Annual Sunshine Week March 10-16 events planned
SPJ DC is joining organizations across the country in marking Sunshine Week, an annual initiative to promote the importance of open government and access to public information. Sunshine Week 2019 is March 10-16 and we encourage you to participate in any of these free programs, to which our chapter has been invited:
— Tuesday, March 12: Open Government Summit, led by the D.C. Open Government Coalition; 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. American Bar Association, 1050 Connecticut Ave. NW, 5th floor, Washington, D.C.
The summit will feature a panel of D.C. teachers who are leading the movement for access to records in charter schools, and a panel of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners who will discuss the importance of using DC FOIA to uncover information valuable to their decision-making.
Registration was requested by MARCH 7 for this free of charge event, but email (click to email here) Saideh Ezzatebaghani to find out if you can still register.
— Tuesday, March 12: Assaults on Science in the Trump Era, co-sponsored by the Government Accountability Project, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Sunlight Foundation; 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., OpenGov Hub, 1100 Vermont Ave. NW., Suite 500, Washington, D.C.
Featured speakers include Lisa Friedman, climate change and energy reporter, The New York Times, and Emily Holden, environment reporter, The Guardian.
Dana Gold, senior counsel and director of education for the Government Accountability Project, will discuss the role of science whistleblowers in transparency and accountability efforts. Rachel Bergman, Web Integrity Project director at the Sunlight Foundation, will discuss a new Website Tracker Tool used to help track shifts in public information.
It’s free of charge. To register for this event, click here.
OTHER D.C. EVENTS
These are open to the public, but SPJ DC did not get a specific invitation for its membership to attend.
— Monday, March 11: Department of Justice Sunshine Week Kickoff Event from the Office of Information Policy. 10 a.m. to noon, Great Hall, 950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. Keynote address by the Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General of the United States, as well as the Department’s annual Sunshine Week FOIA Awards Ceremony to honor and celebrate the work of dedicated FOIA professionals across the government.
— Monday, March 11: National Press Club panel on How to Find and Use Climate Data That Readers Can Trust; 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., 529 14th Street NW (13th floor, Murrow Room). The event, sponsored by the NPC’s Freedom of the Press Committee and the National Press Club Journalism Institute, features a panel of climate science journalists and climate policy researchers.
Learn:
- What quality government/academic/privately produced data sets are available to reporters and how to access the data
- How to interrogate scientific data sets, particularly what to look for and red flags if you don’t have a data journalism background
- How to evaluate the independence of the scientists/experts they are interviewing and learn who provides their funding
To register, follow instructions after you click here.
Want to learn more?
Get information on other programs in the Washington region and beyond at www.sunshineweek.org
Did you know?
National Freedom of Information Day is March 16, the birthdate of U.S. founding father and former president James Madison, who is also known as the “Father of the U.S. Constitution” and Bill of Rights champion.
Here is a little more information about Madison, and how the national day of recognition came about (see here). SPJ DC Pro has a personal connection to the day through one of its longtime members, Westwood One talk radio host Jim Bohannon. At the chapter’s Membership Appreciation meeting Jan. 26, 2019, Bohannon was honored for his 45 years of SPJ membership. Since he could not attend the meeting to receive his accolades in person, he sent an email in advance with a few remarks to be read aloud at the meeting. He highlighted some memorable experiences in his years of membership:
“By far my most significant memory is Freedom of Information Day. I’ve always done a lot of feature stories, and it was May 19, 1977, that I interviewed William “Bill the Dill” Moore, president of Pickle Packers International. He sent me all kinds of material about International Pickle Week, even including 8 x 10 glossy photos of pickles (which I couldn’t quite work into my radio reports!). It occurred to me then that, if pickles get a whole week, then surely something as important as freedom of information deserved at least a day. I eventually took this idea to the 1979 SPJ national convention in New York City, and presented it to President Jean Otto and the national SPJ board. I suggested we declare a National Freedom of Information Day, and that it be each March 16, birthday of James Madison, father of the Constitution. It was so adopted, and has been observed each March 16 starting in 1980.
I … presented it to President Jean Otto and the national SPJ board. I suggested we declare a National Freedom of Information Day, and that it be each March 16, birthday of James Madison, father of the Constitution. It … has been observed each March 16 starting in 1980.
“In such an ephemeral business as radio, this may be one of my few enduring contributions to the profession. I’ve greatly appreciated my membership, the friendships, and the backing available whenever the First Amendment is challenged. We are a vital organization and should be proud of what we do.”
Speaking of backing of the First Amendment, have you seen the latest design of the SPJ First Amendment shirts? It’s gone from “I BACK the First Amendment” to “May the First Be With You”!!
Chapter member and past DC Pro Chapter president and Region 2 director Ann Augherton holds a shirt up for a hint of what it looks like if you are actually wearing it:
