Archive:Blogshine Sunday

The American Society of Newspaper Editors is organizing "Sunshine Sunday" on March 13 and "Sunshine Week" March 13-19. News organizations will run stories, editorials and cartoons urging greater access to government information. Our response: Blogshine Sunday.

Quotes

 * Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression ... to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
 * Article 19, UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 1948


 * Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press
 * First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, ratified 1791


 * A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.
 * Pres. James Madison, 1822


 * Give me the liberty to know, to utter and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.
 * John Milton, 1644


 * The more that government becomes secret, the less it remains free.
 * James Russell Wiggins, newspaper editor, 1956


 * We seek a free flow of information...we are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values.
 * Pres. John F. Kennedy, 1962


 * The liberties of people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.
 * Patrick Henry, 1788


 * We must never forget that the free flow of information is essential to a democratic society.
 * Pres. Clinton, 2000


 * Government ought to be all outside and no inside.
 * Pres. Woodrow Wilson


 * The only effective restraint upon executive policy in the areas of national defense and international affairs may lie in an enlightened citizenry -- in an informed and critical public opinion which alone can here protect the values of democratic government.
 * Justice Potter Stewart, 1971


 * Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe.
 * Pres. Abraham Lincoln, 1861


 * Democracies die behind closed doors. The First Amendment, through a free press, protects the people's right to know that their government acts fairly, lawfully, and accurately.
 * Judge Damon Keith


 * Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right and a desire to know.
 * Pres. John Adams


 * When information which properly belongs to the public is systematically withheld by those in power, the people soon become ignorant of their own affairs, distrustful of those who manage them, and -- eventually -- incapable of determining their own destinies.
 * Pres. Richard Nixon, 1972

Intro
On March 13, 2005, news organizations across the United States will participate in "Sunshine Sunday" by running stories and editorials in support of access to government information. Freedom of information is vital to the health of democracy. That's why FreeCulture.org has organized "Blogshine Sunday" on the same day: to ensure that government remains accessible to tomorrow's journalists.


 * 1)  In an increasingly wired society, government documents need to be digital and online, not just buried in archives; not just online, but in open file formats, without requiring registration or tracking users' personal information, in open databases to which no one can be denied access.
 * 2) "Professional" journalists are not the only people who deserve access to our government -- everyone does.

Resources

 * Sunshine Week
 * more links here
 * American Society of Newspaper Editors
 * Society of Professional Journalists - Freedom of Information Act resources
 * Open Doors: Accessing Government Records
 * History of FOIA from 1996
 * Reporters sans frontiÃƒÂ¨res (Reporters Without Borders)
 * OpenTheGovernment.org
 * Student Press Law Center
 * Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
 * How To Use The Federal FOI Act
 * Tapping Officials' Secrets, a guide to "every state's open records and open meetings laws"
 * Committee to Protect Journalists
 * Coalition of Journalists for Open Government
 * National Freedom of Information Coalition
 * Freedom of Information Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia's School of Journalism
 * Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida's School of Journalism and Mass Communications
 * FOIA links

Local

 * Sunshine Act - Pennsylvania
 * Government-in-the-Sunshine Law - Florida

OPEN Government Act
Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2005 (OPEN Government Act, S. 394), sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.)


 * text as introduced (or PDF)
 * Cornyn's site
 * Cornyn's floor speech
 * overview includes endorsements

Press

 * Copyfight, Feb. 18, 2005
 * Media Law, Media Law, Feb. 16, 2005
 * Library Law, Feb. 17, 2005
 * Law Librarian Blog, Feb. 25, 2005
 * Newhouse News Svc., Feb. 17, 2005

Endorsements

 * Newspaper Assoc. of America, Feb. 16, 2005
 * Project on Government Oversight, Feb. 16, 2005
 * American Civil Liberties Union, Feb. 16, 2005
 * Heritage Foundation, Feb. 16, 2005

