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Sunshine Week

Sunshine Week

We are featuring amazing examples of investigative journalism by our news media members that demonstrate the ideals of Sunshine Week in action!Sunshine Week is a nonpartisan collaboration among groups in the journalism, civic, education, government and private sectors that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government.

This year’s efforts are coordinated by Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. And supported by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and thrive with a growing list of partners.

Sunshine Week is about the public’s right to know what its government is doing, and why.

Recent investigative and transparency reporting from MDDC members

During Sunshine Week, MDDC will feature important investigative pieces that show the power of local reporting and transparency in our communities. Please tag your own work with #SunshineWeek2025 to be part of the conversation.

During Sunshine Week, MDDC will feature important investigative pieces that show the power of local reporting and transparency in our communities. Please tag your own work with #SunshineWeek2024 to be part of the conversation.

Read the full article here.

Public education is in the news almost daily, and parents, teachers and even the system’s own administrators, are eager to learn more about what’s happening in their school systems. For 2023’s Sunshine Week, MDDC is offering a package of stories and graphics that examine what type of information the public school systems in D.C., and Maryland, and a sampling in Delaware, make available through their most public facing venue: their websites. It’s a mixed picture, as you might expect. Veteran reporter Miranda Spivack, working with MDDC board member Andy Schotz and MDDC administrator Sam Savage, evaluated 29 websites, to find out.

There will be a panel discussion on Wednesday, March 15, about the results of this project. The panelists will be moderated by Rebecca Snyder, Executive Director of MDDC The panel is free and open to the public. Register here.

Read the full article here.

With the passage of Anton’s Law in 2021, many details about internal police discipline could be released to the public. But so far, journalists, advocates and others seeking to find out more about how police agencies handle complaints about misconduct are learning that getting the records is proving to be, at best, a mixed experience.

Read the full article here.

Led by Andy Schotz, editor of Bethesda Beat, and Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, MDDC’s public policy intern and UMD Merrill College of Journalism graduate student, MDDC conducted a one-month test of government agencies in Maryland.  This project revealed a patchwork of approaches in how public records are tracked and how requests for access are filled.