Former USA Today Editor Ken Paulson penned a great piece in that paper today arguing against efforts to keep more types of public information private.

Noting examples ranging from 911 calls to autopsies, Paulson -- now heading the First Amendment Center -- declares that news outlets need as much access to this information as ever.

“What's going on here? What's driving legislation to make public information secret?” he wrote. “The answer is two-fold. New technology and the Web have spurred understandable anxiety from people concerned about having the details of their lives shared with strangers, as well as the possibility of identity theft. Second, lawmakers tend to write bills limiting information when they believe the news media may exploit it.”

He later added: “But privacy advocates - then and now - can too easily overlook the value of the free flow of information in a free society. At the birth of this nation, the first generation of Americans made a commitment to a free press, creating an expectation that journalists and citizens would act as a watchdog on government.”