This column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jason Hennington. This is NOT the opinion of the Taylor Press.
March 19 was the last day of Sunshine Week.
For those who aren’t familiar with Sunshine Week, it’s a time that news media outlets promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.
In other words, it’s a time to talk about transparency within government entities.
I never had a clear idea about Sunshine Week until after I worked at the paper for a few months. Once I became familiar with it, I understood how vital this one week can be.
Open government and transparency are important all year-round, but this one week, media outlets can focus on it without too much push back.
I guess it’s kind of like Valentine’s Day - once a year to focus on something that should be important every day of the year. The difference, Sunshine Week isn’t commercialized or marketed for profit. At least, not that I know of.
Part of open government is knowing what can or cannot be released. Election candidates can be released once they file. If I’m not mistaken, that information can be released to the media without any kind of formal request paperwork. I don’t believe that is something that can be withheld until the filing deadline.
With most school districts or municipal governments, they will send us the information as soon as someone files. I certainly appreciate those that do because it makes my job a little easier. A phrase I have lived by as a reporter, even
A phrase I have lived by as a reporter, even before I knew what Sunshine Week was, is, “If you don’t want people to hear it, don’t say it.”
Just because you may not see a reporter in the room doesn’t mean we don’t have a presence. So, if there is discussion in open session about closed session agenda items, then we will ask questions. I dealt with this early in my career at the Taylor Daily Press, and sometimes officials learn the hard way.
But, that’s another aspect of Sunshine Week. It informs government entities that transparency is something they should practice because reliable media outlets will use that as a resource. It’s really up to the entity to determine if they want that resource to be positive or negative. My advice, get to us before we have to get to you.
For the most part, the municipalities and school districts we deal with are good with transparency. We ask questions, we get answers. It’s not always what everyone wants to hear, but it shows them, and our readers, that we want the available information.
I’m going to get off my soapbox now and go watch some more March Madness! I missed most of Thursday’s games, but my bracket is still in pretty good shape . . . so far.
“Whether they cheer or whether they boo really doesn’t bother me, as long as they’re paying attention.”
—Scott Hall
