Audrey Cooper: The battle to gather the news comes home

Bay Area residents tend to think we’re insulated from the baser practices of national politics. No officeholder or bureaucrat in this deep-blue region would dare utter the words “fake news,” right?

But since the beginning of our republic, politicians have attempted to discredit unfavorable news coverage. Their fears of a citizenry informed by tenacious media have time and again prompted them to make government activities more opaque or conceal essential information.

What’s new is labeling a story fake news — a term that originally described fictionalized stories published online by ill-intentioned ideologues or profiteers — has become the political hack’s favorite new way to attack legitimate news coverage.

The tactic is effective. Discredit the messenger, and you can justify ignoring the message. It’s a dangerous problem that threatens the free flow of information required to make intelligent decisions about how to govern, protect and improve our communities.

Unfortunately, local officials also attempt to frustrate routine newsgathering with disturbing frequency.

The past weeks have provided several examples: One of our Chronicle photographers was physically intimidated, threatened with arrest and her camera repeatedly swatted by a San Francisco sheriff ’s deputy who illegally tried to stop her from working in a public place. Across the bay, the Alameda County civil grand jury said the Oakland City Council violated open meeting laws by holding secret meetings about development deals.

In most cases, we’re disappointed but not surprised by such conduct.

What has been happening at BART, however, has reached another level of obfuscation.

For years, The Chronicle has used public documents, sources and thorough reporting to break through BART’s reluctance to share information with the public. After a man was slain on a train in January 2016, we uncovered that about two-thirds of BART’s onboard security cameras were fakes. After our reporting, BART spent $1.42 million to replace them with working cameras.

Using public records laws, we had to formally request data that eventually showed a 45 percent spike in robberies on the BART system in the first quarter of 2017. We broke the news about a frightening attack by dozens of juveniles who commandeered a train car before robbing and beating passengers. And earlier this month, we used the example of another attempted robbery by a group of about 10 youths — a crime foiled by the courageous actions of a train rider — to illustrate how BART had stopped providing crime logs in favor of a less detailed mapping system.

BART’s spokesman stopped just short of using the term fake news in defending the agency’s lack of transparency. Instead, BART officials have termed our reports “patently absurd” and initiated a campaign to discredit local media.

Although we never reported any racial details of the suspected attackers, and BART has never revealed that information, one transit official bizarrely accused the media of inciting racial vitriol.

Also, BART has refused to release video of the mob attacks, and Assistant General Manager Kerry Hamill has argued that doing so could fuel racist stereotypes against riders of color. Even if you agree with that logic, it’s not a legally permitted reason to conceal public information. (The Chronicle also has very detailed policies on when we report a suspect’s race, ensuring that we never report such information unless it is one of several distinctive features — such as haircut, tattoos, clothing — that would help identify the individual.)

In her defiant memo to BART’s elected Board of Directors, Hamill accused the media of blowing news stories about the robberies out of proportion to make money. Unsurprisingly, the memo, which was obtained by The Chronicle, was not intended to be made public.

Ms. Hamill, let me correct you: No Chronicle journalist writes stories merely to incite controversy. Our reporters are not rewarded by higher page views on SFChronicle.com. Let me assure you, years of experience tell me that sensational crime stories don’t sell newspapers.

Please give our readers — and your riders — more credit.

No government official should think it is his or her responsibility to decide what information the public is equipped to handle. BART should concern itself with ensuring that clean and safe trains run on time through stations with functioning escalators — and spend less time debating whether something is newsworthy.

I’ve said it before: Our job is to promote civil civic discourse. It’s hard to do that job when our public officials are intent on deception and distraction. Hard, but not impossible.

The truth comes out in the end.