Keeping information free

This is Sunshine Week, an occasion for journalists, educators and anyone with an interest in government transparency to highlight the importance of the freedom of information — and the lengths to which journalists often have to go to make it free. Local media across the country are marking Sunshine Week in a variety of ways.

Some, like Jeff Schwaner of Virginia’s Cardinal News, are taking readers behind the scenes in  pointing to the journalism they have done using government records. Jeff Taylor, editor of the Post and Courier in South Carolina, is rolling out a series of columns highlighting the investigations his team has done based on public records and the fights waged to obtain them.

Some are using their platforms to call for governments to be better about open government and public records. In Michigan, MLive’s president John Hiner, who is also president of the Michigan Press Association, is calling for reforms, saying the state is the only one in the nation that exempts its governor’s office from the Freedom of Information Act and one of two where FOIA does not apply to the legislature.

And David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, writes in The Conversation about backsliding in the Sunshine State.

On a national level, the Trump administration’s erasure of data from government websites and its attempt to control the flow of information out of Washington have added new urgency to the calls for transparency.

The National Press Club pointed to the problem in a call for agencies to restore records that have been removed and urged lawmakers to take action to protect the information.

“Federal data is not an abstract resource,” it said. “It is the foundation for critical day-to-day infrastructures across the country and the basis for reporting that helps communities understand the world around them.”

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> It’s great that the NYT is thriving. But I have a worry (American Crisis by Margaret Sullivan) 

Sullivan says The New York Times’ coverage of the city’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is an example of how the paper needs to be held accountable. A former Times ombudsman, she cites a Times story about how Mamdani’s reaction to a terrorist attack outside the mayor’s residence was so different from his campaign style. “But guess what? A terror attack and an against-the-odds mayoral campaign are two very different things, and require different responses,” she writes.

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Culture & Inclusion

>> Black and Latino audiences drive podcast growth, but ownership lags (Axios)

Blacks and Hispanics make up a fast-growing segment of podcast audiences but they lag behind in terms of ownership, meaning many creators are “building audiences on platforms they don’t control,” writes Delano Massey. “Ownership is destiny,” said Juleyka Lantigua, who is an exception as a Latina owner. “The only way to secure a long-term future for an idea is to own the means of production and distribution.”

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Community Engagement & Trust

>> Earning trust and strengthening community: Insights from a conversation with Joy Mayer (Commonplace Forum, Medium) 

Drawing from a conversation at the University of Oregon’s Agora Journalism Center, director Andrew DeVigal shares insights from a conversation with Trusting News’ director Joy Mayer about how news organizations can build trust with audiences, including the difference between cognitive and emotional trust. (A video of the discussion is also embedded.)

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Revenue & Resilience

>> Why Frank Blethen spent his family’s fortune to save Seattle’s newspaper (The Seattle Times) 

In January, the Seattle Times’ Frank Blethen turned the publisher’s role over to his son Ryan, moving into the paper’s fifth generation of family ownership. In Blethen’s 40 years at the helm, writes Lynda V. Mapes, the paper survived economic tumult, the loss of print advertising and a difficult strike. “But for him, it was always about the newspaper’s survival,” she writes.

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What else you need to know

📉 Small publishers hit hardest by search traffic declines (Axios)

👀 A journalist reported a missile strike. Then came the death threats. (The Washington Post)

😐 Wired’s new editor doesn’t care if the tech bros are mad (The New York Times)

🛡️ Creator Safety Guide: Best practices for documenting demonstrations, violence, and communities in crisis (News Creator Corps)