SPJ-DC Pro Chapter
May 1, 2016 to May 1, 2017
PROGRAMS AND EVENTS Summary
May 4, 2016
“How are Media Organizations Covering District of Columbia Regional News?” Program hosted by the DC SPJ Chapter and the Fund For American Studies. Panelists included: Kavitha Cardoza, who covers education for radio station WAMU and is an adjunct faculty member at American University; Aaron Davis, covers District government for The Washington Post; Cuneyt Dil, who writes the District Links newsletter, which he founded, and is a freelancer for the Washington’s Current newspapers. Panel moderator was Eric Falquero who is editor-in-chief of the District’s Street Sense newspaper.
June 14
Hall of Fame Dinner at the National Press Club, honor journalists with at least 25 years of media work in Washington, DC. Inductees included: Bill Plante: White House correspondent, CBS News; Elizabeth Drew, contributor, New York Review of Books; and Jonetta Rose Barras, freelancer and former Washington Post columnist. Charles Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity will also receive the DC Chapter’s SPJ’s Distinguished Service in Local Journalism Award. Awards were also presented for Excellence in Local Journalism through the Dateline Awards. Six local students also received $25,000 in scholarships provided by the DC SDX Foundation.
June 29
#HomelessNewsBlitz, chapter effort spearheaded by DC SPJ board member Eric Falquero, who is editor-in-chief with StreetSense. It joined with 111 member publications of the International Network of Street Newspapers (including 40 that are based in the United States.) Local journalists cover everything from climate change to healthcare and housing; from public-private community development to the availability of tampons; from why some people choose streets over shelters; to how much large cash donations actually. Falquero gathered stories from 23 journalists and communicators.
The full day’s clips can be found at http://dchomelesscrisis.press.
July 1
“Take Me Out to the Ball Game!” DC SPJ saw the Washington Nationals play the Cincinnati Reds.
Aug. 19
SPJ-DC hosted delegation of 18 reporters from Shanghai, mainland China, at the offices of the Center for American Progress, where Alice Ollstein, an SPJ chapter director, hosted a buffet lunch and media briefing, followed by a question and answer session. Chapter President Kathleen Burns also participated.
Aug. 30
A panel discussion on “New Media Political Journalists Discuss Election Campaign Coverage,” hosted by the Special Information Publishers Association.
Sept. 18-20
National SPJ Convention in New Orleans. DC Chapter delegates included President Kathleen Burns, Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall, Director Alice Ollstein and Region 2 Director Andy Schotz.
Sept. 20
“Media Law for Journalists: A Legal Workshop and Editorial Roundtable,” at the National Press Club. Co-sponsored by the Media Law Resource Center Institute of New York; DC SPJ Chapter; and the Journalism Institute of the National Press Club. Among the topics included were: “Newsgathering and FOIA,” “Copyright and Digital Law,” Your Relationship with Sources and Understanding the Reporters’ Privilege,” and “Protecting Yourself: Insurance and Lawyers.” Speakers included experts from the Washington Post, CNN, WJLA, NPR and USA Today.
Oct. 1
Picnic at the National Zoo (RAINED OUT)
Nov. 15
Margaret Sullivan, former NYTimes Ombudsman, and new Washington Post Media and Journalism columnist, discussed the recent election coverage by the media and other journalism-related issues. Held at The Washington Post’s building, with a buffet supper for SPJ chapter members & guests.
Dec. 1
SPJ-DC members joined those from the National Press Club for a panel on: “The Trump Victory and the 2016—What the Media Got Right & Wrong,” at 7 p.m. Moderator was Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan, joined by panelists: reporter Abby Phillip of The Washington Post, who covered Hillary Clinton on the campaign; RNC National Spokeswoman Lindsay Walters; CNN Politics Senior Digital Correspondent Chris Moody; and Mike Curry, former White House press secretary under President Bill Clinton.
