Inside this issue:
- Sullivan: Amid fake news, Facebook needs top editor
- An open letter to President-elect Donald Trump
- Gwen Ifill dies of cancer
- Jump into media competitions
- Journalism Job Fair at Georgetown University
- Remember SDX-DC when making year-end charitable contributions
- Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) Foundation Report
- “Hi, Larry!”
- In, Memoriam — John P. Cosgrove
- It’s Time to Party and Welcome in the New Year!
- Calendar for Upcoming Events
Photo credit: Jonathan Make
Amid Fake News, Facebook Needs a Top Editor, The Washington Post’s Sullivan Tells SPJ DC Event
By Jonathan Make
As social media faces a deluge of fake news, Facebook needs to recognize the extent of the problem and hire the equivalent of an executive editor, Margaret Sullivan media columnist for The Washington Post, told a journalism event at the Post Nov. 15. Whether the position goes by that title or not doesn’t matter, but the social media giant needs this sort of accountability, she suggested in Q&A with Post media blogger Erik Wemple. Some have said Facebook bears part of the blame for spreading fake news, which may have partly influenced the outcome of the Nov. 8 elections in which Republican Donald Trump won the presidency.
Facebook needs to rethink its approach “because so much fake news has sprung up there,” Sullivan said at the panel, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists D.C. Pro Chapter. “Have a really serious editor there. and you can call that person the chief sharing officer” or some such tech-nomenclature title, she said to audience laughter. The company needs more than algorithms and community standards to deal with such news issues, she continued. “It’s big and it’s sprawling, but at least have somebody whose job it is.” It may even take a team of people, Sullivan said.
In mid-November, Google and Facebook said separately that they are taking further efforts to crack down on fake news. Facebook said it updated its advertising policies to not display ads in websites that show such news.
It’s not just Facebook that has a news problem, Sullivan suggested. She said that major social media platforms need to rethink some of their approaches. Of Twitter, she agreed that “it is a cesspool, but it’s my cesspool.” Sullivan is a frequent user of Twitter, and is credited by some with taking the job of The New York Times public editor into the digital age. Until she joined the Post earlier this year, she was the Times’ public editor for a few years.
Sullivan, who has been critical of Trump’s handling of the news media, had some harsh words for Steve Bannon of Breitbart News, the incoming senior counselor to the next administration. While some have worried that having a news executive as a White House aide will lead to the U.S. equivalent of Russia‘s Pravda, Sullivan partly dismissed those concerns.
“I don’t think that the United States is going to have Pravda” in Breitbart News anytime soon, Sullivan said. “But it does concern me,” given the outlet doesn’t always “play it straight” and is not “known for being completely honest.” Of Bannon, Sullivan said, “he’s a guy where if there is an explosion and a fire, look around, and Steve Bannon will be standing there with matches and a can of kerosene.”
Even when journalists and news organizations get threats, as occurred during the election, they shouldn’t back off, Sullivan recommended. Media organizations and newspapers “have to do their jobs, just do their jobs, and sort of deal with whatever comes up in the moment. I do not think there can be some sort of blanket policy” for how to proceed when threats occur, she said. “The idea of pulling back is not a good possibility. You can’t really take it to court.”
Sullivan and Wemple were introduced by SPJ DC board member Al Leeds, who noted that he worked at the Post for three decades in its old building a few blocks away from the current HQ. And SPJ DC President Kathy Burns offered opening remarks before Leeds.
Some recent columns by Washington Post media critic Margaret Sullivan
“Our First Amendment Test is Here. We can’t afford to flunk it.” Nov. 13, 2016. “What will Trump’s win mean for the media and libel laws?”
“In the angry face of Trumpism, media must speak truth to glower.” Nov. 10, 2016. “One thing is certain in the presumptive era of President Trump. Journalists are going to have to be better – stronger, more courageous, stiffer-spined – than they’ve ever been.”
“A Call to Journalists Covering President Trump.” Nov. 9, 2016. “One thing is certain in the presumptive era of President Trump. Journalists are going to be better—stronger, more courageous, stiffer spined—than they’ve ever been before…Donald Trump made hatred of the media the centerpiece of his campaign.
An Open Letter to President-elect Donald Trump from major journalism groups
Thomas Burr | November 16, 2016
Dear President-elect Trump,
We, a group of diverse journalism associations representing thousands of journalists from the nation’s capital to every corner of the country, begin this letter on a hopeful note. Your administration is a blank slate and we are eager to work with you to perpetuate one of this nation’s great strengths: our freedom of the press.
