Sunshine Week provides opportunity to reflect

Celebrating Sunshine Week in Arizona might seem a bit like holding a snowball festival in Alaska – focused too tightly on the obvious to be useful.

A closer look at just about anything, however, often reveals what is not immediately apparent. And that is exactly what Sunshine Week is about – keeping government accountable by keeping the public informed.

This might mean asking tough questions about how we’re spending money before officials feel they are ready to respond. It might mean publishing details about proposed deals between private and public entities, even if those involved prefer that their financial maneuverings be kept quiet.

The time to ask about fiscal responsibility is before spending our tax dollars. Expecting the public to be involved in the process is not unreasonable.

It falls under the public’s right to know.

But not every citizen has the time to attend every meeting, read every City Council packet, dig into background issues or examine the city’s budget. That’s where the media come in. It’s our role as the unofficial fourth estate in a free society not only to publish what those in power want us to know, but to seek out what society ought to know. Whenever a public servant refuses to answer to the media, it is the same as if he or she denied the same request from a constituent.

Additionally, in a city the size of Maricopa, the members of the media and the public they serve are often one and the same. Many of us not only work in Maricopa, but live, pay taxes and vote here, too.

This year, journalists around the United States are spearheading the celebration of Sunshine Week March 16-22. It all started in 2002 when a group of journalists in Florida launched Sunshine Sunday in response to officials’ attempts to create barriers to obtaining public records. A year later, the American Society of Newspaper Editors rallied in Washington for an Information Summit creating the foundation for what has now become Sunshine Week, a national event to celebrate the process of shedding light into every crevice of public business.

As a journalist, I would be remiss if I didn’t add my voice to those of my colleagues who proudly stand for maintaining open government, public access to records and assisting our readers by examining public activities with an unbiased-yet-critical eye. At times, it will mean filing the proper public records requests. At other times, it will mean invoking public records laws which make all public documents available for visual inspection during regular business hours. Most of the time, it will simply mean keeping in touch with and maintaining a symbiotic relationship with local leaders. They hold the key to releasing information which we can then pass along to you, which you can in turn use to hold government officials accountable.

So please don’t be surprised, and don’t head for the shadows or break out the sunscreen, when the working media appear to be shining the white hot light of sunshine your way. It’s just our way of doing what we do best – providing you with the most accurate and in-depth local news and information.

RuthAnn Hogue is the editor of inmaricopa.com and 85239 The Magazine.