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SUNSHINE WEEK 2026 CONTENT FOR PUBLICATION
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FOIA graphic from The Washington Post
Cartoons • Columns
FOIA GRAPHIC FROM THE WASHINGTON POST
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CARTOONS
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Meet the Cartoonists
Ann Telnaes • Jimmy Margulies • Dave Mowry • Milt Priggee • Don Landgren Jr.
COLUMNS
The Document Divide: Why public records laws are failing average Americans, and what to do about it

Freedom of information should be freedom of information for all. It is not.
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About the Author: David Cuillier
The nonpartisan Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida has, since 1977, provided research and education in the public’s ability to access government information. Dr. David Cuillier has served as director since 2023, and before that was an associate professor and director at the University of Arizona School of Journalism. A leading authority on freedom of information, he also served as president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. and the Society of Professional Journalists. During the past 25 years, Cuillier has taught more than 15,000 journalists, students and citizens on how to acquire public records, and is co-author of “The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records.” He can be reached at cuillierd@ufl.edu.
People are requesting more government records than ever. Why are they getting less?

More Americans are filing Freedom of Information Act requests than ever, topping 1.5 million in 2024 and on track for another record in 2025. This will mark the third consecutive year that FOIA requests have reached seven figures.
But more requests does not necessarily equal more access to public government information.
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About the Author: Anna Massoglia
Anna Massoglia leads MuckRock’s news team, overseeing the organization’s editorial vision and engagement strategy, including leading the Sunlight Research Desk. She previously served as director of investigations at the Sunlight Research Center and directed the media team at OpenSecrets, overseeing editorial processes and political finance investigations. As an independent journalist and subject matter expert, she has worked with a wide range of newsrooms, academic institutions and nonprofits. She can be reached at anna@muckrock.com.
Removal of federal data affects us in our hometowns

Getting information of many types from the federal government – which has never been easy – is now a nearly impossible task.
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About the Author: Miranda S. Spivack
Miranda S. Spivack is the author of Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back (The New Press 2025). She is vice president of the D.C Open Government Coalition. You can reach her at mirandaspivack@yahoo.comand at https://www.mirandaspivack.com/
The FOIA: Off to Slow Start, Picked up Speed, Now Hitting a Brick Wall

It was June 1968 when I arrived in Washington, D.C., after a year in New Orleans clerking for Fifth Circuit Judge John Minor Wisdom. A new law requiring more government transparency was just going into effect.
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About the Author: Thomas M. Susman
Thomas M. Susman is the American Bar Association’s Strategic Advisor for Global Programs and Governmental Affairs and a member of the National Freedom of Information Coalition board.
More columns coming soon. Additionally, you can browse these columns from 2024 and 2025.