As the new leader of the free world, we expect that you will preserve longstanding traditions that ensure coverage of the Trump presidency. The idea of a press pool that covers all of the president’s movements is one that dates back to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration. Every president of both parties has treated this important tradition with respect. The role of the press pool is critically important to our country, whose citizens depend on and deserve to know what the president is doing. This isn’t about access for the press itself, it’s about access for Americans in diverse communities across the country. Your constituents receive information from a variety of platforms to learn about what our president is doing.
Being president is an enormous responsibility and working with the White House Correspondents’ Association to ensure journalists’ access is one small but important part of that. We call on you to commit to a protective press pool from now until the final day of your presidency. We respectfully ask you to instill a spirit of openness and transparency in your administration in many ways but first and foremost via the press pool.
We also call for access to you via regular press conferences and pool sprays and to your key decision-makers. You have an opportunity as incoming president to set the tone for your staff speaking on the record for the sake of transparency. We also hope your administration will improve response rates to FOIA requests as a way to show the American people, and the world, that the republic belongs to the people.
A great America depends on having sunlight on its leaders. We expect the traditions of White House press coverage to be upheld whether in Washington or elsewhere. Again we, a joint group of diverse journalism associations, speak as one as we respectfully ask that you take these steps to ensure access to our members covering your administration.
Thomas Burr
President
The National Press Club
Barbara Cochran
President
National Press Club Journalism Institute
Lynn Walsh
President
Society of Professional Journalists
Mizell Stewart III
President
American Society of News Editors
Mike Cavender
Executive Director
Radio Television Digital News Association and Foundation
Delphine Halgand
US Director
Reporters Without Borders/RSF
Courtney Radsch
Advocacy Director
Committee to Protect Journalists
Sandy K. Johnson
President
National Press Foundation
Sarah Glover
President
National Association of Black Journalists
Brandon Benavides
President, Board of Directors
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
Bryan Pollard
President
Native American Journalists Association
Paul Cheung
President
Asian American Journalists Association
Jen Christensen
President
National Association of LGBTQ Journalists
Elisa Lees Munoz
Executive director
The International Women’s Media Foundation
Allison Sherry
President
Regional Reporters Association
Joshua Hatch
President, Board of Directors
Online News Association
Sandra Fish
President
Journalism and Women Symposium
Melissa Lyttle
President
National Press Photographers Association
The National Press Club
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Photo credit: NewsHour/Flickr under CC
Pioneering journalist Gwen Ifill dies of cancer
Award-winning journalist and 2009 SPJ DC Hall of Fame inductee, Gwen Ifill, 61, died in hospice Nov. 14. The cause was endometrial cancer.
She was described as one of “the most successful female African American news correspondents of all time,” having worked for The Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC and PBS. Other achievements included being the first African-American woman to moderate a vice presidential debate. In 2013, she and PBS colleague Judy Woodruff, broke through another previous media barrier as the two became co-anchors and co-managing editors of the PBS NewHour, as the first women to anchor a network news program.
Outside their show, the two teamed to moderate the 2016 primary debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Ifill herself moderated two other vice presidential debates—one in 2004 and one in 2008.
A graduate of Simmons College in Boston in 1977 with a communications degree, Ifill worked as a print journalist at the Boston Herald American, The Baltimore Evening Sun and The Washington Post, and later as a broadcast journalist on NBC and PBS. At NBC, she worked with the late Tim Russert on Meet the Press and at PBS, she worked on Washington Week and NewsHour.
During her distinguished career, she received 15 honorary degrees. Her book, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama,” was published in 2009. She was a board member for several organizations, including Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.
Accolades came from President Barack Obama who praised the pioneering journalist: “Whether she reported from the convention floor for from the field, whether she sat at the debate moderator’s chair or the anchor’s desk, she not only informed today’s citizens, she also inspired tomorrow’s journalists. She was an especially powerful role model for young women and girls who admired her integrity, her tenacity and her intellect, and for whom she blazed a trail.”
Added PBS NewsHour executive producer Sara Just in a statement that: “Gwen was a standard bearer for courage, and integrity in an industry going through a seismic change. She was a mentor to so many across the industry and her professionalism was respected across the political spectrum,” Just said. “She had a tremendous combination of warmth and authority. She was stopped in the street routinely by people who just wanted to give her a hug and considered her a friend after years of seeing her on TV. We will forever miss her terribly.”
