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Let the Sunshine In!
FOI Activities for Chapters, Classrooms and Newsrooms
Fostering FOI
Its our duty as journalists, and a key mission for SPJ, to shine light into the dark recesses of government secrecy. To that end, this SPJ Web site provides ideas for chapters, newsrooms and instructors to promote and further freedom of information in their communities. Weve gleaned the best of chapter FOI programs from recent years as well as great Sunshine Week projects. Weve gathered tips, facts and quotable expert sources for writing stories or editorials about FOI. Weve provided classroom activities for instructors and ideas for newsroom brown-bags. These ideas can be applied during National Sunshine Week, which is March 16-22, or any time of the year. Let the sunshine in!
Sunshine Week
National Sunshine Week has been celebrated every March since 2005, thanks to the hard work of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civics groups, non-profits, schools and libraries. The activities are funded from a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to enlighten the public about their right to government information and strengthen their communities.

Click here to contact the Project Sunshine Chair in your state.
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Project Sunshine
Information
Project Chairs
A Winning Strategy
Freedom of Information
About/History
FOI Alerts
News/Articles
Covering Prisons
Project Sunshine: Find FOI Help
Accessing Government Records
Shield Law Campaign
FOI Audit Tookit | PDF
Anti-SLAPP: Protect Free Speech
Official Secrets Act bill
FOI Groups
Annual FOI Reports
FOI Committee Roster
Links/Resources
Message Board
FOI FYI:
SPJ's FOI Committee Blog
• Washington S.C. rules that unsubstantiated sex abuse allegations are secret
• Cheap e-mail archiving software eliminates technical barriers to access
• Tennessee court rules that private prisons must release documents
FOI Committee
This committee is the watchdog of press freedoms across the nation. It relies upon a network of volunteers in each state organized under Project Sunshine. These SPJ members are on the front lines for assaults to the First Amendment and when lawmakers attempt to restrict the public's access to documents and the government's business. The committee often is called upon to intervene in instances where the media is restricted.
Freedom of Information Committee Chair
David Cuillier
Assistant Professor
Department of Journalism
University of Arizona
Marshall Building, Room 323
Tucson, AZ 85721-0158
Work: 520/626-9694
Fax: 520/621-7557
E-mail
Bio (click to expand)
David Cuillier, a former newspaper reporter and editor, is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of Arizona. He researches public attitudes toward freedom of information and is one of the SPJ newsroom trainers for acquiring government documents.
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