About Sunshine Week

The first national Sunshine Week: Your Right to Know was launched March 13, 2005 and continued through the following Saturday. The spirit of Sunshine Week, however, lasts through the year, as newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, Web sites and others continue a dialogue about the importance of open government to the public.

"This is not just an issue for the press. It’s an issue for the public," says Cox Newspapers' Washington Bureau Chief Andy Alexander, chairman of the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Freedom of Information Committee. "An alarming amount of public information is being kept secret from citizens, and the problem is increasing by the month. Not only do citizens have a right to know, they have a need to know."

"Our goal," Alexander says of Sunshine Week, "is to raise public awareness of this horrible trend that is hurting democracy."

During Sunshine Week, participating daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, online sites, and radio and television broadcasters run editorials, op-ed columns, editorial cartoons, public forums, and news and feature stories that drive public discussion about why open government is important to everyone, not just to journalists.

Backed by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami, Sunshine Week's success was due in large part to the many journalism groups, media companies, state press associations, open-government and First Amendment advocates, librarians, civic groups, educators and student journalists who participated. Sunshine Week 2005 exceeded expectations, with more than 730 participants producing thousands of articles. (Click here for a list of many of the 2005 participants.)

Sunshine Week is an offshoot of Sunshine Sunday, which began in Florida in 2002. Led by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, Sunshine Sunday was developed in direct response to moves by the state legislature to severely restrict public information after the terrorist attacks against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

FSNE estimates that some 300 exemptions to open government laws were defeated in the legislative sessions that followed its three Sunshine Sundays, many because of the increased public awareness that resulted. Since then, several other states launched similar initiatives.

The American Editor ran a comprehensive piece about the genesis of Sunshine Week and its goals. The story can be found on the ASNE Web site by clicking here.

A wrap up of Sunshine Week 2005's successes and the outlook for 2006 is featured in the News @ Knight newsletter from the Knight Foundation.

To participate in Sunshine Week, or for more information, contact your regional or state coordinator, or send an e-mail to Sunshine Week Coordinator Debra Gersh Hernandez.