By Kathleen Burns
As Autumn turns to Winter, and the wind blows away the last vestiges of the colored leaves, it is time to invoke the name of Janus, the two-headed god of Roman mythology. We invoke him in our personal and public lives and are pulled in many disparate directions. He looks to the past of 2016 and its historical upheavals, and to the unknown challenges that lay ahead for 2017.
We as journalists are caught in the middle of this transition, as noted by the remarks of Washington Post columnist Margaret Sullivan. (See story in newsletter.) This is not a time of certainty but fluidity and changes that we may not welcome or want.
Of concern to us, as reporters, editors, viewers and listeners, are allegations of “Fake News,” as discussed in a statement published Nov. 18 in The New York Times from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Responding to questions that the proliferation of “fake news” on Facebook and other social media entities may have affected the outcome of the Nov. 8 national election involving Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
“The problems here are complex, both technically and philosophically,” he wrote. “We believe in giving people a voice, which means erring on the side of letting people share what they want whenever possible.”
One option he cited could be “attaching warnings to news articles shared on Facebook that have been flagged as false by reputable third parties or by Facebook users,” Zuckerberg wrote. “Another could be making it harder for websites to make money from spreading misinformation on Facebook.”
He added that “we need to be careful not to discourage sharing of opinions or mistakenly restricting accurate content. We do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties.”
Dana Milbank wrote in The Washington Post on Nov. 20 that “fake news [is] getting more attention than actual news” and that the “leading purveyor of fake in the United States is now the president-elect.”
Trump, who is used to calling the shots, was not amused by the Saturday Night Live sequence on Nov. 19 nor the remarks by the cast of “Hamilton” the night before, and both got Twitter shout outs. The First Amendment protects free speech, but who will decide in the future what is protected and what is not?
Irish Labor Party Senator Aodhan O. Riordain took to the floor of the Irish Parliament, as reported in the Nov. 19 Huffington Post, and praised Irish-born British Parliamentarian Edmund Burke, who remarked that “the only way evil can prosper is for good men to do nothing. America has just elected a fascist…It has echoes from the 1930s,” Riordain said.
As journalists, our job is not to serve as referees in the differences of opinions. Instead, we are to observe and to analyze and to provide factual information, so our audiences can weigh the data and make up their own minds. And we turn to the Ethics Code supported by the Society of Professional Journalists—with talent, energy and integrity. We are in for a challenging time, but that’s not a bad thing. It reminds us there is a cost to the concept of Free Speech and it is not something to be taken for granted.
We remind ourselves there is a cost to the preservation and protection of free speech and the First Amendment.
Jump into Media Competitions
As the year 2016 winds down, now is the time to take a look at your best story efforts and consider entering a variety of national and local media competitions.
A good place to start is with the SPJ’s national Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) competition (http://www.spj.org/a-sdx.asp). The annual awards recognize the best examples of professional journalism in categories covering print, radio, television, newsletters, art/graphics, online work and research. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 13, 2017, and they are presented online, except for those in the research category, which can be mailed along with the entry and the online confirmation form to: Sigma Delta Chi Awards, SPJ, 3903 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208.
If you have not entered in the past, take a look at the winning submissions from 2015 that are found at: www.spj.org/sdxa13.asp.
A benefit of your SPJ Membership is a 40% reduction in entry fees for SPJ members. Non-members pay $100 per entry while SPJ members pay $60 per entry.
For any questions, contact contest awards coordinator Abbi Martzall via email at: amartzall@spj.org or by phone at 317-927-8000 ext.210. (Same contact information applies to working professionals as well as to student journalists)
Winners will be announced in April 2017, and presentations will occur at the National Press Club in Washington, DC in June 2017.
SPJ also sponsors a student media competition called the Mark of Excellence Awards that are open to SPJ members and non-members alike. Entry fee for members is $9 per submission or $18 for non-members. We ask national PRO members to make theirs interns at work; colleges and universities in your communities; or family members who are student journalists aware of this opportunity. If they are not current members, students can join for $37.50 per year or for 3 years for $75. This extends to Post Grad potential members. If you are interested in being a judge for the Mark of Excellence (MOE) competition, please contact judges coordinator for Region 2 Amy Fickling at treasurer@spjdc.org. Judges in Region 2 will be judging student entries from another region, so no known conflict of interest should be involved if you’re an instructor, as you won’t be judging your own students’ entries. A wide range of categories should appeal to those interested in radio/tv, print and online news presentations. The competition is currently open and judging begins in early February for no more than a month.
