Get Smart About the Public's Right to Know

Staff Reports

Open government and transparency are the themes of Sunshine Week, a national initiative to promote dialogue about open government. Sunshine Week officially got its start in 2005, but its roots can be traced back to 2002, when the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors organized Sunshine Sunday in response to the efforts of some legislators to create exemptions to state's open records laws. 

But Sunshine Week isn't just for journalists. Open records laws impact everyone. There are a host of free, easy-to-understand and useful resources for you to help you understand what you are entitled to under local, state and federal laws. Here are a few of the best that we’ve selected for you:

The Reporters Committee has an Open Government Guide for each state’s open records laws. The Reporters Committee also offers a federal Open Government Guide and The Digital Journalist’s Legal Guide. The Knight Citizen News Network’s The Citizen Journalist’s Guide to Open Government.

In Georgia, the Georgia First Amendment Foundation is a great resource for information on open meetings and public records in the Peach state.

Are you a Sunshine Week Ray of Sunshine?

SunshineWeek.org has a host of resources on its site.