Support The Wire

Washington Legislature receives ‘dishonorable mention’ Black Hole Award

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has awarded the Washington State Legislature a dishonorable mention Black Hole Award for SB 6617 and their attempt to remove themselves from the Public Records Act. The Black Hole Award is awarded each year during Sunshine Week, and “honors” government institutions and agencies for “egregious and heinous violations of the public’s right to know.”

In February, following the passage of SB 6617, SPJ National President Rebecca Baker, SPJ Freedom of Information Committee and SPJ Western Washington Pro Chapter all condemned the legislature and urged Inslee to veto the bill.

This year’s top Black Hole Award was given to President Trump and his administration — marking the first time this award has been given to a presidential administration. In an analysis of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests made during eight months in 2017, the Associated Press found that 78 percent of people who had made requests had received either censored files or nothing at all.

Other runner ups for the award include Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s office for violating the Freedom of Information Act, and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for trying to charge a nonprofit group $1.5 million to access public data.

Nominations for the Black Hole Award come from open-government advocates, journalists, and members of the public.


Your support matters.

Public service journalism is important today as ever. If you get something from our coverage, please consider making a donation to support our work. Thanks for reading our stuff.