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FOI Resources
SunshineWeek.org Resources
– New Series: Our Right to Know
– Social Media Toolkit
– Content for Publication
– What Can I Do?
– 2024 Showcase
– FOI Fun
– Additional resources
Full calendar [sunshineweek.org]
Additional Resources
– Chapter FOI program ideas
– Campus FOI resources
– FOI activities for newsrooms
– Writing about FOI
– Curriculum and classroom ideas for teachers
– FOI resources
Society of Professional Journalists
— Quill: Stories About FOI
— Sunshine Chair in your state
— SPJ's FOI Committee
— Open Doors publication guide to access
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
— Reports and tips regarding access, including a guide to using FOIA and a state-by-state explanation of access laws.
Student Press Law Center
— Online state records request letter generator and guides to campus records
Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
— Keyword searchable morgue of 23,000 investigative stories and 2,000 tip sheets
— Hundreds of FOIA requests that have been filed
— Cheap access to dozens of federal databases
— Website (membership required for full use of site)
Open the Government
This non-profit group, represented by a variety of organizations including SPJ, has current news and reports on FOI. This group is particularly good at keeping up on federal access issues.
The National Security Archive
This institute separate from government acquires and posts a variety of interesting government documents. Check it out for great story ideas.
Government Attic
This site launched in 2007 gathers a variety of interesting federal records and posts them online, mainly as pdf files, for people to view and use as they like. Great story ideas.
Freedom of Information Center
This center at the University of Missouri School of Journalism provides a ton of information about access to public records laws and access audits.
Websites with great document-driven ideas you can use in your own community
— SPJ Open Doors, records A-Z
— IRE Extra! Extra! daily stories
— Society of Environmental Journalists story archive
— Google News Alerts (Go to Google News, click on “News Alerts”, then set up alerts with keywords such as “public records request” and “freedom of information” and Google will send you links to stories that contain those keywords).
Click here to contact the Project Sunshine Chair in your state.
SPJ News
- Announcing the 2024 recipients of The Liberty Awards
- SPJ partners with Aquiline Coaching to offer self-care and wellness resources to members
- SPJ ethics leaders decry editorial interference at LA Times and Washington Post amid debate over presidential endorsements
Events and Deadlines
- 11/24/24: SPJ + Aquiline Universal Newsroom Biweekly Chat
- 12/01/24: Entries Open: New America Award
- 12/03/24: SPJ Georgia: A Winter Wonderland
- 12/05/24: Entry deadline for the Lukas Prize Project
- 12/06/24: Presidential Transition Briefing: What journalists should know about the transfer of power before Inauguration Day
