Sunshine Week

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project would like your suggestions on this online form for how to make Sunshine Fest 2025 a success in identifying solutions to the most pressing issues in freedom of information.  Sunshine Fest is intended to bring together a broad array of interests to…

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Posted: December 19, 2024

MuckRock and the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project are teaming up to launch a contest to celebrate Sunshine Fest 2025 in conjunction with Sunshine Week, which takes place March 16-22, 2025. We’re on the hunt for the best logos and slogans that promote freedom of information—something creative that…

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Posted: December 18, 2024

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sunshine Week and identify solutions to the most pressing problems in government transparency, the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications is coordinating the first in-person “Sunshine Fest” March 19-20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. …

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Posted: December 11, 2024

Sydney Sims joins the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project Nov. 12 as its first full-time outreach coordinator to lead national Sunshine Week and other efforts to educate journalists and the public about their rights to access government information. Sims will coordinate Sunshine Week, which was started in 2005…

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Posted: November 12, 2024

The Brechner Freedom of Information Project seeks an energetic and passionate individual to lead public outreach and education in freedom of information (FOI) to advance the public’s right to know. The new full-time position would be entrusted with three main missions:  Coordinate national Sunshine Week, including public communications to promote…

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Posted: August 2, 2024

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC)  and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announced the establishment of the Knight Sunshine Fund at the University of Florida, an endowment of $575,000 to help expand the reach and impact of Sunshine Week and increase public awareness of the importance of open…

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Posted: March 25, 2024

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Despite Marsy’s Law Ruling, TPD Won’t Release Information on Officer Involved in Shooting” published in the Tallahassee Democrat on March 15. The article focuses on Marsy’s Law, a constitutional amendment approved by Florida voters in 2018 that grants…

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Posted: March 15, 2024

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is the author of “Growing Secrecy Limits Government Accountability” published on theconversation.com on March 11. In the article, Cuillier focuses on how government agencies are increasingly hiding their work from the public and how this behavior can have significant ramifications. Cuillier…

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Posted: March 15, 2024

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Sunny State Turned Cloudy: A Boca Raton Lawsuit Illustrates ‘Erosion’ of Florida’s Public Records Law” published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel on March 10. The article focuses on Florida’s Sunshine Law requiring government meetings and documents to…

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Posted: March 11, 2024

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications will educate Americans about the right to public records by coordinating national Sunshine Week, starting in March 2024. The News Leaders Association (NLA), which has led Sunshine Week since 2005, is transferring the public awareness campaign to Brechner.…

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Posted: December 11, 2023

Janet Coats, managing director of the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology (CTMT) at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, will speak about the College’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the Alachua County Library District’s Freedom of Information Day on March 16 at 5 p.m. in downtown Gainesville. Coats will discuss…

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Posted: March 16, 2023

David Cuillier, incoming director of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Freedom of Information Project, will be speaking at the 2023 Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) Sunshine Week Symposium. The online webinar will be on March 16 at 1 p.m. Cuillier will be one of six panelists discussing the…

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Posted: March 16, 2023