The James Madison Freedom of Information Award is a San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

 honor given to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the advancement of freedom of expression, particularly freedom of information

Freedom of information

Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...

 (as in freedom of information legislation

Freedom of information legislation

Freedom of information legislation comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions...

 and open government

Open government

Open government is the governing doctrine which holds that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction it opposes reason of state and racist considerations, which have tended to legitimize...

).

The award is intended to reflect the spirit of former U.S. statesman and president James Madison

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

, traditionally regarded as the "Father of the United States Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

" and primary author behind the George Mason

George Mason

George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...

-inspired United States Bill of Rights

United States Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...

, and in particular the First Amendment

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

.

The award goes to media and community organizations, journalists, students, and citizens from the nine-county Bay Area who have defended public access to government meetings, public records, and court proceedings, or who have furthered other more general issues of freedom of expression and information.

Notable recipients

• Daniel Ellsberg
  Daniel Ellsberg
  Daniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,...
  
  , Pentagon Papers
  Pentagon Papers
  The Pentagon Papers, officially titled United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967...
  
   whistleblower (2004, lifetime achievement)
• Hon. Ronald M. George
  Ronald M. George
  Ronald Marc George is the retired 27th Chief Justice of California, where he headed the Supreme Court of California and the Judicial Council of California...
  
  , Chief Justice, California Supreme Court (2003, lifetime achievement)
• Lawrence Ferlinghetti
  Lawrence Ferlinghetti
  Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...
  
  , poet (2000, lifetime achievement)
• Ben Bagdikian
  Ben Bagdikian
  Ben Haig Bagdikian is an American educator and journalist. Bagdikian has made journalism his profession since 1941. He is a significant American media critic and the dean emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism...
  
  , author and professor (1995, lifetime achievement)
• Cartoon Art Museum
  Cartoon Art Museum
  The Cartoon Art Museum is a California art museum that specializes in the art of comics and cartoons. It is the only museum in the Western United States dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of all forms of cartoon art...
  
   and Rex Babin
  Rex Babin
  Rex Babin is an American political cartoonist. He draws for the Sacramento Bee, whose cartoons include "Caleeforneeya", a recurring satire of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Prior to joining the Bee in 1999, he was the editorial cartoonist of the Albany Times Union.-References:...
  
  , The Sacramento Bee
  The Sacramento Bee
  The Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its creation in 1857, the Bee has become Sacramento's largest newspaper, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 25th largest paper in the U.S...
  
  (2004, cartoonist)
• Nicholson Baker
  Nicholson Baker
  Nicholson Baker is a contemporary American writer of fiction and non-fiction. As a novelist, he often focuses on minute inspection of his characters' and narrators' stream of consciousness, and has written about such provocative topics as voyeurism and planned assassination...
  
  , author (1997, citizen)
• Marilyn Hall Patel
  Marilyn Hall Patel
  Marilyn Hall Patel is an active judge presiding in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. She was Chief District Judge of that jurisdiction from 1997 until 2004, and heard several notable cases during that time....
  
  , U.S. District Court, Northern California (1993, judge)
• Electronic Frontier Foundation
  Electronic Frontier Foundation
  The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
  
   (2000, online free speech)
• SF Weekly
  SF Weekly
  SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los...
  
  (2002, online reporting)
• Sen. Quentin L. Kopp
  Quentin L. Kopp
  Quentin Lewis Kopp is an American politician and retired judge. He served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and in the California State Senate. Kopp ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of San Francisco in 1979 against Dianne Feinstein...
  
   (1991 and 1993, public official)
• San Francisco Bay Guardian
  San Francisco Bay Guardian
  The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...
  
  (2002, public service)

External links

• Society of Professional Journalists (Northern California Chapter), complete list of award winners