Oppression of bloggers

 * Iranian blogger sentenced to 14 years in prison, Reuters, Feb. 22, 2005

Apple v. Does case

 * background from EFF
 * Online Journalists to Get Their Day in Court, EFF release, Feb. 23, 2005
 * EFF Asks Court to Protect Online Journalists, EFF release, Feb. 14, 2005

Digital access

 * SPJ donates $1,000 toward studentÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s fight SPJ release, Feb. 2, 2005

Assorted

 * Elections 101 for Seminole, Orlando Sentinel, Feb. 27, 2005
 * GPD puts its public records on Web, Gainesville Sun, Nov. 23, 2004
 * Negligence in court files could bring sanctions,Gainesville Sun, March 8, 2005

Coverage

 * DotSquiggle, March 8, 2005
 * Sunshine Week, March 9, 2005
 * ibid., March 9, 2005
 * LIS News, March 9, 2005
 * LibraryLaw, March 9, 2005
 * Committee to Protect Bloggers, March 9, 2005
 * Society of Environmental Journalists, March 9, 2005
 * New Media Musings, March 10, 2005
 * WikiNews, March 10, 2005
 * Online Journalism Review, March 10, 2005
 * Mark Tapscott Director, Center for Media and Public Policy and the Marilyn and Fred Guardabassi Fellow, The Heritage Foundation, March 10, 2005
 * Editor and Publisher, March 10, 2005
 * reprint in Yahoo News
 * Tiger Beat, March 10, 2005
 * Catnip @ Daily Kos, March 10, 2005
 * Prarie Weather, March 10, 2005
 * Doc Searls, March 10, 2005
 * MediaLaw, March 11, 2005
 * BlogCritics, March 11, 2005
 * IPSJ, March 11, 2005
 * Brains and Eggs, March 11, 2005
 * Townhall.com, March 11, 2005
 * BartCop Entertainment, March 11, 2005
 * Suitable for Mixed Company, March 11, 2005
 * FOI Center, UMissouri, March 12, 2005

Blogs to contact
We want to get a nice assortment of people participating by writing about how access to government records affects them. Copyright, technology, or politics blogs are good, but it can be anything that involves access to government records: sports (think police files), local/school blogs, education, science, the environment, international affairs...
 * Don't have to be U.S. blogs, but it's probably more relevant, so it'd be sort of silly to put too much effort into recruiting international blogs.
 * Could be multi-author/organizational blogs or individual blogs.

Spanish text
Noticia: Blogshine Sunday, el Domingo de Brillar los Blogs

Quiero invitarles a Uds. a participar en Blogshine Sunday (El Domingo de Brillar los Blogs), una acciÃƒÂ³n web organizada por FreeCulture.org (Cultura Libre), el cual es un grupo polÃƒÂ­tico estudiantil fundado en los EE.UU. En Blogshine Sunday, los bloggers escribirÃƒÂ¡n sobre la importancia del acceso libre a informaciÃƒÂ³n gubermental, no sÃƒÂ³lo para los periodistas profesionales sino tambiÃƒÂ©n los bloggers.

Vea mÃƒÂ¡s en nuestra pÃƒÂ¡gina web, http://blogshine.org.

[ Press release in English follows ]

Un saludo.

Already Contacted
Plenty of press organizations / open government groups / media outlets have been contacted as well; please check the Core list for details


