This is National Sunshine Week, celebrated every March since 2005 and coordinated by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. The activities surrounding this week are meant to enlighten the public about its right to government information.

It also dovetails with Freedom of Information (FOI) Day, which happens to be the birthday of James Madison, February 16. The Founding Father is regarded as the patron saint of freedom of information based on his statement, “A people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.”

It’s a difficult time for the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), designed to give the public access to documents at federal agencies. 

“Every week should be Sunshine Week, but it’s vital to highlight the urgent need for government transparency – especially at a time when press freedoms are eroding and misinformation and disinformation are on the rise,” said Terence Samuel, Chair of the National Press Foundation Board of Directors. “Open government and public access to records are not just principles; they are essential to the survival of the American experiment in self-governance and the future of any functioning democracy.”

This marks the 20th Sunshine Week and comes at a time when debates over public records laws, digital transparency, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) are at the forefront of national and local discussions. The New York Times reported that more than 8,000 web pages across government websites were taken down in late January and early February. Private entities from the Harvard Law School Innovation Lab to news organizations like The 19th* moved swiftly to preserve government data and make it available for researchers, scholars, journalists and the public at large. 

We believe in Freedom of Information and the importanace of government acting in an open and transparent fashion.

We can say, based on our nearly 134 years of experence, that the ‘honest and open government officials’ in Sullivan County certainly outweight those who would like to “push things under the rug.”

But nonetheless, we travel thousands of miles each year to attend government meetings, make hundreds of phone calls to elected and appointed officials and publish thousands of legal notices, all in an effort to keep our readership informed and insure that government does not operate in a vacuum, but is “exposed to the sunlight it deserves.”

Being aware that our government is too secretive is an important first step. Now we must follow through to make sure those whom we put in power and whose salaries we pay conduct our affairs in an open, transparent manner.

We will certainly do our part.