Subject: Sunshine Week : a program on open government and secrecy Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2006 11:23:21 -0600 Message-ID: <BDD0A3EABE40F04A8C7200805EDE5A6A04035899@PEPSI.uwec.edu> From: "Richmond, Elizabeth B." <RICHMOEB@uwec.edu>
This is a program that might be of interest to SFPJ members. Thank you
and we hope to see you!
Betsy Richmond
richmoeb@uwec.edu
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Sunshine Week: Are We Safer in the Dark? A Dialogue on Open Government
and Secrecy
A program on government secrecy, open government and Sunshine laws.
Local Sponsor: McIntyre Library, University of Wisconsin- Eau
Claire
Contact: Leslie Foster (fosterla@uwec.edu), Government
Publications Librarian
When: 12:00 - 1:30, Monday March 13, 2006
Where: McIntyre Library 2023 A - C (The program will be
broadcast from the National Press Club
in Washington, D.C. to sites across the country)
In celebration of Sunshine Week:
The first national "Sunshine Week: Your Right to Know" was
launched in March 2005 and will be celebrated in 2006 from March
12-18. Sunshine Week's intent is to raise awareness of the
importance of open government to everyone in the community, not
just journalists.
Sunshine Week: Are We Safer in the Dark? A Dialogue on Open
Government and Secrecy
Hurricane Katrina highlighted massive government failures to
provide up-to-date and accurate information to the public both
before and after the failure of the levees. Recent news accounts
of tragedies in mines show public safety threats are exacerbated
when government inappropriately withholds information.
Transparency can help government and the public get timely
information before a disaster strikes - and help it cope after.
What about your community? Is government at all levels telling
the public enough to enable us to keep our families safe?
In celebration of Sunshine Week, a panel of experts from around
the country will discuss open government and secrecy - the
problems confronted, the impacts on communities, and what the
public can do. Locally-sponsored programs in communities around
the country will continue the discussion of openness issues in
their communities
What: During the 90-minute national conversation, speakers & video
segments created to spur discussion will address:
Do federal laws such as the Freedom of Information Act fulfill
their promise to guarantee openness in government? How do laws
passed and policies/regulations implemented since 9/11 encourage
secrecy or openness?
How does transparency (or a lack thereof) affect the government's
readiness and response to disasters such as Sago Mines and
Hurricane Katrina? What about the public's ability to plan and
respond - or to prevent disasters?
How do secrecy and openness influence the personal choices you
make to ensure the education, safety and well-being of your
families?
What tools and resources work effectively in safeguarding the
public's ability to hold government accountable?
Program Outline
Introduction of event by Geneva Overholser
Secrecy and access -- why should we care?
A video montage is planned.
Introduction of speakers
Theory and practice of openness and secrecy at the federal level
Discussion with Tom Blanton, Tom Susman, and Barbara Peterson with Q&A
from audience and
by phone and e-mail.
Why the public should care: Public safety and personal impacts
Videos and discussions with reporters on Katrina, mine safety,
school safety; experience of Florida First Amendment foundation
with Q&A from audience and by phone and e-mail
What now/ what next?
Discussion among panelists and audience about what policies and
procedures promoting
transparency can help prepare us for - and possibly prevent - the next
crisis?
Regularly updated program information can be found at
http://www.openthegovernment.org/article/subarchive/85
Moderator: Geneva Overholser
Overholser holds an endowed chair in the Missouri School of
Journalism's Washington bureau. She is a former editor of the Des
Moines Register, ombudsman of the Washington Post and editorial
board member of the New York Times.
Speakers include
Thomas Blanton
Blanton is Director of the National Security Archive at George
Washington University in Washington D.C.
Thomas Susman
Before becoming a partner in the Washington, DC office of Ropes &
Gray, Susman served on Capitol Hill for over 11 years.
Barbara Petersen
Petersen is executive director of the Florida First Amendment
Foundation, a state coalition that protects and advances the
public's constitutional right to open government by providing
education and training, legal aid and information services.