If you are a journalist working in the coverage of business news, you may also want to inquire about entering the competition for AZBEE Awards, sponsored by the American Society of Business Press Editors. Deadline for submissions is Dec. 16, 2016, for the Early Bird discount, or Jan. 6, 2017, for the regular entry fees. For details, phone 727-553-4214 or info@asbpe.org. Online submissions can be made at www.asbpe.org.
Journalism Job Fair to take place in March at Georgetown University
We are excited to share that the fourth annual Washington D.C. Journalism Job Fair will be held on Saturday, March 25 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies campus, located at 640 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, D.C.
Last year, more than 20 companies recruited and hired job seekers at this fair. Participating companies included The Washington Post, Politico, Telemundo and NBC4.
The job fair is hosted by the Georgetown University Master of Professional Studies in Journalism program in partnership with the D.C. chapters of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Asian American Journalism Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Journalists Association, the Washington Association of Black Journalists, and the Journalism and Women Symposium.
Remember SDX-DC when making year-end charitable donations
Chapter members automatically contribute to the SDX Foundation of Washington, D.C., when they pay their annual dues. About one-third ($8.50) of each member’s $25 yearly dues is donated to the Foundation, whose sole mission is to support, through the awarding of several scholarships for tuition each academic year, D.C.-area college students who are pursuing journalism as their post-graduation profession. SDX-DC is the chapter’s education arm, and is a 501(c)3 private foundation.
Individuals, along with the Kiplinger Foundation and the Gridiron Foundation, also make contributions that allow SDX-DC to award support to deserving individuals who already are charting a path in media. If you are looking for areas in which to make a difference with charitable donations before the end of 2016, keep SDX-DC in mind. Contact SDX-DC President Reginald Stuart for more information at rstuart5@juno.com.
The scholarship awardees for each coming academic year are introduced at the chapter’s annual Dateline Awards and Hall of Fame dinner in June. This year, all seven awardees were able to attend. As the first semester of their current academic year is drawing to a close, here is some of what they have to say about the impact of an SDX Foundation scholarship on their circumstances or perspectives:
Miesha Miller, senior, Howard University – “I would like to thank you all so much for your generous contribution to my education. As a financially independent student [from Kansas City, Missouri], the scholarship money has helped me tremendously. It has been a long way to the finish line . . . When I began my higher education journey I didn’t even know how I would make it to college, much less pay for it. . . . I created a personal challenge goal of graduating college with no debt at all. The Sigma Delta Chi scholarship has brought me closer to that goal, and for that I will be forever grateful. I’ve recently been hired as a freelance producer at Thomson Reuter’s Video News [and the contract ends in May] so I am still searching and applying for jobs.”
Brandi Montgomery, senior, Howard University – “I am honored to be a 2016 scholarship recipient of Sigma Delta Chi Foundation of Washington, D.C. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to SDXDC for your generous donation in helping fund my education and investing in my future endeavors. In the eyes of SDXDC, this may have been a small token. From the view of my family and I, this monetary donation meant so much more. [After a summer internship at The Atlanta Voice newspaper as a Discover the Unexpected (DTU) fellow] I am committed to making practical use of your SDXDC investment and I am always open to opportunities that will help me gain insightful knowledge and experience within the field. One day I hope to be as successful as the board and supporters of this organization.”
Kyle Melnick, junior, University of Maryland College Park – “This winter, I’m covering [for the school paper, The Diamondback] the Maryland men’s basketball team, which should be another fun experience and new challenge for me. I also have the luxury of taking former Washington Post sports editor George Solomon’s sports writing class this semester, where I’m learning from one of the best in the business. . . . Thank you for your continued support of my education. The Sigma Delta Chi Scholarship has helped me continue my journalism education while my family continues to pay off student loans from my brother and I. As I have so far, I promise I’ll stay persistent in achieving my long-term journalism goals.”
Michael Brice-Saddler, junior, University of Maryland College Park – “the [Media Law course this semester] has taught me about my First Amendment rights, among other things that are essential for a journalist to know.”
Anna Muckerman, junior, University of Maryland College Park – “Thank you for supporting my journalism studies through the SDXDC Scholarship. . . . This semester I am interning with ‘Meet the Press’ and work three days a week at the NBC station in Washington. Political reporting has always interested me but I hadn’t had the chance to explore it until now. I’m learning a lot about the research, foresight and competitiveness that go into interviews with politicians . . . . In my law class, I’ve enjoyed learning about the way the First Amendment protects (and sometimes doesn’t) speech and the press. . . . Next semester, I plan to study [in France and] am also minoring in French and German and I believe a semester abroad is the best way to strengthen my language skills.”
Ellen Hartleb, junior, American University – “I have chosen to take this semester to further one of my other passions: education [in my new role as a resident assistant in a community of about 80 first-year students but] . . . the journalism courses I am taking this semester are keeping me fully engaged in the world of news, too. . . . With a minor in education studies, I still plan to eventually pursue K-12 education reporting for a newspaper or magazine.”
Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) Foundation of Washington, D.C.
The SDX Foundation of Washington, DC, projects it will be able to fund scholarships awards for the 2017-2018 academic year at the same level as the current year – up to $25,000 total for as many as seven college undergraduate recipients.
Fundraising continues and most of the usual contributors are on board to continue their past levels of support.
The Kiplinger Foundation, which in the past provided an annual challenge match contribution, will now be making an outright gift, without tying it to a matching target for other funds raised.
The Kiplinger Foundation embraced the first SDX-DC matching grant program, offering to match donations from past scholarship recipients dollar for dollar. Family members of the Kiplinger Foundation, having been part of SPJ for three generations, followed up with subsequent matching grants to SDX-DC, expanding it to match donations from any donor.
Austin H. Kiplinger, a chapter Hall of Fame member and recipient of a special Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by the chapter at the annual Hall of Fame dinner in 2014, died at age 97 Nov. 20, 2015. His son Knight promised to continue his father’s commitment to supporting the SDX-DC mission of furthering the ambitions of aspiring journalists.
The estate of the late Dr. Lee Thornton donated to SDX-DC, with the final payment of $10,000 coming this year. A veteran network news reporter and broadcast journalism professor at the University of Maryland, Dr. Thornton was a past SPJ-DC chapter president and had served on the Scholarship Committee of the SDX-DC board.
The Gridiron Foundation also will be contributing, as it has for many years.
SDX-DC welcomes suggestions for other sources of funding for the scholarships. It’s well known that the costs of higher education continue to rise, so even modest amounts in the form of scholarships can mean a lot to a student who wants to work in journalism after finishing his or her education. When journalism groups can begin a connection with promising new members of the profession while they are still in school, the networking and mentoring opportunities enhance the monetary uplift they receive.
The SDX-DC Scholarship Committee for the next competition will be headed by Arelis Hernandez of The Washington Post: hernandezdbk@gmail.com. Application deadline will be Feb. 28, 2017. For additional information on making contributions or having students notified about the scholarship program, contact SDX-DC President Reggie Stuart at rstuart5@juno.com or 301-879-0085.
“Hi, Larry!”
I think I can speak for the chapter in wishing long-time SPJ member Lawrence Laurent a fine holiday season as he lives closer to his daughter in Merion Station, Pennsylvania. We got word that his address has changed from Alexandria, not far from where at a Region 2 conference at Marymount University some years back he was recognized as one of the longest-term chapter members in attendance. His daughter Elizabeth reports: “My 91-year-old Dad continues to enjoy reading your documents. If you send them to me, then I will deliver to him in person and enjoy reading the materials with him.”
Larry was a reporter for The Washington Post 1951-1982. He was first a radio critic, then became the first television critic at the Post, when TV became the new mass medium. Starting in 1984, he was a professional lecturer in journalism and media and public affairs at The George Washington University. The school has a special collection of his papers, indexed here: https://library.gwu.edu/ead/ms2325.xmlIf anyone in the chapter would like the mailing address, email spjdcchapter@gmail.com. –Amy Fickling, DC Chapter treasurer
In Memoriam – John P. Cosgrove
John P. Cosgrove was a member of national SPJ for 53 years, and his dues were paid up with the DC Chapter through the end of this year. Mr. Cosgrove died Oct. 15 in Washington at age 98. He was also a past president of the National Press Club, with John F. Kennedy attending his 1961 inaugural festivities at the Club (in the days right after JFK was inaugurated as U.S. president.) That NPC-SPJ connection kept Mr. Cosgrove a faithful attender of the chapter’s annual Dateline Awards and Hall of Fame dinner when held at the Club. When the dinner moved to another venue for several years, he was saddened by the change and helped with the NPC’s push to get the dinner moved back to the Club.
