Dark events always need light.

That's why the Daily Herald and other news agencies went to court to force a federal agency to bring its Crandall Canyon Mine investigation into the open.

A coalition of news media -- including the Salt Lake Tribune, CNN and The Associated Press -- has filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. The media seek a temporary restraining order to force the government to make its investigative findings accessible to the press -- to you.

This is not a theoretical debate. Nine men died at the mine. Their families, other miners and the people of Utah need answers, quickly, clearly, beyond dispute.

The MSHA has been questioning people and poring over documents relating to the deadly mine collapses Aug. 6 and 16.

Federal mining bureaucrats fear that the news media's involvement might hamper the MHSA's "law enforcement investigation."

That sounds odd. The press is not asking to tramp all over a crime scene. We are asking to be allowed to do what we do at hearings all the time: report the facts.

News organizations cover hearings to ensure their fairness. Bringing the facts out lets the public know what is going on. If any newspaper reader or TV watcher sees something fishy, he or she can take action. Basic knowledge of information is essential if you are to exercise your rights.

The MSHA probe has reached a stage at which people will be called in to testify in a formal setting, and under oath. They bring lawyers with them. A panel fires questions. A court reporter makes a record.

But the federal government says the news media are not needed because this is not really a hearing.

Well, if it isn't, it's a pretty good imitation of one.

Certainly government officials don't want a media circus. News media have offered several options for avoiding disruption while fulfilling their mission to the public. Besides, MSHA is allowing others to attend all or part of the hearings.

The most important thing is that useful information be made public as soon as possible. This is not a case of the news media rehashing some remote event; it is more like asking the police to share information with the public when a killer is on the loose. The killer needs to be caught before he strikes again.

Miners are, right now, working deep in the dark recesses of mines in Utah and across the nation. They are risking their lives. They have a right to know the real story behind the Crandall Canyon collapse so that a tragic repetition may be averted.

Printer's ink is a wonderful public lubricant. And speed is essential here.

But there are other reasons the investigation should be transparent.

First, secrecy creates suspicion. No matter how scrupulous investigators are, hiding a probe raises doubts.

Second, MSHA has been criticized for its role in overseeing safety at Crandall Canyon. Is the MSHA investigating itself? And can we trust such scrutiny?

The government says that an independent panel will keep the investigation honest. But public scrutiny, through the news media, is a better way to ensure that the probe is impartial.

Indeed, closed hearings could sabotage MSHA's own efforts to protect miners. It would be a terrible irony if the agency's secrecy were to impede concrete safety measures that should have been implemented in a more timely fashion.

Openness to the public does at times inconvenience bureaucrats. Experience proves, however, that openness not only safeguards fairness but promotes effectiveness.

That holds true especially in this case, where bureaucratic nitpicking may be putting lives at risk.