June 10, 2004
The links in President McKerral's message have been updated
Please take a moment to visit www.spj.org to learn about the
Society's plans for the future. President Mac McKerral provides a
detailed debriefing on the recent board of directors meetings and
the decisions that were made there. SPJ's new budget was adopted,
important governance changes were discussed and updates were
provided by many of SPJ's standing committees.
And while you're visiting the Web site, don't forget to register
for the 2004 National Convention at the Grand Hyatt in New York
City, September 9-11. You won't find a better hotel deal anywhere
in Manhattan than our $139 rate at the Grand Hyatt. We have a
great convention planned with lots of opportunities for
professional development, networking and just plain fun. We hope
to see you there!
Eugene C. Pulliam
Fellowship for Editorial Writing
Postmark Deadline: July 15, 2004
http://www.spj.org/fellowships_pulliam.asp
The Sigma Delta Chi Foundation is
accepting applications for the Eugene
C. Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writing. The Pulliam
Fellowship was
established to enable an editorial writer at a U.S. newspaper to
have
time away from daily responsibilities for study and research. The
$40,000 cash award allows Pulliam Editorial Fellows to take
courses,
pursue independent study, travel or take on any other endeavor
that
works to enrich his or her knowledge of a public interest issue.
What the fellowship provides
The Pulliam Fellowship awards $40,000 to an outstanding editorial
writer
to help broaden his or her journalistic horizons and knowledge of
the
world. The annual award can be used to cover the cost of study,
research
and/or travel in any field. In some cases, the fellowship results
in
editorials and other writings, including books.
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for a Pulliam fellowship, a candidate must:
- Hold a position as a full-time editorial writer at a news
publication located in the United States
- Have at least three years experience as an editorial writer
- Demonstrate outstanding writing and analytical abilities
- Secure assurances by the editor that the applicant will be
allowed sufficient time to pursue the fellowship without
jeopardizing
employment. (Fellows do not have to leave their jobs.)
Application
The Fellowship has no formal application form. Each applicant
should
submit the following materials:
- A cover letter stating the purpose and nature of the proposed
study
- A time line for accomplishing the work, and a general plan for
how the stipend will be used
- The editor's endorsement
- A one-page professional biography and summary of professional
experience
- Five samples of editorials
Please do not send complete magazines or newspapers, books or
scrapbooks, any irreplaceable materials, unpublished manuscripts,
or
elaborate presentations. Please submit only by mail; no faxes.
Materials
will not be returned.
Deadline
Applications must be postmarked on or before July 15, 2004. All
entries
must be in English.
Applications should be mailed to:
Pulliam Editorial Fellowship
Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Center
3909 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Questions?
Contact Joyce Dobson, Director of Development, Sigma Delta Chi
Foundation,
317-927-8000 ext. 213; Fax: 317-920-4789 or email
jdobson@spj.org.
The Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship is a Sigma Delta Chi Foundation
educational program of the Society of Professional Journalists.
The
Society first offered the fellowship in 1977. It is funded by a
grant
from Mrs. Eugene C. Pulliam honoring the memory of her husband,
one of
the original members of the Society, which was founded in 1909 as
Sigma
Delta Chi. Eugene C. Pulliam was the publisher of The
Indianapolis Star,
The Indianapolis News, The Arizona Republic and The Phoenix
Gazette.
Joyce Dobson
Director of Development
Sigma Delta Chi Foundation
Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Center
3909 N. Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Tel: 317-927-8000 ext. 213
Fax: 317-920-4789
Email: jdobson@spj.org
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
CONTACT:
Gordon D. "Mac" McKerral, President, at (813) 250-9269
or gmckerra@tampabay.rr.com Charles N. Davis, Freedom of
Information Committee co-chair, at (573) 882-5736 or
daviscn@missouri.edu
SPJ calls on journalists to assist Wakefield
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Society of Professional Journalists, the
nation's largest association of working journalists, is calling
on journalists across the country to help one of their own facing
legal sanctions for refusing to reveal confidential sources.
A group of Minnesota journalists led by the Minneapolis Pro
Chapter has established a fund to raise money to help pay the
court-imposed fines for Wally Wakefield, a suburban Minneapolis
newspaper reporter who has been compelled to reveal his
confidential sources. Last fall, the state Supreme Court ordered
Wakefield of the Maplewood Review to turn over the names of
anonymous sources from an article he wrote in January 1997 about
the North St. Paul Maplewood school district's decision to not
renew the contract of Richard Weinberger, the football coach at
Tartan High School.
Weinberger later sued school district officials for libel, and
the judge overseeing the trial ordered Wakefield to start on
April 12 paying fines of $200 a day until July 19, the day a
defamation trial opens in Ramsey County. It could cost Wakefield
up to $20,000 to pay the fines. Wakefield is not named in
Weinberger's lawsuit against the district and four school
officials.
