The government and the press grapple over access to information and public documents on a daily basis — in Manhattan and in Orange County, N.Y., in China and in Providence.

In Manhattan, the private Dalton School received an unexpected lesson in journalistic independence when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy gave an Oct. 28 speech to students and his office insisted on approving any article the school newspaper wrote about the talk. (You might expect that from Justice Antonin Scalia, but The New York Times’ Adam Liptak notes Kennedy is one of the court’s most vigilant defenders of the First Amendment.)

In Orange County, N.Y., the district attorney issued a subpoena to The (Chester) Chronicle, seeking identifying information about two people who posted anonymous comments on the paper’s Web site. (While anonymous posters and callers can be gutless wonders, berating people by name without divulging their own names, it’s not the paper’s job to help those in power punish their critics.)

In Shanghai, China, students listened Monday as President Obama talked about being “a big supporter of non-censorship.” But the Beijing government apparently had a different view, “and most Chinese never got to hear or read what Obama said,” according to The Washington Post. (The Chinese government also blocks Internet sites such as YouTube, depriving millions of the opportunity to see “Charlie Bit My Finger.”)

In Providence, state legislators torpedoed key components of a bill that would have strengthened Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act. (Hopefully, lawmakers will reconvene in January and pass the undiluted legislation proposed by Rep. Edith H. Ajello, D-Providence, and Sen. J. Michael Lenihan, D-East Greenwich.)

Those examples provide part of the context for a newly released survey commissioned by the New England First Amendment Coalition.

The survey, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, found 92 percent of New England adults believe having easy access to public records is important to their role as citizens, 87 percent believe government agencies that wrongly withhold public records should pay the legal bills necessary to open them, and 63 percent believe open-government laws should be strengthened in their states.

Providence Journal Executive Editor Thomas E. Heslin, who is president of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said the results show the public expects access to government records and processes.

“The public gets it,” he said. “In New England, people understand that the right to know is as important and fundamental as the right to vote. The survey shows people are aware that abuses of authority and the public trust occur when there isn’t access or public awareness.”

While basic questions of access are often overlooked in the daily bustle of public business, Heslin said, “I guarantee you that some day in the future there will be a public issue and people will point out the fact that we needed stronger access legislation in Rhode Island. I am as certain of that as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow.”

And while public officials often treat access questions as if they only matter to the news media, Heslin said, “To dismiss the issue of access as the narrow concern of reporters is, to me, akin to dismissing airline safety as the narrow concern of pilots. I assure you, we are all passengers on this democracy.”

efitzpat@projo.com