Newspapers and magazines can download two free Pennsylvania-specific columns for National Sunshine Week, March 10 – 16. They also have access to free cartoons, logos and national columns.
This year’s Pennsylvania columnists include First Amendment attorneys Niles Benn and Terence Barna, as well as Kim de Bourbon, executive director of the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition. They can be downloaded at http://sunshineweek.rcfp.org/state-resources.
Organizers also encouraged media outlets to produce original material for the week.
“Open government is as important to everyday citizens as it is to those of us in the media,” said Susan Schwartz, Pennsylvania coordinator for National Sunshine Week. “The problem is, most citizens don’t find out how vital it is until they run into a problem getting government information they need. Sunshine Week gives us a chance to point out how essential our open government laws are — and why they need to be expanded and protected.”
Sunshine Week is funded in part by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. It’s coordinated by the American Society of News Editors and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.