Openness erodes in pieces. (Editors Note).

Name any city, any state, any country. As you are reading this, someone somewhere is trying to strip the public of its right to know, its right to speak. Someone is trying to seal public records, close government meetings, or privately alter public policies.

We all have witnessed these incidents:

* School board members who shut out the public in the hiring of a superintendent.

* Federal officials who insist they have a right to discuss public policy without the nosy public knowing about it.

* Government bureaucrats who shut down Internet sites and make public records hard to find.

* Local council members who find the flimsiest excuse to meet in private or try to keep meeting agendas private.

Sometimes, efforts to avoid open-government laws can get downright funny. A few years ago, three newly elected small-town council members arrived at their first meeting and voted to fire the city manager and city attorney. To replace them, the new majority proposed two candidates -- who just happened to be in the audience and who -- just by coincidence -- had enough copies of their resumes to pass out to every council member. The new manager and attorney were hired. But disgusted voters later fired the council members.

More often, though, efforts to close government are more subtle and take place by piecemeal -- an amendment here, a special exception there.

In Florida, for example, state legislators filed more than 150 bills to close records or access to government during both this year's and last year's regular sessions. The assault prompted the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors to declare a "Sunshine Sunday" and rally members to write editorials in support of the state's open government laws. (See pages 9-15.)

Florida isn't alone in its battle to keep government in the open. Other states also have to stay alert. In California, as one example, a statewide effort has been launched to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to allow voters to strengthen the public's right of access.

In support, The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote this in an editorial:

"A recent audit by the California First Amendment Coalition found that local government agencies routinely violate the California Public Records Act by initially rejecting or ignoring legitimate public records requests 77 percent of the time.

"...The result? Examples include government officials using closed sessions to review developers' proposals, to hear a police chief's report on critics of his department, to demand an elected member's resignation, to direct staff not to provide information to political opponents, and to take action on items not listed on the agenda."

Elsewhere, editorial pages in other states are working collectively to stop the erosion of First Amendment protections. Regrettably, it is not enough to have laws on the books -- or even in the constitution. Someone has to be watching. As editorialists, it,s part of our jobs.