At Oklahoma City Free Press we are leaning in hard to this year’s Sunshine Week because so much is at stake right now.
Never in my lifetime have I seen so much open hostility to news organizations and the act of news gathering.
And, also never in my lifetime have I seen so much acquiescence to government officials by news companies.
Yet, there are news companies who have been standing up to demands from government officials and their supporters to blindly, obediently, comply and not look too closely.
As long as we can, we at Oklahoma City Free Press will continue to deliver the news to the public whether some like it or not.
Many of you have supported us and continue to do so. We are grateful.
Others wish us to just stay quiet or go away. What I say to you is that we will continue to do our jobs with human respect owed to anyone. But, we won’t comply with demands from government officials or their supporters to stop asking or watching.
It is our job to watch for those who don’t have the time or resources to spend watching. We work for all of you.
And for those of you who pass along tips and information that you have gathered, THANK YOU! We couldn’t expose problems in government without you.
Everyone doesn’t have the time or inclination to write a letter for public view about Sunshine Week but I want you to consider it.
We need to hear from more residents of OKC about how important open government is both when it comes to meetings and information.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
