Sunshine Week

Six Regional Coordinators Sign on for Sunshine Week 2007

Six leading journalists have signed on to lead the efforts in their areas of the country for Sunshine Week 2007, March 11-17.

The regional coordinators for the third national Sunshine Week will contact print and broadcast media, educators, civic groups and others in their areas to build a network of participants.

During Sunshine Week—which is led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—media organizations, civic groups, libraries, schools, non-profit organizations and others nationwide participate in coverage of and discussions about the importance of protecting public access to government.

As plans for 2007 are developed, the Sunshine Week Web site will continue to host examples from March 2006 in the frequently updated "Shining Examples" gallery.

The Web site also is showcasing success stories from participants about how their Sunshine Week efforts are making a difference in their communities, their legislatures and elsewhere.

For the first time, Sunshine Week logo merchandise is available for purchase online. Shirts for adults and children, caps, mugs, bags, and more can be found at www.cafepress.com/sunshineweek. All proceeds go directly to Sunshine Week programs.

"We're going into our third year of Sunshine Week, and the concept just continues to build momentum," noted American Society of Newspaper Editors President David A. Zeeck, executive editor of The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash. "We've built even stronger relationships with our existing partners, and we're continually finding new groups and individuals who want to join the fight against unwarranted government secrecy at all levels."

Individuals, civic groups, libraries, news media and anyone else who wants to help coordinate Sunshine Week efforts in their state or community should get in touch with their regional coordinator, listed below. Contact information is online.

The Sunshine Week 2007 Regional Coordinators are:

New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT):
Thomas E. Heslin, managing editor for new media, The Providence (RI) Journal

Mid-Atlantic (DE, MD, DC, NJ, NY, PA):
Tim Franklin, editor and senior vice president, The Baltimore (MD) Sun

South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV):
Mark Tomasik, editor, Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers, Stuart, FL

Midwest (IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, OH, WS):
Tom O’Hara, managing editor, Cleveland Plain Dealer

West (CO, ID, MT, NM, ND, OK, SD, TX, UT, WY):
Fred Zipp, managing editor, Austin (TX) American-Statesman

Far West (AK, AZ, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA):
Maureen West, senior editor, Arizona Republic, Phoenix.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently granted a registered trademark to ASNE for the Sunshine Week logo. Participants are welcome to use new images, which incorporate the trademark symbol. The new logos are online at www.sunshineweek.org/sunshineweek/logos07.

Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civic groups, libraries, non-profits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know. Sunshine Week is led by ASNE and is funded by a grant from Knight Foundation.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. For more information about Knight Foundation, go to www.knightfdn.org.

Exclusive Sunshine Week Logo Merchandise Now Available

Show your support for open government during Sunshine Week 2007, March 11-17, and all year with Sunshine Week shirts, caps, mugs, mousepads and more. Give them to staff, supporters, FOI heroes, or just keep some for yourself.

Product details and ordering information are available online.

Shining Examples: Gallery Nine

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Opening its Sunshine Week coverage with a two-fer, The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle produced an eye-opening report about its attempts to get violence reports from local school districts, then it capped the week with a comprehensive look at disruptive incidents in the schools utilizing the same documents it requested in the audit. Enhancing the coverage were opinion  pages featuring commentary from FOI experts and students. In addition, the paper offered a bold full-page graphic that showed how to navigate the Freedom of Information Law maze.

The Arizona Newspapers Association: "We are urging all members to participate in Sunshine Week." The Arizona Newspapers Association got right to the point with those words in its Arizona Publisher Briefly newsletter. But ANA didn't just encourage its members to participate, it also showed them where to get the resources they might need to supplement—or, if needed, make up the bulk of—their coverage.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: As it did in 2006, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution featured profiles of eight local open government who "are shining a light on government." Each individual was featured in a short profile in the paper's Sunday @issue section, which also featured cut-outs on how to file federal and state FOIA requests. On the same Sunday, The Journal-Constitution devoted two full pages to "The laws at work," features on important news stories developed using open records laws.

Sunshine Illuminates

The coverage, commentaries and activities promoting open government during Sunshine Week are leading to some tangible, meaningful changes to people's lives and the laws that govern them.

The Sunshine Week initiative is increasing public awareness, it's coming up more often in policy conversations, and the efforts of participants are being cited as real forces for moving the public away from simply accepting excessive and unwarranted government secrecy.

People also are playing more of a role in the actions that affect their communities. They now are learning what kinds of information they have a right to see, where to get it, how to get it and what to do if someone tries to keep if from them.