"Mr. Wakefield is standing up for a principle that SPJ and
its members hold very dearly: that journalists should not be
forced to reveal confidential sources," said Charles N.
Davis, co-chair of SPJ's Freedom of Information Committee.
"He faces daily fines for what any journalist would do in a
heartbeat, we'd hope."
A group of reporters led by Steve Brandt and Randy Furst of the
Star Tribune is trying to raise money to assist Wakefield. A
board to oversee the account is being assembled, Furst said.
"I think many judges realize that journalists are and always
have been willing to go to jail to protect the identity of
confidential sources who help them report on stories that have
widespread public interest and value to the community," said
Mac McKerral, SPJ's national president. "So instead, judges
hit reporters in the checkbook, a place that unlike jail, many
reporters cannot afford to deal with. And where did the court
come up with $200 a day? It's arbitrary and usurious. That's not
just. It's vindictive."
An account has been opened at the Star Tribune Credit Union. Make
checks payable to the Wally Wakefield Defense Fund, P.O. Box
8115, Minneapolis, MN 55408.
The Society of Professional Journalists works to improve and
protect journalism. SPJ is dedicated to encouraging the free
practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical
behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, and based in
Indianapolis, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to
a well-informed public, works to inspire and educate the next
generation of journalists, and protects First Amendment
guarantees of freedom of speech and press.
-30-
Society of Professional
Journalists FOI Alert: March 1, 2004
VIRGINIA HOUSE VOTES TO EXEMPT ITSELF FROM FOI ACT
For more information, contact SPJ's Freedom of Information
Committee
Co-chairs:
Charles Davis: 573/882-5736 or daviscn@missouri.edu
Joel Campbell: 801/422-2125 or joel_campbell@byu.edu
Virginia's House of Representatives wants every municipal body -
every
city council, school board, and county government - to follow the
state's rapidly improving Freedom of Information Act. But it
doesn't
want to let the sun shine in the General Assembly.
The House recently voted 52-48 to exempt the General Assembly
from the
open-meeting provision of the Virginia Freedom of Information
Act. The
bill, pushed by House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith,
R-Salem, now
heads to the Senate, where it could encounter stiffer opposition.
Under
the bill, the Joint Rules Committee, which consists of senior
senators
and delegates, would decide which legislative meetings are open
to the
public.
An opinion issued last month by state Attorney General Jerry W.
Kilgore,
R., said daily legislative caucuses of the two political parties
are not
public bodies covered by the FOIA. But such gatherings would be
considered public if members discussed an upcoming vote on the
floor.
Griffith's proposal would allow private caucus meetings and
unannounced,
informal gatherings in which legislators could decide the fate of
a
controversial bill without public scrutiny, coming into public
session
only for the vote.
SPJ urges its members to write and call to express their
opposition to
this major step backward. A copy of SPJ's letter to lawmakers is
available at http://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=357.
Contact any or all of the following Virginia officials.
Sen. John Chichester, President Pro-Tem, VA Senate
FAX: 804-698-7651
johnchich@aol.com
Delegate William J. Howell, speaker of the House of Delegates
FAX: 804-786-6310
Del_Howell@house.state.va.us
Delegate Brian Moran, Courts of Justice Committee
FAX: 804-786-6310
Del_Moran@house.state.va.us
Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine, President of the Senate
FAX: 804-698-7651
ltgov@ltgov.state.va.us
Gov. Mark Warner (FAX is 804-371-6351)
The Web site is: www.legis.state.va.us
Constituent hotline for any questions: 1-800-889-0229
Mailing Addresses:
House of Delegates, PO Box 406, Richmond, VA 23218
Senate, PO Box 396, Richmond, VA 232 18
Governor and Lt. Gov, State Capitol Bldg., Richmond, VA23219
----- SPJ FOI ALERT SUBSCRIPTION NOTE -----
SPJ FOI Alert Vol. 9; No. 7
To subscribe to the Society of Professional Journalists FOI
Alert,
contact SPJ at spj@spj.org or call 317/927-8000. In your message,
provide your name, organization, mailing address, e-mail address,
phone
number and fax number. There is no fee. We strongly encourage the
wide
dissemination and publication of these alerts in other forums.
