How it all started...

This past summer, a group of reporters, editors, media lawyers, educators and advocates of freedom of information met at the Poynter Institute to discuss ways of preserving and strengthening our state's Government-in-the-Sunshine laws.

Among those at the meeting were representatives from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, the Florida Press Association, the Florida Press Club, the Florida First Amendment Foundation, the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida, the Association of Black Journalists, and the Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Our goals...

The group decided its primary goal would be to help citizens understand the important role public records and open meetings play in their daily lives by developing a number of tools, including a web site and a list serve, encouraging coalition members and friends to speak to community groups, developing talking points, identifying the top 20 FOI stories, and producing editorials and opinion articles available for all to use.

The coalition's first project is supporting the passage of Amendment Four, the constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds majority before the legislature can pass any new exemptions to the state's Sunshine laws. The amendment will be on the ballot Nov. 5.