For use Sunday, March 15

The Public’s Right to Know

Eds: This is part of the Florida Sunshine Sunday package.

With BC-FL Sunshine Sunday stories

Today, newspapers throughout Florida are observing “Sunshine Sunday,” a one-day campaign to raise awareness about the importance of public meetings and public records in a democratic society.

Florida has been a leader in government-in-the-sunshine and this year marks the 100th anniversary of its public records law. Today, the Florida Society of News Editors profiles six people who helped make Florida a model in the nation. We also explore how President Obama hopes to make the federal government more transparent, based, in part, on the example set by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. And lastly, we examine dozens of proposed bills in the Legislature this spring that threaten to close public access to government documents.

Sunshine Sunday 2009

Editorials

Cartoons

Daytona Beach News-Journal by Bruce Beattie
The Florida Times-Union by Ed Gamble
Florida Today by Jeff Parker
The Baker County Press by Ed Hall
The Ponte Vedra Recorder by Ed Hall
Sunshine Week by Rob Smith, Jr.
The Villages Daily Sun by Bill Landis

Columns

Florida’s Sunshine Laws: A Tradition of Open Government by Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida
Sunshine Week: Public gains from more access, information by David Plazas, Fort Myers News-Press
We need more openness, especially at federal level by Phil Lewis, Naples Daily News
100 years of fighting for the public's right to know by Pat Rice, Northwest Florida Daily News
What NOT to keep secret by Jane Healy, Orlando Sentinel
Sunshine Sunday Op-Ed by Barbara Petersen, First Amendment Foundation

Reporting

Sunshine Sunday bills by Brendan Farrington, Associated Press
Online records: Survey finds many states lagging by By David Crary, AP National Writer
What NOT to keep secret by Amy L. Edwards, the Orlando Sentinel
Foster children want access to their own records by Dara Kam, The Palm Beach Post
So far, Obama is an advocate of open government by Wes Allison, St. Petersburg Times
Clouds on the horizon for Florida's Sunshine Law by Bill Cotterell, Florida Capital Bureau Political Editor, Tallahassee Democrat

Faces behind the 100th anniversary of Florida's public records law

Introduction
Ex-Gov. Askew: Early champion of open government by Gerald Ensley, Tallahassee Democrat
Longtime Fla. press counsel pushed Sunshine Law by Bill Cotterell, Tallahassee Democrat
For Butterworth, openness is a way of life by Carol Marbin Miller, The Miami Herald
Nothing’s secret about open government advocate by Jessica Gresko, Associated Press Writer
Crist’s counsel is an advocate for open government by Jim Saunders, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Ex-Herald editor: Government in Sunshine took time by Evan S. Benn, The Miami Herald
Did you know?
Sunshine Sunday Online

New Material for ASNE Sunshine Toolkit

New Sunshine Week 2010 toolkit material is now available for use!

You’ll find editorial cartoons, op-eds, calendar, logos and info graphics there. Just click on the tab for “Toolkits.”

New material will be posted daily. Later this week, we will post a nationwide poll on the public’s attitudes about FOIA.