Sunshine Week runs all this week: Event celebrates open government and offers plenty of free promotional materials.

Sunshine Week, an annual event highlighting the importance of open government and freedom of the press, starts on Sunday.

Now in its 19th year, this year's events run from March 16-22. National Freedom of Information Day is March 16, the birthday of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States and father of the First Amendment.



The Sunshine Week site offers free, promotional materials, including Zoom backdrops in English and Spanish, sample social media posts, op-eds, editorial cartoons, Sunshine Week logos, and a step-by-step Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) graphic. The website also features freedom of information resources with print and video explanations and the legislative history of FOIA.

Sunshine Week is coordinated by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. It is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and a growing list of public and private endorsers.

Explore Sunshine Week here

Journalists grapple with Trump's threats toward the U.S. media. How can free speech and truth remain the priority?

Trump has made continuous threats against U.S. media leaving reporters apprehensive about his upcoming term.
(Adobe Stock Images)

News organizations and journalists are experiencing unease as President Donald Trump reenters the White House, and what that means for them.

During a speech after being named TIME magazine's Person of the Year, Trump referenced the media and "threatened to use the power of his incoming administration to stifle free speech... [and] has made it clear that he will use the apparatus of government to go after his critics," wrote Rob Tornoe for E&P Magazine.

“The media is tamed down a little bit. They like us much better now, I think… If they don’t, then we’ll just have to take them on again, and we don’t want to do that,” said Trump at the New York Stock Exchange.

Writers are aware that their words carry weight, but now there is increasing concern that strong opinions will drive away readers or lead to backlash. Tornoe wrote, “The impact has been felt especially hard by the nation’s editorial cartoonists, who continue to dwindle,” including Mike Luckovich, who has drawn political cartoons for three decades and is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist.

Besides Trump's threats, the news industry is also struggling with decreasing digital advertising rates, notable algorithm changes at Google, increasing impacts from artificial intelligence (AI) on journalism, and a lack of trust in institutions like news organizations, according to Tornoe.

E&P wrote that in an interview, Luckovich said that while visiting the Pentagon over 20 years ago multiple generals told him that besides whether or not they liked his cartoons they would defend his right to make his point. Luckovich told Tornoe, “To me, that is what America was all about — and I hope it still is.”

A high-school newspaper covers LGBTQ+ issues and gets closed by the school district; ACLU files federal lawsuit

Marcus Pennell holds a June 2022 edition of the
Viking Saga. (Photo courtesy of Joshua Foo)

A high school in Nebraska is defending a federal lawsuit after it closed a school newspaper that reported on LGBTQ issues, reports Zach Wendling of The Grand Island Independent: "The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska filed on behalf of the Nebraska High School Press Association and a former student journalist, Marcus Pennell. The lawsuit alleges violations of the rights to be free from viewpoint discrimination and retaliation and the right to receive information. . . . District officials shut down Grand Island Northwest High School's student newspaper, the Viking Saga, last June. One article in that month's edition, written by Pennell, addressed Florida's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law, but other articles were unrelated."

While school officials "have stated the decision to shutter the paper days after the June edition went to print was unrelated to its content," Wendling writes, "public comments and internal emails suggest otherwise. . . . Zach Mader, vice president of the Northwest Public Schools Board of Education, told the Grand Island Independent last summer there was 'a little bit of hostility amongst some' to the paper. . . . 'There were editorials that were essentially, I guess what I would say, LGBTQ.'. . . Emails between Dan Leiser, school board president, to Superintendent Jeffrey Edwards were also included. . . Leiser said students should not be allowed to write opinion articles in a publication paid for by taxes because platforms such as Twitter, Facebook are available."

"Nebraska High School Press Association Executive Director Michelle Hassler said in a statement that litigation 'is not a step that we take lightly'," Wendling reports. "'Our involvement hopefully speaks to our level of concern about what happened at Grand Island Northwest and the implications for the students we serve. . . . Our mission is to support and advocate for Nebraska's high school media, and that's exactly what this case aims to do.'. . .  Hassler continued that student journalists have a right to learn and hone their skills consistent with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." Pennell told Wendling, "We have a right to be who we are and to write about our lives. I am hopeful that censorship is not the end of this story."

Conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod may respond to white nationalists by excommunicating them

Rev. Matthew Harrison (Photo by Erik M. Lunsford, LCMS)

"This is evil. We condemn it in the name of Christ." So said the Rev. Matthew Harrison, president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, in calling for the excommunication of unrepentant white supremacists in the church’s ranks.

Amid congregational disturbances and online threats to church leadership, Harrison is "rebuking an extremist effort to exert influence within the conservative Lutheran denomination," report Jack Jenkins and Emily McFarlan Miller of Religion News Service. "In a recent letter . . . Harrison said he was 'shocked to learn recently that a few members of LCMS congregations have been propagating radical and un-Christian views via Twitter and other social media . . . . He noted far-right members were causing 'local disruption' for congregations and alleged that LCMS leadership and deaconesses had fallen victim to online threats."

Merriam-Webster defines "alt-right" as "a right-wing, primarily online political movement or grouping based in the U.S. whose members reject mainstream conservative politics and espouse extremist beliefs and policies typically centered on ideas of white nationalism." In his letter, Harrison adds a more detailed view. "Harrison went on to rebuke the 'horrible and racist teachings of the so-called ‘alt-right,’" listing ideologies such as "white supremacy, Nazism, pro-slavery, anti-interracial marriage, women as property, fascism, death for homosexuals, even genocide," RNS reports. "He noted that while the LCMS is 'not a top-down institution,' he would work with local pastors and district presidents 'to address this matter wherever it arises among us and reject it.' Citing Scripture, he called on those spewing hateful ideologies to repent."

