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Monday March 15, 2010

Release Date: 03.15.10 | Location: All Metro Atlanta | Organization: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spreads Sunshine Week to readers

National initiative highlights open government and educates the public on their right to know

ATLANTA (March 15, 2010) - This week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution commemorates Sunshine Week, a project of the American Society of News Editors, to educate the public on open government that runs March 14-20, 2010.

Investigative journalism begins with freedom of information. The AJC has a deep commitment to watchdog and investigative journalism. Access to these records makes it possible for the AJC to provide in-depth coverage on local issues consumers can't find anywhere else. In addition, public records help the AJC to equip ordinary citizens with the information they need to hold their government accountable.

The AJC's team of investigative reporters led the way in exposing wrongdoing and informing readers, and here are a few examples of their work:

• Exposing how millions of tax dollars were spent for the Augusta Golf Hall of Fame that was never built, and what happened to the money
• Digging through records for Georgia's student competency tests (CRCT) uncovered a cheating scandal where test scores were manipulated
• Proved calls to Atlanta's 911 center failed to produce a timely response about 20 percent of the time
• Reviewing thousands of documents helped shed light on Gwinnett County's paying well-connected developers inflated prices for land.
• Gathering records from five large metro counties revealed homeowners were overpaying property taxes because the decline in real estate values weren't factored into the appraisals.

"While the concept of open government may seem slightly idealistic, it is profoundly concrete to a citizen trying to grasp the workings of their city, county or state," said Julia Wallace, editor of the AJC and ajc.com. "For journalists, it is a working, living reality. It is central to the work we do at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution."

To find the public records sites most often used in the AJC's reporting, visit the Citizens' Sunshine Research Center at http://blogs.ajc.com/ajc/sunshine.

About The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the leading source — both in print and online — of news, information and advertising for metropolitan Atlanta, reaching a total print and online audience of nearly 2.2 million people each week. Every month, nearly 2.3 million unique visitors access the newspaper's Web sites, including ajc.com and accessAtlanta.com. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is part of Cox Media Group, a publishing, digital media and broadcasting subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises.

About Cox Media Group:
Cox Media Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, is an integrated broadcasting, publishing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. With revenues exceeding $1.5 billion, the company operations include 15 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 86 radio stations, four metro newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. Additionally, CMG owns and operates Valpak, one of the leading direct marketing companies in North America.