Get Hall of Fame dinner tickets ASAP
Time is running short for anyone who still needs a ticket for this year's D.C. Pro Hall of Fame dinner, which will be held June 15 at Maggiano's Little Italy Restaurant, 5222 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, D.C.
We'll also give out our annual Dateline Awards for editorial excellence. We had a very good turnout for this year's contest, which included new categories for online journalism and blogging.
Westwood One radio host Jim Bohannon, Radio-Television Digital News Association [RTDNA] President Emeritus Barbara Cochran, Editor-at-Large Jack Limpert of Washingtonian magazine and former Newsweek magazine Washington Bureau Chief Mel Elfin will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on June 15.
On the same evening, the chapter’s 2010 Distinguished Service Award will go to Sue Kopen Katcef of the University of Maryland’s Phillip Merrill College of Journalism, the D.C. Pro corresponding secretary.
... Read more.Back to top^Dateline Awards Dinner parking options
The venue for SPJ's annual awards dinner offers several transportation and parking options. The restaurant is located two blocks from the Friendship Heights terminal for several Metrobus and RideOn (Montgomery County) bus lines. The Metrobus 30 series stop almost directly in front of Maggiano's at 5333 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. in the District. (MAP)
Metrorail's red line runs into the building. Exit the Friendship Heights train station at the Western Ave. end of the platform and turn right after the fare card machines to go up the elevator. The elevator at street level is just paces away from the restaurant.
Valet parking begins at 6:30 p.m. (the event starts at 6) and costs $7.00.
... Read more.Back to top^Unopposed candidates win new board terms
All of the candidates on this year's D.C. Pro ballot have won re-election to the board. All ran unopposed.
In the annual election held in May, 23 people voted - roughly 7 percent of the chapter. Nineteen votes were cast electronically and four by paper ballot.
Andy Schotz, who is finishing his second one-year term as president, was chosen to serve a third year.
Julie Asher will remain vice president, Amy Fickling will continue as treasurer, Sue Kopen Katcef will stay on as corresponding secretary and Ben Shlesinger will retain his position as recording secretary.
Bill McCloskey, Bob Becker and Steve Taylor were approved for two-year board terms.
... Read more.Back to top^Council members promote transparency bills
At a forum organized by the D.C. Open Government Coalition May 20, City Council members Mary Cheh (Ward 3) and Muriel Bowser (Ward 4) promoted their bills to make the city government more transparent.
Cheh's bill, the Open Government Act of 2010, would create an independent office to
oversee agency compliance with the city's Freedom of Information Act, and would amend the FOI Act, the Administrative Procedures Act, and several other statutes. Bowser's bill, the Open
Government is Good Government Act, would overhaul the city's antiquated open meetings statute, which permits the City Council and more than 60 government boards and commissions to conduct their business in secrecy, requiring open sessions only when the bodies must take formal votes.
FOI 'Access' tour made a D.C. stop
On May 24, SPJ's Access Across America tour rolled into Washington, D.C., and 75 people learned Freedom of Information tricks from SPJ FOI Committee Chairman David Cuillier.
The "sold out" crowd of SPJ, National Press Club and Regional Reporters Association journalists heard Cuillier encourage them to be passionate about getting public information out of government file cabinets and into the public domain. He urged journalists to set aside a specific time each week to work on FOI activities, file a request, follow up on requests or just think about what requests to make.
Those in the room shared stories of successes and failures in trying to get access to information that is supposed to be in the public domain.
Law enforcement agencies, Cuillier explained, are the most frequent violators of Freedom of Information laws.
... Read more.Back to top^Leinwand prepared for disaster on a moment's notice
Journalists are used to weird working hours and conditions, but few could top USA Today's Donna Leinwand in that regard.
As disaster reporter for USA Today, she travels the country and the world covering hurricanes, tsunamis and, lately, earthquakes — in Haiti and Chile. That means she can be summoned at a moment's notice to cover, say, Hurricane Katrina or the Southeast Asia tsunami that struck Indonesia in 2004. She'd been well trained by her years at the Miami Herald covering hurricanes.
Tracing her career for D.C. Pro SPJ members and guests over lunch April 15 at the National Press Club, Leinwand recalled the first word she had of the Asian tsunami. She said it was thought to be a minor disturbance but experience taught her to prepare for the worst.
... Read more.Back to top^Press freedom award goes to Sri Lankan journalist in murdered husband's honor
For Sri Lankan journalist Sonali Samarasinghe, April 21 was a night to remember when she accepted, on behalf of her late husband, Lasantha Wickramatunga, the 2009 Freedom of the Press award from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
He was murdered on Jan. 8, 2009, after predicting it in a now-famous editorial to run, as it was, after his death. He had been relentless in exposing wrongdoing in the government as editor-in-chief of the Sunday Leader in Colombo.
The event was co-sponsored by the ICF’s American chapter. Other sponsors of the occasion were the NPC’s Freedom of the Press and International Correspondents committees. The NPC videotaped the program, which is now at www.press.org.
... Read more.Back to top^Md. Attorney General issues FERPA opinion
There was a victory for the public in the battle for records at the University of Maryland this spring.
An opinion issued by the Maryland Attorney General in March is going to mean a change in the way the University of Maryland, College Park (and, quite likely, the entire University System of Maryland), handles requests for the identities of individuals found to have violated the university’s Code of Student Conduct on charges related to sexual assault.
In the past, the University had declined to identify such individuals, citing FERPA — the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Many universities use FERPA to deny the release of what they broadly interpret as “education records,” defined as “information directly related to a student.” Colleges and universities claim the release of student information — without the consent of the student — would violate the law and could mean a loss of federal funds.
... Read more.Back to top^U. of Md. offers new media certificate
Looking to learn the skills necessary to stay ahead of the new media curve? The Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland is introducing a Graduate Certificate in Multimedia program to help you get there — and stay there.
Starting on Saturdays this fall, the two-semester, 12-credit program will blend practical training in video, audio, photography, blogging, and interactive Web publishing with the critical application of editorial, ethical and legal principles in digital media contexts.
Courses will be designed to help professional journalists and communicators learn the skills and concepts needed for digital storytelling across media platforms, particularly the Internet and mobile devices.
... Read more.Back to top^