His hometown newspaper ran this obituary: http://citizensvoice.com/news/john-p-cosgrove-pittston-native-and-washington-d-c-insider-dies-at-98-1.2104589
This is the obituary from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-cosgrove-magazine-executive-and-national-press-club-fixture-dies-at-98/2016/10/15/00b50a7e-92e2-11e6-9c52-0b10449e33c4_story.html
The NPC Wire newsletter covered his funeral in Washington: The funeral mass was held in the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, the same sanctuary where Kennedy’s funeral was held in 1963. The Wire reporter noted that: “Ed Ackerman, a newspaperman from Cosgrove’s hometown of Pittston, Pa., recalled that Cosgrove donated his papers and books – ‘two carloads’ — to the Pittston library. ‘With all due respect to the Catholic church, the Navy, and the Press Club,’ Ackerman said, ‘John’s three great loves were his country, his Irish heritage — and Pittston.’ ”
–Amy Fickling
It’s Time to Party and to Welcome in the New Year!
And no, it’s not on New Year’s Eve, with confetti and horn blowing, but in a more relaxed and easygoing setting in the ambiance of the Patio Room. Join us at Clyde’s at Mark Center from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 1700 N. Beauregard St, Alexandria, VA 22311. It is located off I-395 and the Seminary West exit. There is abundant free parking, or you can take the Blue Line Metro to the Van Dorn Street Station and grab a quick cab ride to the restaurant. You could also take an Uber or a Zip Car or carpool with friends. You don’t want to miss this great social and networking opportunity.
Splurge on our Breakfast/Brunch Buffet which features scrambled eggs, brunch potatoes, bacon, seasonal fruits, assorted breads with jam and toast, along with hot tea, cold, tea and orange juice. There will be a cash bar for those who like a Bloody Mary or Mimosa or any other alcoholic beverages such as beer or wine. Tickets will be $26 for DC SPJ Chapter members and $31 for non-members. (The price includes a 20% mandatory gratuity and a 10% sales and state tax on food.) All are welcome, so bring a guest or a potential new member. Reservations are required by January 3.
A very special feature of our Holiday Party this year is we plan to honor those who are long-time members of the DC SPJ Chapter members. We appreciate their many years of involvement as they attended our functions, paid their dues and supported the journalistic goals of our local chapter and our national SPJ. For such events, National SPJ provides a commemorative Longevity lapel pin for these years of service and support. Usually, you get that in the mail from headquarters but this year we would to personally pin it on these dedicated members, and give them a round of applause for their efforts. For these special members, the discounted rate for the Breakfast/ Brunch will be $16. If you plan to attend, we need your RSVP by Dec. 9, so national SPJ can mail the pins out in time.
Those cited for their Longevity involvement in SPJ include:
15 YEARS—-Karen Bune
20 YEARS—-Todd Gillman
40 YEARS—-Mary Elizabeth Crowley, Christi Harlan, John Edward Leonard, Camille Bohannon and John C. Henry.
SPJ Headquarters does not provide special pins for other blocks of years for membership but our chapter still wishes to offer them our heartfelt appreciation and applause.
We extend to them also the $16 discounted rate and we hope they, too, will also join us for this celebratory event.
Those honored include:
- 5 years-—Susan Sala, Dan Bauman, and Daniel Macy
- 45 years-–Reggie Stuart
- 55 years—Phil Currie
For questions, contact Chapter Program Chair Jonathan Make at press@warren-news.com.
CALENDAR for UPCOMING EVENTS
Dec. 1 “The Trump Victory and 2016 Election: What the Media Got Right & Wrong,” 7 p.m. at National Press Club, 529 – 14th St. NW, 13th floor, Washington, DC. Metro Center METRO. Reservations required, NPC members free, non-members $10. (http://www.press.org/events/trump-victory-and-2016-election-what–the- media- got-right-wrong). Panelists will include: Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan; Hillary Clinton campaign reporter Abby Phillip of the Washington Post; Republican National Committee chief strategist and communications director Sean Spicer; NBC News National correspondent Peter Alexander; and former Bill Clinton White House press secretary and Commission on Presidential Debates co-chair Mike McCurry.
- See stories in Newsletter for further details. Cost for some programs and additional information will be posted on our chapter website, www.spjdc.org, by Dec. 4. With area Students, we often have a no-fee or low fee for admission. But this does not apply to the Jan. 7 event.
March 16 “Cops and Cameras: Complexities of Body-Worn Camera Usage and Access,” 6 – 8 p.m. Sponsored by DC SPJ PRO Chapter and the Georgetown University’s Master’s in Journalism Program, 640 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC. Gallery Place/Chinatown METRO. Program is in conjunction with national SPJ’s celebration of “Sunshine Week” in government.
March 25 Annual Media Job Fair, held at the Georgetown University campus, 640 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fee. Gallery Place Metro.