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Sunshine Week Update: Feb. 24, 2005

Published: February 24, 2005
Last Updated: February 24, 2005

This Week in Sunshine: Feb. 24, 2005

The Sunshine Week effort is moving along at a great pace, and based on reports from participants, there are going to be some incredible stories and editorials in place. Please be sure to remind your colleagues to send links to anything online that week to dghernandez@asne.org, so they can be linked from the main site.

A lot of new items were added to the Sunshine Week site, www.sunshineweek.org, since last week's update.

Our biggest change has been repurposing the Resources page into the new On Campus feature. The items formerly under Resources now can be found in the Toolkit. On Campus features lesson plans, an NIE page from "For the Kid in You," news and other information tailored to high school and college journalists and educators.

Other new materials now online include:

Two editorial cartoons for use by any Sunshine Week participant

New op-ed columns for use by all Sunshine Week participants from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), co-sponsor of the Open Government Act of 2005; First Amendment Ombudsman Paul McMasters; and FOI attorney Stephen Gidiere

Editorials from the Denver Post and Plain Dealer in Cleveland that can be used by any participant

News articles from Cox Newspapers about FOI around the globe and from Newhouse News Service about GOP allies for open government

Four PSAs created by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that can be adapted for use in any state

Information about the recently introduced Open Government Act of 2005 (federal FOIA bill), including links to analysis and texts

Ordering information for orange "Govern in Sunshine" wristbands

A link to ASNE's FOI Interactive Training guide

A flier for libraries to hang in advance of and during Sunshine Week

New organizations have been linked from the open-government sites roster, including the Project on Government Oversight, the Indiana Coalition for Open Government and the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council

An archive of these weekly updates in the FOI News section

Also, Knight Ridder-Tribune Graphics has added PDF versions of the informational graphics to make use easier by more participants.

We also now have a list of Sunshine Week events in the FOI News section, so please be sure to let us know if you have anything planned.

Be sure to check back frequently, particularly as Sunshine Week nears, as we are getting new materials in every day and posting them right away. Unless otherwise indicated, all op-ed columns, editorials, editorial cartoons, graphics, ads, fliers and other materials in the Toolkit may be used by any Sunshine Week participant, at no charge, beginning March 13.

Thanks, everyone, for the tremendous efforts and great work that you're all putting in to make the first national Sunshine Week a huge success—and advance the important cause of preserving the right to know.

Debra Gersh Hernandez
Coordinator, Sunshine Week