RNS explains, "The letter comes in the wake of an article published this month by anti-fascist group Machaira Action alleging the 'rise of a white supremacist faction within the Lutheran faith.' The post singled out Corey Mahler, who has reportedly been active in far-right circles and has posted about whiteness and 'white genocide' on Twitter. Mahler also identifies as a Christian nationalist. . . .
Asked whether Mahler would be excommunicated, a representative for the church he allegedly attends in Tennessee said the matter was being handled internally but declined to comment further."

Harrison's letter also addresses "a recent controversy over a new edition of Luther’s Large Catechism," RNS reports. "Earlier this year, the president asked Concordia Publishing House, the denomination’s publishing partner, to pause distribution . . .  citing an 'online disturbance.'" The disturbances came in the form of Amazon reviews of the new edition. "A one-star review complains, 'Women, forbidden from teaching according to Scripture, are afforded extensive opportunities to do just that in this sorry compilation.'. . . Others slam the accompanying essays as 'woke' and accuse them of promoting pedophilia."

In response to the harsh reviews, Harrison responded with a written update. “I have had time to re-evaluate the controverted sentences and found that while some things might have been expressed more clearly, nevertheless, there is nothing in the content of the volume promoting critical race theory, confusion of sexuality issues, or any theological position at odds with biblical and confessional Lutheranism."

Trying to tame comments at meetings becomes tricky as officials weigh free-speech rights vs. aggressive tactics

Many in an angry crowd objected to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’s
school mask mandate. (Photo by Melinda Deslatte, Associated Press)

"You have the floor." The phrase opens the mic to an opinion, but across the country, that has become a tricky exercise. "Governing bodies are restricting — and sometimes even halting — public comment to counter what elected officials describe as an unprecedented level of invective, misinformation and disorder from citizens when they step to the microphone," reports Karin Brulliard of The Washington Post. "As contentious social issues roil once-sleepy town council and school board gatherings, some officials say allowing people to have their say is poisoning meetings and thwarting the ability to get business done."

Public bodies try to strike a balance: "In Rochester, Minn., City Council President Brooke Carlson said the council’s once-monthly limit on commenting has helped, though it did not please regular speakers," Barulliard writes. In response to Rochester's restrictions, one citizen told the board, "You are supposed to be servants of the people. You should be here to listen to us for as long as you need to because we are technically your bosses."

Barry Sanders, a city council member in Taunton, Mass., agreed: "Last fall, the council briefly suspended public input after a speaker chastised a council member by name over a dispute that began on social media, violating a requirement that comments be 'respectful, courteous and not personal in nature.'" Brulliard writes. "Sanders opposed the suspension."

Sanders told Brulliard, “That’s what the First Amendment speaks to: the right of the public to have their grievances heard. Not the right of the public to say nice things about their elected officials." Bruilliard reports, "A local progressive group, Taunton Diversity Network, was also concerned. The council has now settled on a policy that limits speaking time and prohibits threats or incitement, but also eliminates the civility requirements."

School-board chairs and superintendents have also taken notice of the "rising threats of violence and aggression at community meetings," Brulliard notes. "Francisco Negron, the chief legal officer for the National School Boards Association, said he advises members that time and topic limits are fine . . . . But generally, Negron said, he tells boards: 'Parents care deeply about children, so let them have their say.'"

Brulliard notes that Christy Perry, a superintendent in Oregon, had to halt open comments when aggressive behavior between speakers erupted after the meeting. Perry told Brulliard, "It used to be, ‘Come in, sign up. We’ll call on you.’ No big deal, right? That changed during the pandemic. You want that personal connection, so I think that is what’s missing when the public is not in the room. I think I’ve been known for that over my career and saying, ‘How can we bring this together and find that common ground?’ And I haven’t really figured that out yet. … We are living in really polarized times."

National, regional groups help drive book bans across the country; more than 1,600 titles were banned last school year

PEN America map, not adjusted for population; for a larger version, click on it.

The drive to ban certain books in public schools is not simply fueled by small pockets of disconcerted parents but is also driven by organized groups that operate at national, state and local levels, says a recent report from PEN America, a nonprofit for writers committed to protecting free expression.  

PEN America identified 50 groups nationwide involved in pushing for book bans and of "those 50 groups, eight have local or regional chapters that, between them, number at least 300 in total; some of these operate predominantly through social media," the report says. More than 70 percent of these regional groups were formed since 2021 and those regional groups played a role in at least half of the 2,532 book bans that the nonprofit recorded during the 2021-2022 school year. 

"These groups share lists of books to challenge, and they employ tactics such as swarming school board meetings, demanding newfangled rating systems for libraries, using inflammatory language about 'grooming' and 'pornography,' and even filing criminal complaints against school officials, teachers, and librarians," the report says.

The report cites Moms for Liberty, a nonprofit with more than 200 chapters aimed at banning specific literature, and MassResistance, designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which also claims nationwide membership and has taken credit for book bans around the country.

State legislators have also applied pressure to local school districts. PEN America says a Republican lawmaker in Texas sent a list of 850 books to school districts across the state and asked them to report which of the titles they had in their libraries and classrooms. 

The book bans spanned 32 states and more than 5,000 schools. Texas led the way with 801 bans across 22 school districts, while PEN America recorded 566 bans in Florida.

The nonprofit's index of banned books includes 1,648 unique titles — 41% of which addressed LGBTQ+ themes and 40% included prominent characters of color. Three-fourths of the banned titles are fiction.

Graph by PEN America; for a larger version, click on it.