Maine Freedom of Information Coalition

The Maine Freedom of Information Coalition (MFOIC) is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Mal Leary Sunshine Award. This prestigious award recognizes individuals, journalists, media organizations, or community groups that have championed, protected, and promoted public access to government meetings, records, and court proceedings or defended the public’s right to know, publish, broadcast, and speak freely about issues of public concern.

The award, renamed in 2024 to honor the late Mal Leary, a tireless advocate for transparency and open government, will be presented during Sunshine Week (March 16–22, 2025). Mal Leary was a respected journalist and advocate for open government and a driving force behind MFOIC’s mission. Over his 45-year career as a reporter and former Maine Public State House Bureau Chief, Leary was known for his deep knowledge of Maine history and politics, and for his unflagging advocacy for public access. He served as MFOIC president and held leadership roles with the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Society of Professional Journalists

Eligibility

Nominees can include individuals, organizations, or groups who have, during the past year:

• Advocated for the public’s right to know.
• Promoted transparency in government operations or decisions.
• Protected and defended public access to records, meetings, or proceedings.
• Enhanced public understanding of transparency and accountability through education, reporting, or advocacy.

Nominations are due February 18, 2025.

Help us celebrate and honor those who safeguard Maine’s commitment to transparency. Nominate a deserving individual or organization today: https://tinyurl.com/Mal-Leary-Sunshine-Award

MFOIC, a nonprofit organization founded in 2001, believes that government best serves the public when it operates in the most open manner possible. Our members, which include media organizations, lawyers, academicians, public policy groups and like-minded individuals, strive to inform the public to the fullest extent possible about government actions. We seek broad access to information of and about government and the actions of government in order to do that. Government in the sunshine, we believe, is the best guarantor of a strong democracy.