 * Boing Boing
 * Jason Kottke
 * Waxy.org
 * Slashdot
 * Copyfight (Donna)
 * IPac (Barry Ritholtz)
 * Sivacracy (Siva Vaidhyanathan)
 * The Importance of...
 * Politech
 * Furdlog
 * LibraryLaw
 * DarkNet
 * MemoryBlog
 * Media Law
 * Behind the Homefront, Reports Committee for Freedom of the Press
 * Committee to Protect Bloggers
 * Bloggers Without Borders
 * News Hounds
 * Blogs for Bush
 * GOP Bloggers
 * Political State Report
 * Daily Kos
 * Red State
 * Heritage Foundation
 * Keystone Politics - Pennsylvania
 * Perspectives
 * A Copyfighter's Musings
 * Informed Comment - Prof. Juan Cole, UMich
 * PressThink - Prof. Jay Rosen, NYU
 * Dan Gilmor
 * New Media Musings
 * Campus Progress
 * LIS News
 * Rebecca MacKinnon
 * Garrett M. Graff, fishbowlDC
 * Online Journalism Review
 * Enrique Dans
 * Javier Candeira, Hiperactivo
 * Antonio CÃƒÂ³rdoba, ElÃƒÂ¡stico
 * Ignacio Escolar, Escolar
 * Carlos SÃƒÂ¡nchez Almeida, RepÃƒÂºblica Internet
 * David Casacuberta, RepÃƒÂºblica Internet
 * Juventudes Liberales
 * ComitÃƒÂ© de ProtecciÃƒÂ³n de Bloggers
 * Technology Liberation Front
 * Constitutional Code
 * Paul Beard
 * Wired
 * Gainesville (Fla.) Sun
 * Independent Florida Alligator
 * Washington Post (Howard Kurtz)
 * Slate (Jack Shafer)
 * Common Dreams
 * PowerPage sued by Apple
 * Think Secret sued by Apple
 * AppleInsider sued by Apple
 * CNet News (Evan Hansen)
 * ZDNet Blogs
 * Joi Ito
 * Sunshine Week (Debra Gersh Hernandez, Ray Ollwerther, Pat Yack, Don Lindley)
 * National Newspaper Association (Brian Steffens, Tonda Rush, Jeffrey Carson)
 * Florida Press Women (Grace Buol)
 * National Federation of Press Women (Donna Penticuff, Katherine Keniston, Allison L. Stein)
 * Student Press Law Center (Mark Goodman, Michael Pittman, Adam Goldstein)
 * Radio-Television News Directors Association Jon Ebinger
 * Florida Society of Newspaper Editors (Bill McKeen)
 * Society of Professional Journalists (David E. Carlson, Callie Martell, Sonya Smith, Mead Loop, Neil Alan Ralston, Holly Fisher, Adrian Uribarri)
 * American Society of Newspaper Editors (Diana Mitsu Klos)
 * OpenTheGovernment.org (Rick Blum)
 * Coalition of Journalists for Open Government
 * Charles N. Davis, Executive Director, FOI Center, Missouri School of Journalism
 * Sandra Chance, Executive Director, Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida
 * Jeremy Lewis, Huntingdon College
 * Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
 * Black College Wire
 * Federation of American Scientists (Steven Aftergood)
 * Balkinization
 * San Francisco Chronicle (Benny Evangelista)
 * Mercury News (Barbara Marshman, Ed Clendaniel, Barbara Egbert, John Fensterwald, Daniel Vasquez, Phil Yost)
 * Associated Press

Sort of contacted
These blogs were indirectly contacted (e.g. the news should have reached one of their writers through one means or another)


 * LawMeme
 * WikiNews
 * Lessig

To contact
The reason many of these were not contacted is because I'm not sure how likely these are to participate -- use your judgment, perhaps


 * Metafilter
 * members of Media Bloggers Association
 * members of these groups (which haven't already been contacted - check Core team email)
 * TeleRead - eBooks, etc.
 * Freedom to Tinker - Ed Felten
 * Stanford CIS
 * Current copyright readings - Northwestern U. libraries
 * Law Librarian Blog
 * Internet Cases
 * Open Access News
 * The Bloggers' Rights Blog
 * Common Cause blog
 * Kicking Ass Democratic National Committee blog
 * New Democrat Network
 * The Stakeholder Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee blog
 * From the Roots Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee blog
 * Smart Ass College Democrats
 * Florida Democratic Party
 * The Gainesville Report - Gainesville, Fla.
 * Matt Rolls a Hoover - copyright?
 * Godwin's Law - Mike Godwin

Not Quite Blogs
They're not blogs, but they definitely relate to blogging and/or citizen journalism. Could we work with them in some way?
 * Technorati
 * The Smoking Gun
 * CiviBlog free blogs for people working in non-profits