About Sunshine Week

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Our Story

Sunshine Sunday began in Florida in 2002, led by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. National Sunshine Week was launched in 2005 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In 2019, the American Society of News Editors merged with the Associated Press Media Editors to become the News Leaders Association.

As of Dec. 8, 2023, Sunshine Week is coordinated by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. See the December 2023 news release to learn more.

Sunshine Week occurs each year in mid-March, coinciding with James Madison’s birthday, March 16 (1751). Madison was a driving force behind the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and presented the first version of the Bill of Rights to Congress. He also was the fourth president of the United States.

Sunshine Week is funded in part through an endowment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as well as by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, as part of its land-grant university mission to educate journalists and the public about their rights to civic information. The Knight Foundation supports democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once had newspapers. If you would like to get involved with Sunshine Week, please contact Sunshine Week Coordinator Diana Mitsu Klos at consultdmk@gmail.com

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Contact Us

Diana Mitsu Klos

Sunshine Week Coordinator
Email

David Cuillier