------------------------------------------------------
Julie Grimes, Deputy Executive Director
Society of Professional Journalists
3909 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208
317/927-8000 ext. 216 ~ Fax: 317/920-4789
jgrimes@spj.org ~ www.spj.org
------------------------------------------------------
Society of Professional
Journalists FOI Alert: Dec. 17, 2003
Secret Settlement Undermines Public's
Right to Know Says SPJ
For more information, contact SPJ's Freedom of Information
Committee
Co-chairs:
Charles Davis: 573/882-5736 or daviscn@missouri.edu
Joel Campbell: 801/422-2125 or joel_campbell@byu.edu
INDIANAPOLIS - The settlement of a lawsuit filed by a former town
employee against the Town of Knightstown, Indiana, is being kept
secret,
denying the public access to key documents in a case of great
public
interest, the Society of Professional Journalists says.
In a press release prepared by attorneys representing the town,
attorneys Greg Crider and David Copenhaver said that it was
cheaper for
the town to settle the lawsuit brought by GiGi Steinwachs, a
former
dispatcher with the Knightstown Police Department against the
town, the
police department and several individual defendants. The
agreement
states specifically that no information about the settlement will
ever
be released.
The tactic used by the Town of Knightstown is simple: by creating
no
written memorialization of the settlement, the town argues that
it can
avoid disclosure of the settlement as otherwise mandated by
Indiana's
public records laws. This tactic, if allowed by Indiana
officials, will
serve as a model for other municipalities seeking to enter into
secret
settlements with future litigants.
There are many sound reasons why settlement agreements between
municipalities should remain public records. First, even if the
settlement is paid out of a town insurance policy, local
taxpayers foot
the bill for such claims in the form of higher payments, and thus
have
every right to know how and why their insurance policies are
being
tapped. Second, the claims brought by Steinwachs - allegations of
sexual
harassment and discrimination, not to mention claims that she was
assaulted, had her constitutional rights violated and was
subjected to
unlawful employment practices - cut to the very heart of why
public
records laws exist. The public and the press must be able to
monitor the
actions of town officials, determine which claims had a basis in
fact
and engage in the political process fully informed of the nature
of the
claims.
The Knightstown Banner has requested all of the pertinent
documents from
the town council, the police department and Crider, and each
request has
been denied. Town officials notified the newspaper that there was
no
written agreement to be disclosed in response to the request.
"Legal trickery must not subvert the will of the people of
Indiana, as
expressed by the state's public records law, which in no
uncertain terms
declares that such an agreement is public in nature," said
Charles N.
Davis, co-chair of SPJ's Freedom of Information Committee and
executive
director of the Freedom of Information Center at the University
of
Missouri School of Journalism. "The state's law says clearly
that 'it is
the public policy of the state that all persons are entitled to
full and
complete information regarding the affairs of government.'"
In a letter to the Knightstown Banner, Davis and Joel Campbell,
co-chairs of SPJ's FOI Committee, wrote:
"SPJ is deeply concerned with the precedent set by a denial
of access
predicated upon such dubious legal finery: the calculated
creation of a
non-written agreement serves no citizen of the state of Indiana,
save
for the official involved, and should in no way frustrate the
clear
intent of the public records law that such settlement agreements
are
public occurrences, written or not.
"It would be unwise to consider the public records law the
sole source
of a right of access to settlement agreements. It is our position
that
the right to 'full and complete information regarding the affairs
of
government and the official acts of ... public officials and
employees'
has its basis in the Constitution of the State of Indiana, the
Constitution of the United States and in certain unalienable
rights that
exist independent of those two documents. There also exists a
powerful
common law right of access to judicial records.
"To allow a municipality to circumvent the state's public
records law by
such a cynical ploy is to ignore the very existence of the public
records law. We believe the people of Knightstown, Indiana have a
right
to know the terms of the settlement agreement ending litigation
between
a former town employee and the town, its police department and
several
former and current employees of the police department. We will be
watching your challenge closely and stand ready to assist you.
You are
serving your readers well in the best reflection of the power
granted
the press through the First Amendment."
SPJ urges the Town of Knightstown to immediately reverse its
indefensible secrecy and let its citizens in on the secret
settlement.
The Society of Professional Journalists works to improve and
protect
journalism. SPJ is dedicated to encouraging the free practice of
journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.
Founded
in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, and based in Indianapolis, SPJ
promotes the
free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry;
works to
inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and
protects
First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.
----- SPJ FOI ALERT SUBSCRIPTION NOTE -----
SPJ FOI Alert Vol. 9; No. 4
To subscribe to the Society of Professional Journalists FOI
Alert,
contact SPJ at spj@spj.org or call 317/927-8000. In your message,
provide your name, organization, mailing address, e-mail address,
phone
number and fax number. There is no fee. We strongly encourage the
wide
dissemination and publication of these alerts in other forums.
------------------------------------------------------
Julie Grimes, Deputy Executive Director
Society of Professional Journalists
3909 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208
317/927-8000 ext. 216 ~ Fax: 317/920-4789
jgrimes@spj.org ~ www.spj.org
------------------------------------------------------