Sunshine Week in a Pandemic

When the world is in the midst of a pandemic, it may seem trivial to talk about freedom of information.

It is instead highly relevant to the situation at hand.

People need to know what is happening, how serious the threat is and how that may change in the days, weeks and months ahead as this nation deals with the rapidly spreading coronavirus disease, or covid-19.

They must be able to trust both the information they’re getting and the sources from which it comes. Lives could depend on how the public responds.

That’s when the freedom of information can factor into the equation, shining a light on government operations and either promoting confidence in the government or encouraging change in the response.

This week the nation again marks “Sunshine Week,” an annual effort to celebrate the freedom of information and highlight the importance of open-records and openmeetings laws and of public access to government decision-making that impacts us all.

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