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Sunshine Week 2006 Online Gallery Nine

Published: August 21, 2006
Last Updated: August 21, 2006

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Shortly after Sunshine Week, Democrat and Chronicle Editor and Vice President for News Karen Magnuson told American Journalism Review that until recently "we wouldn't have thought of using an illustration to anchor page one. We're less traditional than we used to be…We're being more creative in how we package information." In her editor's note about Sunshine Week, Magnuson explained that, "For us at the Democrat and Chronicle, Sunshine Week will turn into Sunshine Year. We plan to shine a light on examples of open government as well as examples of when government shuts its doors."

"The audit, conducted by reporters between Feb. 7 and 10 at 18 school district and two Board of Cooperative Education Services offices, found it was impossible to walk into a Monroe County school district office, ask for readily available public information and walk out with the document in hand," the paper reported. The document requested was the 2004-05 summary report of violent and disruptive incidents in school buildings. Utilizing bold graphics and charts to showcase ita Sunshine Week stories, The Democrat and Chronicle incorporated the flashlight graphic used on the page-one audit story with other imagery in the package.

"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.

Noting that the Freedom of Information Act, looking a little worn on its 40th anniversary, ANA pointed members to the "Bright Ideas" book, to print ads, and opinion columns created for Sunshine Week 2006.

In addition, ANA pointed to links to other resources in the Sunshine Week Toolkit, including bookmarks, informational graphics, editorial cartoons, public opinion surveys and podcasts

As it did in 2006, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution featured profiles of eight local open government heroes—four private citizens and four public officials—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

The citizen heroes recognized in 2006 included a certified public accountant who heads her local Taxpayer Watchdog Group; a bookkeeper for a local elderly services agency who filed suit, and won, against the County Commission for secret meetings; a substitute teacher who took on the issue of school overcrowding; and a retired federal worker who won a fight for airline records that showed oversized jets were using a nearby airport illegally, causing excessive noise and air pollution.

Public officials featured in the AJC were Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, whose experience with opening state government led him to co-sponsor federal legislation to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act; a county juvenile court judge who led efforts to open the courts while still protecting children's privacy; the state attorney general who ruled that Atlanta had to disclose what it bid to have the NASCAR hall of fame located there; and a county commissioner who fought to open property acquisition records first as a citizen and then as an elected official.

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. The centerpiece was the story about Atlanta's bid for the NASCAR hall of fame, the details of which city officials tried to keep under wraps. The paper sought the information under the state Open Records Act. The group spearheading the bid refused, and the state attorney general was asked to rule, which he did—in favor of the newspaper.

And if all that weren't enough, during Sunshine Week 2006 the Journal-Constitution also launched a Web site called Your Internet Watchdog that connects readers to government documents and other information. It also ran a front-page story about the governor's uneven record on openness; and offered an editorial arguing for an amendment to the state constitution that would strengthen the Open Records Act.

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