And Freedom of Information Day is Saturday, March 16. Learn more at sunshineweek.org.

As an advocate of the First Amendment, it is our duty to inform our readers of their rights as citizens. When it comes to freedom of information, you have more rights than you may realize.

That’s why we ran a series in 2022 titled “Sunshine Series: Your Right to Know,” which is available to read on our website, from our Opinion landing page: https://tinyurl.com/39u7vrtm,

“Your Right to Know” is a publication of New York state’s Committee on Open Government that provides an overview of the Freedom of Information Law, Open Meetings Law and Personal Privacy Protection Law. Today it can be found online as a PDF download on the New York State Department of State website, dos.ny.gov/open-meeting-law.

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In the media, we keep this information handy, in part, so we can keep public officials accountable for their actions. But these rights pertain to all New York state residents, not just journalists.

The Committee on Open Government is responsible for overseeing implementation of the Freedom of Information Law, Open Meetings Law and Personal Privacy Protection Law.

The Freedom of Information Law governs rights of access to government records, while the Open Meetings Law concerns the conduct of meetings of public bodies and the right to attend those meetings.

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About Sunshine Week

The following history of Sunshine Week was provided by sunshineweek.org.

Sunshine Sunday began in Florida in 2002, led by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. National Sunshine Week was launched in 2005 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In 2019, the American Society of News Editors merged with the Associated Press Media Editors to become the News Leaders Association.

As of Dec. 8, 2023, Sunshine Week is coordinated by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.

Sunshine Week occurs each year in mid-March, coinciding with James Madison’s birthday, March 16 (1751). Madison was a driving force behind the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and presented the first version of the Bill of Rights to Congress. He also was the fourth president of the United States.

Sunshine Week is funded in part through an endowment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as well as by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, as part of its land-grant university mission to educate journalists and the public about their rights to civic information.

The Knight Foundation supports democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once had newspapers.