THE ISSUE
Today begins Sunshine Week, which highlights the fight for transparency in government and access to public information. Led by the News Leaders Association and organizations including the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, Sunshine Week aims to increase public awareness of open-meetings and open-records laws like Pennsylvaniaâs Right-to-Know Law and Sunshine Act.
The restrictions and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic didnât stop the work of journalists over the past year but did make it tougher.
Pandemic-related emergencies gave the Wolf administration, for instance, some cover for holding back information.
But journalists at LNP | LancasterOnline and The Caucus â an LNP Media Group watchdog publication focusing on state government â persisted in ensuring that taxpayers knew how government officials were acting and spending money on their behalf.