Material available for journalists to promote open government during Sunshine Week March 13-19

Material is now available for Sunshine Week, an annual event to celebrate open government and freedom of the press. Now in its 11th year, this year's week is March 13-19. National Freedom of Information Day is March 16, the birthday of James Madison, father of the First Amendment. (Editorial cartoon by Jake Fuller)

The American Society of News Editors and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press have worked with The Associated Press, The McClatchy Company, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Sacramento Bee and Tribune News Service to produced a reporting package that includes a comprehensive series of news stories, photos and graphics that will be available free to all participants. The complete story budget and links are available by clicking here.

The Sunshine Week site will also provide other tools, including opinion columns, editorial cartoons, Sunshine Week logos and icons, a sample proclamation for state and local governments, the Schools and Colleges page for students and educators and a series of open government questions to ask candidates running for federal positions.

Sunshine Week 2016 is made possible by an endowment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and by generous donations from Bloomberg and the Gridiron Club and Foundation. For more information about Sunshine Week, visit sunshineweek.org. Follow Sunshine Week on Twitter and Facebook, and use the hashtag #SunshineWeek.