Register HERE for this online session.
America’s public schools are coming under unusually strong attention from the general public — scrutiny communities typically rely on journalists to provide.
The issues are as disparate as masking mandates and COVID-19 testing; decisions around the spending of federal pandemic relief funds; the pros and cons of virtual vs. in-person learning; gun threats; and a rising trend of lawmakers and parents’ demanding that schoolchildren not be taught certain subjects such as human sexuality and the history of racism.
Journalists face multiple barriers, many government- or district-imposed, to covering these complex topics. Practices like filtering all interviews through public information officers seriously impairs journalists’ ability to cover these weighty subjects, while prohibiting teachers, school staff and other key education officials from sharing their stories. Add in policies that limit access to key education-related data-sets, and answering the public’s questions in a timely, thoughtful, and detailed manner becomes exceedingly difficult.
In honor of Sunshine Week, expert panelists will explore the impact of these government restrictions on press coverage of public schools and how to work around them. Produced by the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Press Club Journalism Institute, the discussion will offer strategies and tools to overcome these barriers.
Panelists include:
– Eva-Marie Ayala, Education Lab editor for The Dallas Morning News
– Frank LoMonte, professor at the University of Florida and counsel at CNN
– Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
– Moderator: Delece Smith-Barrow, education editor at POLITICO
Register HERE for this National Press Club Journalism Institute webinar.
Description
Public records belong to the public. So where do we get started tracking them down?
Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute to learn what government records you have a right to and how to request them. Whether you’re a journalist, student, parent, community activist, teacher, business owner, or taxpayer, you will learn how to request public records that can help you in your personal and professional lives.
This virtual webinar is designed to help individuals file their first open records request with a local, state, or federal government agency. The Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, provides the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. Federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested unless it falls under one of nine exemptions. State and local agencies also have open record laws governing documents produced by government agencies including lawmakers, law enforcement agencies, courts, and school districts, among others. These laws help keep citizens in the know about their government.
During this program, participants will learn:
– Why an individual might file a FOIA or open records request
– The types of public records that exist
– When you should rely on a FOIA or open records request, and other ways to find information
– How to file an open records request
– How to interpret the information you receive
Participants will hear from:
- Kirsten Mitchell is the compliance team lead for the U.S. Office of Government Information Services, which is the federal FOIA ombudsman, and designated federal officer for the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration’s FOIA Advisory Committee
- Lulu Ramadan, an investigative reporter at The Seattle Times and a distinguished fellow with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network
- Mark Walker, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, where he previously was its FOIA coordinator, and the president of Investigative Reporters & Editors
Tickets
The Summit itself is free to attend and largely virtual.
The Hollywood Creative Lab is virtual and free to attend.
Tickets are needed to watch whistlebower-related films, which are shown daily
TICKET AVAILABLE: Click HERE
Overall website
Partial Schedule
Monday July 25
9:00 Plenary: Frank Serpico, former New York City detective
10:00 Continued systemic discrimination at U.S. Department of Agriculture
11:00 Congressional year of truth for whistleblower legislation (Government Accountability Project)
12:00 The perils of public information officers (Society of Professional Journalists – DC Chapter)
1:00 Global guardianship abuse
Tuesday July 26
9:00 Government whistleblowing, scientific integrity and the environment (PEER — Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)
10:00 The EEOC needs Rehabilitation
11:00 Working with the Office of Special Council (Government Accountability Project)
12:00 Guilty of journalism: The political case against Julian Assange (Project Censored)
1:00 Righting the wrongs of a ‘shadow government’ (Justice Integrity Project)
Wednesday July 27
9:00 Hollywood Pitch Lab (Day 1)
10:00 Screenplay contest announcement
Thursday July 28
9:00 Hollywood Pitch Lab (Day 2)
10:00 Breakout sessions
Friday July 29 – being held on Capitol Hill
9:00 Closing Plenary
10:00 Hollywood creative lab pitch contest (online)
10:00 Martha Mitchell in memoriam
11:00 Detailing the whistleblower story on film (African American Women in Cinema)
12:00 Working more effectively with Congress (Government Accountability Project)
CHAPTER MEMBERS: Mark Your Calendar for an in-person gathering for the holiday season.
