Editor’s note: Edward Terry is editor of the News-Topic in Lenoir, N.C., where Google is building a $600 million data center. This article is reprinted with permission of the News-Topic.
LENOIR, N.C. – I’ve stayed pretty quiet with regard to my opinion on the Google deal. I’ve done so not because I lack an opinion, but instead because we have a rule here that reporters can’t editorialize about subjects they cover.
Since the Google project, referred to in the News-Topic for several months as the “mystery project,” first emerged last summer I’ve helped in covering the issue and do not want to cross the objectivity line.
Though it’s not as much about Google as it is about the media, I do want to say something about the criticism of the negotiations and incentives.
I don’t agree with much of the criticism of our public officials and the company that has committed to making a huge investment in our community. Both parties involved did what had to be done in order to make something happen.
Did Google ask for a lot from local governments and the state in the way of concessions and incentives? Yes it did. Do our government leaders expect to get something in return? Anyone who has been by the construction site in Lenoir lately will see exactly what we’re getting in return.
But I also don’t agree with all of the criticism that has been directed toward the media in the weeks following the Google announcement.
Yes, some coverage of the issue had a vein of vindictiveness and pettiness, but I can’t say that I blame those who took such an aggressive approach to covering the story. I totally disagree with the stereotypes that were projected onto Caldwell County but do understand why media from outside took the stance that it did. That’s to be expected when government operates in a shroud of secrecy. Yes, we know many of the details now, thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, but it was hard not to wonder if this deal may have been wrought with illegal or unfair activities – though there has been nothing to indicate that thus far.
Unfortunately, that’s what happens when the public, and the media, are excluded from the process.
Forgive me for this analogy, but if a parent catches his/her teenage son or daughter in a locked, dark room with a member of the opposite sex, how easy is it to presume that “nothing’s going on?” My daughter is 6, and I’d rather not tackle that question just yet. But as a journalist, knowing that the public’s business is taking place in the dark has much the same feeling.
It’s true that economic development projects’ closed-door negotiations are perfectly legal and most often a necessary part of remaining competitive.
But the trade-off is that the public has to wait until all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed before having a chance to comment, either good or bad, about the project. The public has no choice but to feel left out, and maybe a little cheated, in that situation.
[Last week] Sunshine Week 2007, which marks the third year of the national effort to initiate a public dialogue about the people’s right to know.
The question of whether the Google project could have been negotiated more openly is one that only the company or our government officials can answer. Everyone involved probably will have a different answer.
Best I can tell, this community is grateful for the commitment that Google has made to create new, high-tech jobs and the long hours our leaders worked to land them.
In the spirit of open government, let’s ask our leaders to find ways to include the public in its business.
It’s not the easiest thing for government leaders to do, but it’s definitely the right thing to do.
