Sunlight Research Desk

The role of a free press has never been more critical🕵️‍♀️✨ At ☀️ Sunlight Research Center, we’re dedicated to empowering #journalism & supporting newsrooms in holding power accountable. Follow us for tools, tips & investigative insights to shine a light where its needed most #investigativejournalism

🔐 TODAY! Free digital security workshop with the Committee to Protect Journalists — and this one won't be recorded. Today is your only chance to learn from the CPJ experts live! Sign up and join us: buff.ly/L3QZVsq

🔐 Last chance! Tomorrow: free digital security workshop with the Committee to Protect Journalists. This session won't be recorded — tomorrow is your only chance to get these tips straight from the CPJ experts. Sign up: buff.ly/L3QZVsq

🔐 How secure is your digital footprint? Join us September 30 for a free digital security workshop with the Committee to Protect Journalists. This one won't be recorded, so make sure to come live if you want the tips! Sign up: buff.ly/Kv57TVa

📂 It's FOIAFriday!! Join us TODAY, September 25, 1 PM ET. Public records and ICE: lessons from the field. Then stay for our @DataLibProject extension and file requests with us on health care and patient safety data. Free + open to all. Sign up: buff.ly/LnEvArG

📂 TOMORROW is FOIAFriday! September 25, 1 PM ET: public records and ICE, lessons from the field. Then stay for our @DataLibProject extension: filing requests together on health care and patient safety data. Free + open to all. Sign up: buff.ly/LnEvArG

🔐 One week away! Free digital security workshop for investigative journalists with the Committee to Protect Journalists — September 30. Heads up: this one won't be recorded, so come live to get the most out of it! Sign up: buff.ly/Kv57TVa

📂 FOIAFriday is this Friday! September 25, 1 PM ET: public records and ICE, real lessons from requesters in the field. Then stay for a special @DataLibProject extension: we'll file requests together on health care and patient safety data. Free + open to all. Sign up: buff.ly/LnEvArG

🔐 Journalists face real digital threats. On September 30, @pressfreedom joins us for a free workshop on digital security: threat assessment, data protection, secure source communication, and more. This one won't be recorded, so come live! Sign up: buff.ly/Kv57TVa

📄 DocumentCloud Office Hours is TODAY! Bring your questions — big or small — and our MuckRock experts will help you get more out of DocumentCloud. Free + open to all. Sign up: buff.ly/Sh29VuX

📄 TOMORROW: DocumentCloud Office Hours during this month's Building with MuckRock! Bring any question, basic or complex, and our experts will help you get more out of DocumentCloud. Free and open to all. Sign up: buff.ly/Sh29VuX

📊 No SQL? No problem. DataTalk from @BigLocalNews lets you query campaign finance databases in plain English. Join us TODAY, September 17, 1–2 PM ET for a free training on using it for your election coverage. Sign up: buff.ly/SSglb8P

Dark money is shaping elections, and it's hard to track. Join us TODAY, September 16, 1:30–2:30 PM ET for a free training with Michael Beckel of @IssueOne on how to follow the money. You don't want to miss it! Sign up: buff.ly/m2BJKUB

Join this hands-on OpenSecrets session designed to give journalists the investigative tools to map lobbying influence. Learn how to track industry-wide spending trends, isolate specific corporate targets, and dissect the lobbying reports behind the legislation you cover every day. buff.ly/KVaIo0g

These stories changed communities because someone asked questions. Your support helps journalists uncover the truth, hold power accountable, and keep public records public. Help fund the next investigation. buff.ly/DMShMsj

Transparency is a team sport. We can't win without you. Every public records request takes a team, from filing and tracking requests to publishing records that inform communities. Your support makes that work possible. Donate today! buff.ly/DMShMsj

Transparency doesn't happen by accident. Behind every public records request is a community committed to transparency. Be part of the team making government more transparent. Donate today! www.muckrock.com/donate/

With midterm elections approaching and primaries being held across the country, campaign finance data and candidate disclosures are more important than ever. Join the experts from @sunlightresearch.bsky.social for a practical session on reporting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Voter guides are crucial to building trust in your local community and keep your readers more informed. MuckRock is now offering through the Sunlight Research Desk the opportunity to create voter guides with assistance from newsroom leader Erica Peterson. buff.ly/pYMbhN2

With midterm elections approaching and primaries being held across the country, campaign finance data and candidate disclosures are more important than ever. Join the experts from @sunlightresearch.bsky.social for a practical session on reporting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

If you use @documentcloud.org, @muckrock.com or any of the other fine transparency products our crew works on, it would mean a lot if you took our annual user survey! Bonus: Some respondents will be selected for free swag! docs.google.com/forms/d/1Xln...

MuckRock is building a pool of freelance researchers and investigative journalists to contribute to @sunlightresearch.bsky.social projects. We’re hiring experienced researchers, journalists and investigators for freelance contract positions.

Join the experts from @sunlightresearch.bsky.social for a practical session on how to work with campaign finance and ethics data in your reporting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. buff.ly/oiRddCh

MuckRock is building a pool of freelance researchers and investigative journalists to contribute to Sunlight Research Desk projects. We’re hiring experienced researchers, journalists and investigators for freelance contract positions. www.muckrock.com/jobs/researc...

We're still looking for two newsrooms in competitive states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, Maine and Nevada. If your newsroom is covering pivotal races this November, we want to hear from you.

Do you use any of MuckRock’s services? We want to get your insight. Your responses help us plan our transparency programs, software development and editorial strategy. A selected few will also receive some free MuckRock swag!

Property records reveal that Sen. Cynthia Lummis and her family are connected to thousands of acres of land targeted by Microsoft’s planned data center expansion in Wyoming, according to @wyofile.com with research and data analysis from @sunlightresearch.bsky.social.

If you follow @muckrock.com's work or use any of our tools like @documentcloud.org, could you take our annual survey? Win free swag and help us focus our time on the right things! forms.gle/3k2saNJ9ch8t...

Microsoft wants thousands of acres southeast of Cheyenne that are owned by Sen. Cynthia Lummis, her family and associated companies for its data center expansion, Laramie County property records show. The Senate's ‘crypto queen’ strongly backs new tech. wyofile.com/lummis-famil...

Did your latest public records request hit a brick wall? You aren't alone. Even the most seasoned journalists and public records requestors run into bureaucratic roadblocks. But a denial doesn't have to be the end of the road.

Congratulations to Sunlight members, Granite State News Collaborative and @azluminaria.org, for winning the Local Media Association's 2025 Digital Innovation Awards!

How do you explain the real cost of investigative journalism to your audience? Learn how local newsrooms turned to MuckRock and @sunlightresearch.bsky.social to make their investigative work visible. buff.ly/cjWkaDU