| February 2005 | |||
Let the sun shine in March 13-19
Trying to regain some lost ground, Florida newspaper editors launched a successful statewide campaign in 2002 called “Sunshine Sunday.” Led by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, the event generated editorials, op-eds, editorial cartoons and news stories about the importance of open government. Since then, several other states have launched similar initiatives. This year, Texas has an opportunity to show Florida how to do it right. We are encouraging all Texas newspapers to participate in an entire week dedicated to the public’s right to know. Elsewhere in the Messenger you’ll see more information about Sunshine Week 2005. We want Texas to show the nation how to mobilize readers and raise public awareness about why open government is important to everyone, not just to journalists. Sadly, many citizens don’t give public information a second thought until they’re in a tight spot. Few of us take advantage of the federal and state freedom of information laws that govern nearly every aspect of our lives, from property appraisals and public school teachers’ salaries to crime reports, restaurant inspection records and our water bills. Because of a growing concern for personal privacy, fewer of us are fighting for the continued access to that public information. Nancy Monson, retired director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, used to lament that citizens tend to prefer closed public records, until it’s their ox being gored, such as when a radioactive waste site pops up next door or a convicted child molester roams their neighborhood. Until they need public records, many people push for more privacy. They take the attitude that the “big bad media” wants to get into their business again, and they get the Legislature to close up the laws, and then they’ve shot themselves in the foot. Andy Alexander, who is chairman of the Freedom of Information committee for the American Society of Newspaper Editors, said the goal of the Sunshine Week campaign is to raise public awareness of “this horrible trend that is hurting democracy,” Alexander, who is chief of Cox Newspapers’ Washington bureau, emphasizes that open government is not just an issue for the press. “It’s an issue for the public,” he said. What I want to emphasize is that Sunshine Week is not just an issue for big newspapers. It’s an issue for all newspapers, perhaps even more significant for small dailies and weekly papers that routinely deal with elected officials — and readers — who don’t understand public access laws. That’s why this idea of a unified push by every newspaper in Texas is so appealing. We will speak with one voice and send a compelling message that explains why we must be vigilant about our right to the information the government collects. About our right to observe and participate at meetings where government officials make decisions that affect our lives and spend our tax money. Sunshine Week allows us to remind our readers that state and federal laws share the same tenet: that open government is at the very core of democracy and it is essential that public business is accomplished in the open. The week-long campaign begins on Sunshine Sunday, March 13. The mid-March timing was chosen for a special reason: March 16 is the birthday of James Madison, father of the U.S. Constitution. As we remind our readers of the rights he helped secure for all of us, we also pay homage to his vision. “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.” — James Madison, 1822, fourth U.S. president. |
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