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Press Room

Published: January 25, 2005
Last Updated: March 16, 2008

Media Contact:

Debra Gersh Hernandez
Coordinator, Sunshine Week
Phone: (703) 807-2100, ext. 130
E-mail: dghernandez@asne.org

March 16, 2008: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) says she is "committed to restoring open government" by not only mandating more open meetings and release of public documents, but also by nominating "an attorney general who has a proven commitment to open government," according to her response to the Sunshine Week 2008: Sunshine Campaign survey of presidential candidates. More ....

March 16, 2008: Three-quarters of American adults view the federal government as secretive, and nearly nine in 10 say it's important to know presidential and congressional candidates' positions on open government when deciding who to vote for, according to a Sunshine Week survey by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University. More ....

March 11, 2008: Sunshine Week will host a discussion on open government and secrecy issues following a Thursday, March 13, L.A. Theatre Works production of "Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers" in Los Angeles. The dialogue will be led by Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition. More….

March 5, 2008: A series of featuring 13 actors, who are high-profile members of The Creative Coalition, speaking about the importance of open and accountable government has been produced for Sunshine Week, March 16-22, and can be used throughout the election season in conjunction with the Sunshine Campaign. More....

Feb. 26, 2008: Sunshine Week has joined forces with Helium, a leader in online citizen journalism, to generate discussion about issues that reflect open government and Freedom of Information. The innovative partnership provides Helium members with a platform to write about issues raised by Sunshine Week. More....

Feb. 21, 2008: Sunshine Week 2008: The Sunshine Campaign has joined Project Vote Smart's 20,000 mile Purple Bus Tour that is bringing the Voter's Self Defense System to people around the country. More....

Feb. 20, 2008: Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley will address Freedom of Information and other open government issues during a Sunshine Week dinner speech March 18 at The National Press Club. The dinner is being jointly presented by Sunshine Week and the Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library. More....

Jan. 16, 2008: New online and print ads for the Sunshine Campaign open government initiative are now available in English and Spanish on the Sunshine Week Web site, and may be used free of charge by any participant. More.... (Pulse aquí para español.)

Dec. 26, 2007: Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), a Democrat seeking the presidency, told the Sunshine Week 2008: Sunshine Campaign Survey that he "will work to restore Americans' trust in their government by creating a transparent government." Rather than answering each Sunshine Campaign Survey question, Edwards responded with a series of topical statements on a handful of issues. More....

Dec. 20, 2007: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Democratic candidate for president, says he supports open government and as president "would ensure that the obsessive secrecy of the Bush administration will be rolled back." Richardson, responding to the Sunshine Week 2008: Sunshine Campaign Questionnaire, noted, "The public must and will have access to information about what its government is doing, and in the absence of a compelling reason, it will have that access." Richardson is the first candidate to submit his answers to the survey. More....

Nov. 29, 2007: The Sunshine Week alliance has begun a yearlong Sunshine Campaign project to bring the discussion of open government issues to election campaigns from president to local city council. While the initiative expands the scope of Sunshine Week to cover the entire election season, specific events and coverage are still planned for Sunshine Week, March 16-22, 2008. More...

March 11, 2007: A nationwide information audit, conducted as a prelude to Sunshine Week, found slightly more than four in 10 of the official gatekeepers willing – if wary – to provide copies of emergency response plans, which federal law makes public. Other local officials, however, reacted to requests with confusion, outright denials and sometimes by calling police to check out the auditors. Many weren’t sure who had the authority to release the reports, or even where the documents were located. More …

March 7, 2007: Americans increasingly suspect the federal government has become cloaked in secrecy, a concern they don't have with their local and state governments. People also overwhelmingly believe that their federal leaders have become sneaky, listening to telephone conversations or opening private mail without getting court permission, according to a survey of 1,008 adults commissioned by the American Society of Newspaper Editors for national Sunshine Week, March 11-17. More

Jan. 17, 2007: Journalists Ben Bradlee, Tom Brokaw and Judy Woodruff are the honorary chairs of Sunshine Week 2007. Bradlee is former executive editor and now vice president at large of The Washington Post. Brokaw is former anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News and now a contributing reporter and producer for NBC News documentaries. Woodruff is special correspondent for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and anchor of Conversations with Judy Woodruff on Bloomberg Television. As honorary chairs, Bradlee, Brokaw and Woodruff will serve as spokespeople for Sunshine Week 2007 and support the initiative’s efforts to empower and educate people about their right to know what government is doing, and why.

Jan. 9, 2007: Eight leading journalists from across the country have joined the Sunshine Week 2007 Spanish Language Working Group to promote the importance of open government in the Hispanic community. The working group will further Sunshine Week efforts by publicly endorsing the initiative; working with the national, regional and state coordinators to develop and author Spanish language materials for participants; leading Sunshine Week participation at their newspaper or organization; and being available for interviews and public forums. En español

Aug. 30, 2006: Six journalists have signed on to coordinate 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.

March 10, 2006: Two national polls conducted on the eve of the second national Sunshine Week open government initiative, March 12-18, show a public that equates open government with effective democracy and is concerned about the rise in official secrecy and the national, state and local levels.

Feb. 1, 2006: Hodding Carter III—an award-winning print and broadcast journalist, former State Department spokesman, and past president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—has joined the Sunshine Week national open government initiative as honorary chairman for 2006. Several additional programs already underway for Sunshine Week 2006 also were announced.

Oct. 11, 2005: Following the extraordinary success of the first nationwide Sunshine Week last March, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami has awarded a second, larger grant to the American Society of Newspaper Editors to implement and expand the open government initiative in 2006.

May 5, 2005: The logo developed for Sunshine Week: Your Right to Know has been modified for use year-round. The modified look incorporates the blue and yellow imagery of the sun shining over a capital building that morphs into an open folder, but it drops the Sunshine Week tag, replacing it with the tagline, Your Right to Know.

March 13, 2005: A new survey conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs on behalf of Sunshine Week shows that seven out of 10 Americans are concerned about government secrecy, and more than half think there's not enough access to government records.

Feb. 4, 2005: The Sun in Baltimore has donated to the national Sunshine Week initiative the $11,000 awarded it by the city for legal fees and expenses incurred during the newspaper's fight to obtain for information regarding a former police commissioner.

Feb. 1, 2005: The Web site supporting the first national Sunshine Week, www.sunshineweek.org, is now live. The site will serve as a central clearinghouse for participants, and will later feature many of the open-government editorials, articles, cartoons and other features developed for Sunshine Week, March 13-19.

Dec. 14, 2004: Opening a dialogue about the public's right of access to government information is the focus of Sunshine Sunday and Sunshine Week: Your Right to Know, which kick off March 13, 2005 and continue through the following week.

Dec. 14, 2004: Excerpts from the press briefing announcing the launch of Sunshine Week.