23-03-2025
On foam bunny heads and sunshine (week) greeting cards
Search for 'SUNSHINE WEEK GREETING CARD' and Google — with all of its exuberance for artificial intelligence smarty-pantsness — ignores you like an Aggies fan showing up at a Lobos watch party.
AI might be the now and future — but not when it comes to celebrating the public's right to know. Your browser's search results offer images of sun faces with Mona Lisa smiles; hand-drawn sunflowers in bloom; and a list of suggested questions people ask, such as 'Are greeting cards still a thing?'
So, if you're celebrating Sunshine Week, don't bother hitting the greeting cards aisle.
None of the business operators on the Plaza are selling T-shirts of James Madison framed by chile pepper ristras.
And if you walk into Michaels arts and crafts store, you'll spot large bunny heads made of pink foam and fake sunflowers perfect for occasional dusting. But large sun heads in yellow foam emblazoned with the slogan: 'SHINE A LIGHT ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT!' ... nowhere.
Nada.
Not even on the shelves filled with 14,986 foam shapes.
The future of democracy may be in the public mind, but we're not even an art project.
Regardless of your perception, I like to believe journalists are well-intended romantics who don't know how to quit. Instead of delving in darkness, we're trying to shine a light.
Sunshine Week may not be worthy of greeting cards or your local arts and crafts store, but it has existed for 20 years to 'educate the public, journalists, lawmakers, and others on the right to know in the U.S. states and federal government,' according to The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications has kept Sunshine Week top of mind for those who care about democracy's complexities, thanks to a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation endowment.
The impetus for Sunshine Week began in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. Florida editors, notably Tim Franklin of the Orlando Sentinel, noticed how government agencies were making public records less available or exempt from viewing.
The first Sunshine Sunday happened March 16, 2002, honoring the birthdate of Bill of Rights author James Madison (sans ristras). From 'The goal was simple but impactful: raise awareness around the need for open government and our right to know.'
Sunshine Week then launched in 2005. During those 20 years, the United States has lost more than a third of its printed newspapers, according to the 2024 State of Local News Report from Northwestern University. (Franklin now serves as a senior associate dean, professor and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News at Northwestern.)
Here's another way to understand the consequences, especially if you're following what's happening in Washington, D.C. Research from Northwestern's Local News Initiative showed President Donald Trump dominated news deserts during the 2024 presidential election, winning 91% of the counties with no professional source of local news.
What's happened nationally has also made New Mexico less enchanting for those who care about the public's right to know.
Since 2005, the number of New Mexico journalists has decreased more than 60%. Five counties in New Mexico have no news outlets, Yet, even in this so-called blue state, lawmakers during the 2025 session proposed several bills that would have significantly gutted the state's Inspection of Public Records Act.
No wonder Sunshine Week doesn't have a greeting card with a sunny face. All of us are shopping in the deep-sympathy section.
Did I mention that journalists — and that goes for anyone who believes in democracy — are well-intended romantics who don't know how to quit?
If anything, we need a moment.
A John-Cusack-in-awesome-trenchcoat-with-raised-boombox moment that blares Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes,' because the relationship we have with elected officials should be deeply attuned to the public's interests. Instead of a full-length love story, the public seems stuck in a reality show where those who ask questions get fired.
It would be illuminating if Sunshine Week didn't need to be an annual reminder of the public transparency we've lost. Democracy should be less a battle about access and more of an everyday right to know.
Locally owned news organizations can make a difference. The public's support is essential. Informed voters matter. I believe this because Santa Fe New Mexican subscribers are consistent in both praise and critiques about our accountability and investigative stories.
For that, we thank you.
You've been our sunshine.