2017
Jan. 7
A Breakfast Brunch on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017, from noon to 2 p.m. for our “Kick Off the New Year” party at Clyde’s at Mark Center, Alexandria. We honored several veteran chapter members who have belonged to SPJ from 5 to 55 years, with SPJ Longevity pins or certificates. DC SDX Foundation members hosted some of the chapter’s 2016 local scholarship winners.
Jan. 30
Sarah Wire, LA Times reporter who covers the 55 members of the California congressional delegation, was our speaker on Jan. 30. Light refreshments were served. Hosted by The Fund for American Studies.
Feb. 23
“What Works in D.C.? Solutions Journalism in Your Newsroom.” Panel hosted by Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism. Speakers discussed the recently revamped Solutions Story Tracker, a database of almost 1,500 stories tagged by beat, publication, author, location, and more. The Solutions Journalism Network is a nonpartisan organization committed to transparency and editorial independence.
March 16
“Cops and Cameras: Complexities of Body-Worn Camera Usage and Access” ( SPJ Sunshine Week). Panel was moderated by Noah Gimbel, editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal. Co-sponsored by DC SPJ Pro Chapter and Georgetown University’s Master’s in Journalism Program, on how to improve accuracy in reporting policing operations.
March 14
To Celebrate Sunshine Week 2017, the National Press Club Journalism Institute’s Freedom of the Press Committee joined with the SPJ-DC Chapter, American University and the D.C. Open Government Coalition to focus on the state of government transparency in the District of Columbia. Topics included legislation designed to improve the D.C. FOIA laws, improved access to government data and to text messages of government officials and access to government officials’ text messages and open data.
March 25
Annual Media Job Fair, hosted by Georgetown University’s Master’s in Journalism Program. Sponsors included D.C. Chapters of SPJ, Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Washington Association of Black Journalists, Journalism and Women’s Symposium (JAWS) and the national Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Journalists Association. Among the recruiters were: Bloomberg, NESN, CNN, Politico, CBS News, Federal News Agency, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN and Law36.
April 8
SPJ Region 2 Annual Conference – Hosted by Elon (NC) University. 126 Mark of Excellence media awards for students in Maryland, District of Columbia, Delaware, North Carolina and Virginia from 14 different colleges and universities.
April 19
The D.C. Bureau of the New York Times hosted a panel on “Anonymous Sources and Ethics,” in conjunction with the DC SPJ Chapter, from 6 to 8 p.m. Speakers before the sold-out crowd included: Bob Drogin, deputy bureau chief for the D.C. offices of the LA Times; Peter Baker, NY Times Chief White House correspondent; and Angela Keane, Politico editor. Moderator was SPJ-DC board member Alice Ollstein, who is the National Political Reporter with Talking Points Memo.
May 2
State Department requested briefing from SPJ-DC for head of Spanish Media Association director, based in Madrid, who was visiting Washington, D.C., as part of an international journalism program, sponsored by State Dept. Provided by chapter President Kathleen Burns and SPJ member Ana Pinilla.
May 3
World Press Day Forum at the National Press Club, co-sponsored 20 US and international media organizations, including the DC SPJ Chapter. The Chapter’s Recording Secretary Kathryn Foxhall was one of 21 journalists that participated in panels on “Protecting the First Amendment: How Does Press Freedom in the USA Compare to Other Countries?” “The State of Local News Gathering,” and “Making Economically Evidence-Based, Unbiased Journalism Economically Sustainable.” Region 2 Director Andy Schotz and DC Chapter President Kathleen Burns also participated in the program.
June 13
Annual Hall of Fame Dinner at the National Press Club. Honorees include: ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz, Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten and RealClearPolitics White House correspondent Alexis Simendinger will be inducted as members of the Hall of Fame of the D.C. Pro Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists. The criterion for membership in the Hall of Fame is simply this: strong journalism over at least 25 years in Washington. The D.C. chapter also present its 2017 Distinguished Service Award to Lucy Dalglish, dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Winners were announced for the chapter’s annual Dateline media awards and certificates were given as well as the presentation of $25,000 in scholarship grants to 6 local students.