This is Sunshine Week, and for anyone on spring break, that might mean time on a sandy beach.
It also is a celebration of the public right to open records and meetings – and the importance of using these laws we call “Sunshine Laws,” thanks to Louis Brandeis, who served as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1916 to 1939
“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,” he wrote in a 1913 Harper’s Weekly article while discussing “a remedy for social and industrial diseases.”
We still have plenty of those diseases in society today, which is why the American Society of News Editors launched “Sunshine Week” in 2005 to promote open government. Sunshine Week 2025 is this week, and The Reporting Project joins news organizations across the country in highlighting the importance of shining a bright light on the workings of government, business and community organizations.
By showing up and reporting about the actions of local government, news organizations such as The Reporting Project and community service organizations such as the Observers Collaborative in Licking County shine that light to illuminate the actions of elected officials and public employees.
News organizations this week will highlight the importance of openness through stories, editorials, columns, cartoons and graphics.
But the important role of shining the light is not limited to news reporters by any means. Anyone can do it, and during this week, Sunshine Week organizers at the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications encourage everyone to get involved. Here are some of the ways you can get involved:
• Share your stories: Sunshine Week is noting its 20th anniversary, and the U.S. has made a lot of gains in open government thanks to those who shine the light. Share your experiences, success stories, Freedom of Information Act battles, new laws and other efforts on behalf of open government. Post them on social media with #SunshineWeek.
• Join any of the many online webinars being hosted by organizations across the country this week, including one about Ohio’s public records laws being hosted by the Dayton Daily News at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, on the newspaper’s YouTube channel.
• Go to a meeting! The Reporting Project weekly newsletter includes a list of local meetings and when they are held, so use the button at the top of the home page to sign up for the newsletter, and you’ll receive a weekly reminder. They are also listed on The Reporting Project Events Calendar.
• Visit the Observers Collaborative site and read reports by volunteers attending local government meetings in your area of Licking County.
• If you don’t find reports from your community on the Observers Collaborative site, consider volunteering to attend meetings and file reports on what you see and hear.
• Go to the Ohio Attorney General’s “Sunshine Laws” web page and read up on the records and meetings laws. The site includes a link to the Sunshine Law Manual, also called “the yellow book” which provides a concise review of the laws in layman’s terms.
• If you are part of a civic group, you can organize local forums, sponsor essay contests or ask elected officials to pass proclamations on the importance of open access.
• If you are an educator, you can use Sunshine Week to teach your students about how transparency in government improves our lives and makes our communities stronger.
• If you are an elected official, you can pass a resolution supporting openness, introduce legislation to improve public access or encourage training of government employees to ensure compliance with existing laws mandating open records and meetings.
• If you are a private citizen, you can write a letter to the editor or spread the word to friends through social media.
Enjoy the sunshine this week. It’s a vital part of democracy.
Alan Miller writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.