Oklahoma SPJ Annual Awards Sunshine Workshop

The annual awards banquet Sunshine workshop will be 1-3 p.m. March 1. A workshop on making open government in Oklahoma an important campaign issue in state and local elections will be conducted Saturday, March 1, at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. “The Sunshine Campaign: A Grassroots Strategy for Open Government” will discuss ways to obtain commitments from candidates to strengthen, enforce and comply with Oklahoma’s Open Records and Open Meeting Laws. The public is encouraged to attend the workshop, which is sponsored by the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists Pro Chapter and Freedom of Information Oklahoma Inc. The workshop will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., followed by the annual SPJ awards banquet that evening. Workshop registration is free for SPJ and FOI Oklahoma members and anyone attending the awards banquet. For others, registration is $15. Part of the proceeds will go to FOI Oklahoma’s Openness Fund to support litigation seeking public access to government records and meetings. Registration for walk-ins will begin at 12:30 p.m. Among the panelists will be state Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, who will discuss the Legislature’s general attitude toward Sunshine Laws and offer suggestions on what the public and media could do to make strengthening the Open Records and Open Meeting acts a higher priority for legislators. Deliberative forums, a method of fostering meaningful citizen involvement in public decision-making, will be explained by Dr. Renee Daugherty, an Oklahoma State University associate professor who specializes in leadership development. The workshop is part of a national project to spur public commitments to open government from candidates for president down to city council contests. Journalists and voters are encouraged to ask every candidate for public office to explain his or her positions on open government and freedom of information issues. Candidate questionnaires will be provided at the workshop. For more information or a registration form, go to www.foioklahoma.org or call (405) 744- 8277. •Banquet set for March 1. Click here for more info on the banquet itself.