It has been four months since The Union began tracking how long the Sacramento Bee has operated a Web site that invades the personal privacy of citizens employed by the State of California.

In spite of our protest (or because of it), the Bee continues to manage and promote the site, trading away the individual security and personal information of state workers for increased Web hits and temporary online advertisers. It was a quick cash grab, with reporters acting as perps and the paper playing the part of getaway car; in total, it’s a move that smacks of desperation. But with a paper that is suffering from recent layoffs and a drop in subscriptions, anything goes.

Taking a Stand
As an historic and well-revered monument to justice, The Union was sympathetic to those assaulted and insulted state workers stung by the Bee. It is the philosophy of this paper that the most important part of our republic is the individual liberty of the person—we believe in less government and more oversight, but we do not blame the salary of the secretary at the Department of Technology Services for such bloated budgets and fiscal waste. No, The Union correctly targets and identifies offending legislators and appointed staffers for squandering taxpayer monies—the same individuals the Bee has protected for years.
The Bee has yet to realize that the publishing of state workers’ personal employment isn’t investigative journalism, it’s invasion and it’s offensive. If it was a matter of providing oversight, the paper could have easily listed state positions and employment titles with their respective pay grades; instead, they were looking for outrage and intrigue. The cost of their sensationalism, beyond that of the Bee’s professionalism, was the privacy and safety of our neighbors.

Continuing Our Protest
For months, we have devoted a space of our editorial page to protest the Bee’s Web site; yet, we have recognized that such a small space does not adequately provide a large enough platform from which to launch a serious objection. Thus, we will move our dissent from print to the Internet at SacUnion.com/MetroBlog, an interactive forum better suited for such controversial issues and a more appropriate place to dispute offending material originating online.

Therefore, we will continue providing not only a check on government and its abuses, but also a watchful eye on the Sacramento Bee and its penchant for overreaching. It may be the paper of record in Sacramento, but it is no longer the only paper in town.