passopenrecords.org

I received this notice from our friends at the WikiFOIA…If you’re interested, please comment or send a message through the “send us your story” portion of the blog.

The WikiFOIA is starting a year-long project to publish once-weekly interviews with regular folks (”Sunshine Activists”) who file open records requests at the state or local level to help promote government transparency and accountability.

A “Sunshine Activist” is someone who is not a professional reporter, attorney or paid political activist. Instead, a Sunshine Activist is a regular person who has learned how to use open records.

Here is what to expect if you agree to this interview:
• You will be emailed a short list of questions.
• After you answer the questions, WikiFOI staff will write a draft of the interview. This will include an introductory paragraph and the interview itself as well as your contact information (if you want that to be included).
• You will recieve the draft for your approval.
• Once the draft has been approved, it will go into the queue to be published in the “Sunshine Activist” file on both the “State Sunshine and Open Records” blog at and in a special section of WikiFOIA.
• You will be notified when it is published so you can let your friends know.
• If you have a website/blog, WikiFOIA has created an attractive “Sunshine Activist” graphic that you are invited to display on your website/blog.

The goal in doing this series of interviews is to promote the concept of Sunshine Activism as something that can be an important and rewarding part of our job as citizens in keeping government accountable. A list of former Sunshine Activists can be found here, and make sure to check out State Sunshine and Open Records if you have any questions.