Seems an aide of California Attorney General Jerry Brown, dubbed Governor Moonbeam in his days in the Guv’s mansion by famed journalist Mike Royko, has a habit of covertly taping one-on-one interviews between Brown and reporters.

Most reporters have seen an assistant place a recorder on the table during an in-person meeting with an official, and this is one step beyond that. The aide illegally taped the phone conversations in a state that requires both parties on a call to consent to the recording (Texas is a one-party state). Still, most reporters would have no trouble with either scenario.

But what would they say if they realized that tape was considered public record? And what if the interview you secured became fodder for a competing media group?

The Atlantic has a thoughtful column in this month's issue on just such a scenario, and how a number of such interviews with Brown have successfully been FOIA’ed.

It’s hard to imagine such a thing. As journalists, we are simply seeking accuracy when we tape. The recorder gives some comfort to the subject as well. But if that subject is a public official, well, it looks like our work is anyone's.

The author of the piece, Michael Kinsley, writes:

An interview is a commercial transaction in which the reporter and the source each hope to gain something. Such exchanges rarely amount to anything illicit, but most FOIA requests, on all subjects, are dry holes. And many FOIA requests offend people’s sense of privacy or give succor to their enemies, rivals, or competitors.

There’s more in the piece – it looks at campaign finance and the use of anonymous sources – but the point it makes is up front. We as reporters don't own the First Amendment to use as we see fit, just as we seek to protect the public from a government that feels it knows best.

Contact Steve Miller at 832-303-9420 or stevemiller@texaswatchdog.org.