Join your SPJ DC Pro colleagues Tuesday, Dec. 5, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the National Press Club.
We’ll have a private meeting room, free snacks, cash bar. 🍷🍺
More info coming later.
The D.C. Open Government Coalition, the Society of Professional Journalists-D.C. Professional Chapter, and the D.C. Office of Open Government, invite you to
OPEN GOVERNMENT 2024 SUMMIT
WHEN: 5:30 – 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 13, 2024 American Bar Association Conference Center
WHERE: 1050 Connecticut Ave. NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC (Metrorail: Farragut North Station)
This year’s event focuses on the intersection of public safety and transparency, accountability, and trust. Speakers include:
- Niquelle Allen, , Director of the D.C. Office of Open Government
- Marcus Ellis, Executive Director, Peace For C.
- Chris Magnus, Deputy Auditor for Public Safety
- Alex Koma, Washington City Paper
Join us for light fare beginning at 5:30 p.m.
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required at this link: https://dcopengovsummit24.eventbrite.com.
Deadline for registering is 11:59 p.m. Monday March 11.
To learn more, email info@dcogc.org, or visit www.dcogc.org.
The annual Summit takes place during national Sunshine Week—March 10-16, which celebrates the birthday of James Madison, considered the founding father of government transparency and an architect of the U.S. Constitution.
NATIONAL HUG A NEWSPERSON DAY
National Hug a Newsperson Day (formerly National Hug a Newsman Day) on April 4th encourages appreciation for the people reporting the news.
#HugANewspersonDay
Read more HERE.
And for a bit of music to celebrate, have a listen to The Morning Papers by Johann Strauss II.
Join the chapter and other journalists Friday, Oct. 4, at 5 p.m. to meet with 10 foreign journalists visiting the United States under the auspices of the World Press Institute. The gathering will be in the Cosgrove Lounge on the 14th floor of the National Press Club in downtown Washington (529 14th Street NW, 20045 near Metro Center station).
The DC chapter will provide some light snacks. Beverages will be available from a server, but you’ll pay for your own order.
The visiting journalists are coming from Brazil, Bulgaria, Finland, India, Italy, Kosovo, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa and Ukraine.
The World Press Institute, founded in 1961, has provided regular opportunities for journalists from around the world to visit the U.S. and compare notes with their American counterparts.
Please sign up for the event here.
Join the SPJ D.C. Pro Chapter on Monday, May 19 at 6 p.m. ET for a discussion on AI and FOIA. Alex Ebermann, President, New York Coalition for Open Government, and Irwin McCullough, Co-Founder, FOIA Friend, will discuss the pros and cons of integrating AI in the records requesting process and how journalists can use AI as a tool.
The session will be moderated by freelance journalist James Mae.
Register HERE.
Come celebrate the holiday season with your fellow members of the Washington, D.C., Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. We’ll also toast the near-arrival of the 234th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, our First Amendment birthdate.
We will provide the great New Orleans-style food — you just need to pay for anything you want to drink from the cash bar.
The Ragtime Restaurant is a 2–4-minute walk from the Court House Orange Line Metro station. You can’t get much more convenient than that.
We are aiming to grow our membership in these days when a strong, united voice from journalists committed to seeking truth and reporting it to the public is more important than ever. Bring a colleague who you think would be interested in joining.
This will be a great opportunity for chapter members to connect/re-connect, and for you to meet prospective members who may be our guests and tell them what membership means to you and why they should be part of our chapter and our mission. Spread the cheer, but also spread your enthusiasm for SPJ.
Sign up HERE to let us know you are coming.
Please note that you should respond using the form on the link above so we have your name and email address for any updates.