Analysis from Jonathan Jones, instructor in communications and director of the N.C. Open Government Coalition, was recently featured in coverage by the Associated Press and WUNC.
Media reporting on stories involving the release of public information in high-profile cases are turning to Elon’s Jonathan Jones for insights.
Jones, an instructor in the School of Communications and the director of the N.C. Open Government Coalition, was recently interviewed for an article by the Associated Press about the use of private email accounts by candidates for N.C. governor this year, and was a guest Wednesday on “The State of Things,” a live news discussion program from WUNC.
AP reporter Emery Dalesio’s Dec. 3 article titled “Despite uproar, North Carolina governor rivals use private email” featured comments by Jones about why candidates for office or public officials might be relying on private emails, noting that the practice fosters mistrust.
“I think to a lot of citizens, that’s why it matters,” Jones said in the article, which appeared in dozens of media outlets around the country. “They’re bothered by an air of secrecy.”
Jones joined Raleigh News & Observer reporter Dan Kane for the Dec. 7 “The State of Things” program which focused on updates to the scandal at the University of North Carolina regarding fake classes. Jones noted that UNC has been reluctant to release information that is clearly public record.
“It’s been my position … that the university should have been upfront from the very beginning, and should get as much of this information out to the public as possible and as quickly as possible” Jones told host Frank Stasio during the live segment. “That simply hasn’t happened.”