By Dedria Humphries Barker
I gave my journalism students an assignment to use the internet to discover information about public people. One was Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. We looked for his residence, his spouse, her occupation, the number of children he had, their schools.
The information was right there on the internet. My students were outraged. It felt slimy, they said, to get his personal information without his knowledge.
Surprised, I pointed out, your generation shares all this personal information on the internet, on social media. You tell all your business.
That was the start of our era of too much information, misinformation and a lack of privacy. So it may seem odd for me to talk about missing information. But what I want is reliable sources providing necessary information.
I believe that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office is a reliable source, but last week it did not share necessary information about the 11 people appointed to her creation, the Michigan Parents Council. The Council is to advise her on the policymaking process involved in the state education budget.
There are all sorts of people on there. One I like particularly is LaQuitta Brown of Detroit. She is employed as a certified nursing assistant at Boulevard Temple Care Center, a nursing…