We're collecting Sunshine Week success stories of all sizes and hope you'll send in yours. Please e-mail comments, PDF files and other materials to dghernandez@asne.org.

---

New York State

As in many places, the Sunshine Week efforts in New York State are having an impact on legislators. Recently, for example, the governor signed legislation that requires agencies to accept Freedom of Information Law requests via e-mail and, when available, provide the documents electronically in a return e-mail.

Here's what Robert J. Freeman, executive director of the New York State Committee on Open Government, told us about sunshine in the Empire State:

"From my perspective, there are two reasons for this year's [New York state] legislative achievements.

       

"In short, our state legislators have been unable to evade issues relating to FOI, and the public and news media have created pressure for change."

"First, I think that many are reacting to secrecy in Washington; and second, Sunshine Week, as you probably know, has been terrifically successful in NY. Newspapers throughout the state have done a bang up job of letting readers know about FOI, editorializing, doing audits, series, etc.

"In short, our state legislators have been unable to evade issues relating to FOI, and the public and news media have created pressure for change. My sense is that neither last year's nor this year's amendments to our statute would have been passed but for Sunshine Week. It's hard to ensure that legislators don't forget, but Sunshine Week has become our guarantee.

"It's amazing that after only two years, the commemoration has become an annual event."

In addition to the statewide impact, Sunshine Week participants have seen their FOI audits and other coverage affect the release of information in their communities.

---

The San Jose Mercury News

The San Jose Mercury News opened Sunshine Week with a resounding call to its City Council to enact an open government law. The paper not only editorialized in favor of the measure, however, it also drafted a carefully crafted model law as a starting point. Editorial Page Editor and Vice President Stephen E. Wright recently explained it best. In his words:

"It's not unusual for a newspaper to call for more sunshine on the public's business. But with months of crusading editorials and enlightening news stories, the Mercury News went far beyond that, showing an exceptional commitment to the cause.

"We produced a 36-page model sunshine ordinance that San Jose could adopt or use as a basis for study. We did this in collaboration with our attorney, who volunteered his time, and community leaders, whose frustrating experiences with City Hall helped us frame provisions unique to our city. The newspaper's Web site (www.mercurynews.com) provided easy public access to the ordinance, as well as to our coverage and editorials.

"We spared no effort. I testified at a city council meeting in favor of a comprehensive sunshine law, and Executive Editor Susan Goldberg wrote a column of support that appeared on our front page. This kind of activism and teamwork between the editorial and news pages is unusual for us. It raised some eyebrows in city government—as well as in our newsroom. But the issue was too important to the community and so central to the newspaper's mission that business as usual could not apply.

       

"The issue was too important to the community and so central to the newspaper's mission that business as usual could not apply."

"Why take this extraordinary step? During the past seven years, a once-model city government had devolved into a culture of secrecy that deepened with each new outrage. A council member was forced to resign over taking expensive gifts. Inside deals marred several city contracts—a grand jury is looking into one of them. The council approved controversial proposals with no time for serious public debate. Change was needed and, with this being an election year for mayor and much of the council, the time was ripe.

"We never expected our ordinance to be approved verbatim but it already has proven its worth. Shortly before we published it, a council member and mayoral candidate proposed her own 'sunshine' law that was anything but. We not only argued against that proposal but also showed the council and the public what a true open government law looks like."

---

The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City

As it did the year before, The Oklahoman used the Sunshine Week icon on each article and news brief during Sunshine Week that was based on meetings—which worked out to about 7 in 10 articles. Among its coverage of open government issues for Sunshine Week, the paper highlighted the issue of excessive copying fees for public records.

As staff writer Bryan Dean, explained:

"The centerpiece of our multi-part Sunshine Week coverage was a story about cities overcharging for records. They are allowed by the Oklahoma Open Records Act to charge no more than 25 cents per page for most records, but were charging $1 per page or more in some circumstances.

       

"We had been going round and round with some of these cities about their records policies for years. It wasn't until the coordinated effort of Sunshine Week that they started to get the picture."

"As we followed up our Sunshine Week coverage over the next few months, cities began changing their policies to follow the law. Roughly half a dozen cities have lowered their copying fees as a result of our stories.

"Many public officials in the state are starting to recognize the term 'Sunshine Week,' and they are beginning to realize that The Oklahoman is serious about holding them accountable for following openness laws.

"We had been going round and round with some of these cities about their records policies for years. It wasn't until the coordinated effort of Sunshine Week that they started to get the picture. The effort is having an obvious impact in our state."

---

View Sunshine Week Shining Examples gallery postings here.

---