state. We may change the name — to Open Government Watch or something like that.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of open government. What happens at the Legislature and at local and county governments forms the fabric of our lives. Our society and communities are guided and managed by laws and public policy.

Anything done by those who govern is our business — yours and mine — and our children's. It is our right to know what the government does.

And that is, of course, where journalism comes in to serve the public interest. A journalist's primary responsibility, like the government's, is public service. It is the reason for a news organization like The Salt Lake Tribune to exist — to serve as the eyes and ears of the public. We go to meetings, attend sessions you can't get to or don't have access to. We watch and listen and report. And we try to do that in a way that is as fair, balanced and accurate as possible, which is important in this information glut we live in. We try to give it to you straight.

And we know you pay attention, and so does the Legislature. We heard and saw your response to HB477. Your voice was loud and very clear, and so were your actions. You made us all pay attention. You said, "Don't turn out the lights. Don't hide what you do in our name."

When citizens make their voices heard like you did, they live up to the finest traditions and responsibilities of democracy. I hope you feel proud of what you accomplished. It was remarkable. Truly remarkable.

Nancy Conway is the editor of The Salt Lake Tribune. Reach her at nconway@sltrib.com.