Government emails, metadata also top list of FOI-tech issues that leave us in the dark FOR RELEASE: March 14, 2022 Contact: Todd Fettig, NFOIC executive director Phone: 352-294-7082 Email: nfoic@nfoic.org March 14, 2022 — The public too often is being denied access to police body- and dash-cam footage. This ranks as the most critical […]
Read More… from Access to police-camera footage must improve, open-government advocates say
Lax enforcement, high fees, hostility also erode ‘sunshine laws,’ public’s right to know Contact: David Cuillier, NFOIC Board president Phone: 520-248-6242 Email: nfoic@nfoic.org GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA, March 15, 2021 — The greatest threats to government transparency today are continued secrecy provisions added to state public record laws, particularly exemptions intended to protect personal privacy and police information. That’s according to open […]
As a nation, we have celebrated the week of James Madison’s birthday (March 16) as Sunshine Week for 15 years. Throughout the week, news outlets and open government advocacy groups issue articles and reports on the public’s right to know what its government is doing. Meetings scheduled during Sunshine Week allow journalists, educators, librarians, civic […]
Read More… from Retrospect – Celebrating Sunshine Week During the COVID-19 Crisis
When Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island and members of the state’s House of Representatives recently demanded that records relating to one of the biggest and most publicized loan investigations in the state be made public, it was an early Sunshine Week gift for the public and especially for advocates of open government.
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On Thursday, March 16, join those in the know as they share short takes on FOIA, access, transparency and more. We'll also show the 2006 PBS profile of Virginia FOIA hero Lee Albright — always a classic — then we'll dim the lights and bring out the snacks to watch last year's best picture Oscar winner about investigative journalism, "Spotlight."
The event is free, but you must register and a donation to VCOG is strongly encouraged.
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Exceptions to government transparency are growing in Minnesota as lobbyists for local officials, law enforcement and businesses gain exemptions under the state's public records law.
The number of secrecy provisions in Minnesota's public records law has risen to at least 660, the Star Tribune reported Sunday in a story kicking off Sunshine Week, an annual nationwide celebration of access to public information.
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Read More… from Exceptions growing to government transparency in Minnesota
The Post and Courier routinely uses the S.C. Freedom of Information Act to unearth crucial documentation for the benefit of all sorts of South Carolinians. The law is a principal method for holding the powerful accountable and shining a light on happenings that would otherwise remain in darkness.
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Read More… from Sunshine Week: How FOIA has brought light to key issues in South Carolina
The New England First Amendment Coalition will join open government advocates throughout the country to celebrate this 12th annual Sunshine Week.
Sunshine Week, from March 12-18, is a national campaign to promote dialogue about the importance of transparency and freedom of information. Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, non-profits, schools and others interested in the public’s right to know.
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Read More… from NEFAC, Media and FOI Advocates to Celebrate Sunshine Week, Open Government
Celebrating Sunshine Week 2017, the National Press Club Journalism Institute’s Freedom of the Press Committee will join with the D.C. Open Government Coalition to present the sixth annual D.C. Open Government Summit on March 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
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Read More… from DC Open Government Summit and Reception at National Press Club
Sunshine Week brought some welcome news for transparency advocates this year: Two state courts ruled, in suits brought by news organizations, that freedom-of-information laws require private entities to disclose their records if they perform a public function.
The rulings, which arrived last week during the annual effort to promote awareness of open government, took up one of the key recurring disputes in public-records law, and both resolved it in favor of greater access.
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Read More… from How two court rulings involving universities breathe new life into the right to know
