This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Boston • The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday received a national award for service to the First Amendment for its coverage of HB477, the bill the 2011 Legislature passed and later repealed that would have dramatically weakened Utah's open-records law.
Investigative Reporters & Editors, a national watchdog journalism organization, presented the newspaper with a prestigious IRE Special Recognition Award for Service to The First Amendment at a luncheon at its annual conference.
Nearly 1,200 investigative reporters from around the country gave the paper a standing ovation during the presentation, and IRE board members praised the importance of The Tribune's work.
The award from IRE recognized The Tribune staff for their "reporting, editorial stance and lobbying efforts to keep Utah's open-records laws intact"
The coverage was sparked near the end of the 2011 legislative session, when lawmakers rushed through a bill making significant changes that would have restricted the public's access to government records. IRE praised the paper, which it said "fought back in two months of coverage on the content and impact of the bill. It offered its content to other newspapers around the state, and in a rare and unusual move, ran strong editorials on the front page."
Gov. Gary Herbert initially signed the bill, but "the paper's efforts and public outcry forced him to reverse his position and call the Legislature back into session," the judges said. Ultimately, Herbert convened a GRAMA Working Group that suggested minor revisions to the state law. Earlier this year, the Legislature adopted those revisions and established a GRAMA Ombudsman's office to help the public navigate Utah's records laws.
Tribune editor Nancy Conway called the recall of HB477 a victory for the watchdog press and all Utahns. "We are proud of our role in that effort and pleased to be recognized by IRE.
"The dramatic rise and fall of that bill provided a lesson in lawmaking and the role of the press in public policy," Conway said. "It reminds us that an informed public can and will act. People do care."
IRE since 1979 has given its awards to recognize the year's most outstanding watchdog journalism.