A crusader for the public's right to know

The Concord Monitor asks how much of what goes on at Town Hall should the public have the right to know?

The short answer: nearly everything.

Trouble is, reasonable - and sometimes unreasonable - people can disagree over the specifics. In New Hampshire and across the country, there will always be public officials working hard to keep the public's business from the public. That's where lawyers like Bill Chapman come in. And thank goodness.

Chapman, who has long represented the Concord Monitor and other news organizations, will receive the annual First Amendment Award this evening from the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications in Manchester. Chapman, who has fought for open government in New Hampshire for nearly four decades, is well deserving of the honor. The beneficiaries of his hard work, after all, are each and every resident of the state - citizens who have the right and ability to learn more about the workings of their government and court system because of his efforts.