SPJ Florida’s Sunshine Awards Feature FOI Award

The Florida Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists recently launched the 20th annual Sunshine State Awards. Last year SPJ Florida added the “First Amendment Foundation Freedom of Information Award.”

The award is named after the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee.

Last year’s winner was WESH-TV’s Greg Fox for his series following the TextGate scandal in Orlando that highlighted the need for a secure way to record and archive text messages from public officials about public business, which are public records.

“Open government and public access to records is an essential part of a journalist’s job and we want to recognize those that take full advantage of Florida’s liberal laws regarding pubic records,” said SPJ Florida President, Jason Parsley. “In addition we have partnered with FAF to spotlight the amazing work the organization does here in Florida.”

The awards seeks to “honor a journalist or news organization for outstanding use of public records in reporting or advocacy of rights such as press freedom and public access.”

To learn more about the First Amendment Foundation visit their website.