Montgomery, AL – Alabama has been ranked 19th in online presence in a 2009 Sunshine Week survey but advocates say far more online access to public records should be available in the state.
Alabama had information in 13 of 20 online categories that were checked in the Sunshine Week 2009 Survey of State Government Information.
The study was developed by several media organizations including the National Freedom of Information Committee and the Society of Professional Journalists' FOI Committee to mark Sunshine Week, which ends Saturday.
A local survey by the Knight Fellows in Community Journalism at the University of Alabama found that 25 of the 67 counties in Alabama don't have Web sites at all.
That unevenness mirrors findings in the national survey and advocates say the hodgepodge is troubling.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)