Sunshine Week Essay Contest  

The Andruss Library Government Documents Unit
Presents the 2011/2012 Sunshine Week Essay Contest

Congratulations to all of the winners of the 2011/2012 Sunshine Week Essay Contest!

All winning essays are available on the Sunshine Week website.  Click the winner's name below to read the essay.

First place: Tammy Stonecypher Senior Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Second Place: Kelly Dumrauf Junior, double-major in Sport Administration and Journalism/Public Relations Indiana University of Pennsylania
Third place: Jennifer Smith Senior, major in English Education Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Write 600-700 words on the following topic: WikiLeaks: Responsible Journalism or Dangerous Leaks?

In 2010, the website WikiLeaks--along with newspapers such as "The New York Times"--created a stir when they published classified U.S. government documents. The government said this "theft of government property" would endanger lives. Other organizations pushing for open access to government information said that what WikiLeaks did is no different than what respected whistleblowers and investigative reporters do every day.

Pretend you are the editor of a newspaper.  Would you publish the leaked classified documents?  Why or why not?  Would doing so be different than publishing the work of a whistleblower or reporter?    Please address all three questions in your essay.

In crafting your essay, you may want to consult the following sites: 

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2011021100 (link available for BU students only.  If you are not a BU student, ask your local librarian for a copy of the Feb. 11, 2011 article on Government Secrecy from CQ Researcher or contact Katie Yelinek at kyelinek@bloomu.edu)

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/security/wikileaks-hurts-the-cause-of-transparency/5503/

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/11/overseeing_state_secrecy

And if you're very ambitious:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/magazine/30Wikileaks-t.html

• 1st Prize: $250 and your essay published in The Press Enterprise (Bloomsburg, PA newspaper) during Sunshine Week (March 11-17, 2012)
• 2nd Prize: $150
• 3rd Prize: $100
• All three essays will also be submitted to the Sunshine Week website (sunshineweek.org) for possible use in any newspaper.
• Cash prizes are being provided by the Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone Pro Chapter.

1. Deadline for submission is Monday, November 28, 2011. Essays must be received by this date (it is not a postmark date). Essays received after this date will be disqualified. Submit three copies of your essay to: Katie Yelinek, Andruss Library 241, Bloomsburg University, 400 East Second Street, Bloomsburg, PA 17815.
2. If you are dropping off your essay in person in the library, you must drop it off by 4 p.m. on November 28.
   
3. Essays should be typed, double-spaced, in a standard 12-point font with 1-inch to 1.5-inch margins.
4. Include a cover sheet with your name, the name of your university, your phone number, your mailing address, and your email address with your submission. Do not include your name on the actual essay. You must also include a signed waiver form (found in the box to the right). Essays without this waiver form will be disqualified.
5. You must be an undergraduate student attending a college or university within Pennsylvania to enter the contest.  Please note that due to lack of entries in previous years, the contest is no longer open to high school students. Current employees of the Government Documents unit and past winners of the contest are not permitted to enter.
6. Winners will be asked to provide a digital photograph of themselves to be posted on this website and published in The Press Enterprise. Winners will also be asked to provide an electronic copy of their essays in MS Word format.
   
7. Winning essays may be edited prior to publication.
8. Entrants' contact information will not be published.
9. The decision of the judges will be final. 
   
10. Questions? Contact Katie Yelinek, Government Documents Librarian at Bloomsburg University, at kyelinek@bloomu.edu.

• Sunshine Week: http://sunshineweek.org/
• The Andruss Library Government Documents Unit: http://guides.library.bloomu.edu/govinfo
• The Press Enterprise: http://www.pressenterpriseonline.com/
• The Society of Professional Journalists: http://www.spj.org
• SPJ Keystone Pro Chapter blog: http://keystonespj.wordpress.com/