Annual Hall of Fame Dinner at the National Press Club, reception 6 p.m., dinner at 7 pm. HOF Chair is Julie Asher (jasher@catholic news.org). We honor 3 outstanding journalist who have spent at least 25 years working in Washington media. Contact HOF Nominating Chair Steve Taylor (Juxta747@gmail.com) for any names you wish to submit for consideration.
For now we are still holding meetings on Zoom. Please let us know if you want to attend this meeting. You can request a ZOOM link by dropping us a note at spjdcchapter@gmail.com
SPJ/LA to explore the give-and-take between journalists and PIOs
Government agencies bring on public information officers to make sure critical information reaches the public. But for those PIOs, can the obligation to serve their agency run counter to their responsibility to the public?
SPJ/LA will explore those and other issues on Thursday during the virtual panel “Just Doing My Job: Protecting the Agency vs. Serving the Public.”
The panel, which begins at 7 p.m.(PT), will feature journalists and public affairs experts from across the region.
The event will be moderated by Ben Davis, journalism professor at Cal State, Northridge. Appearing with him are:
- Lisa Derderian, Public Information Officer, City of Pasadena
- Susan Hirasuna, Anchor/Reporter, FOX 11
- Claudia Peschiutta, Daily News Editor, KPCC-FM
- Kerri Webb, Director of Public Information and Government Relations, El Camino College
For more information, contact Nathan Solis at njsolis@gmail.com.
To RSVP for the event, please click here by 4:00pm (PT) on Thursday, March 3.
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
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)
Save the date!
More info on tickets and Hall of Fame inductees coming soon.
Cash bar cocktail hour begins 6 p.m. Dinner and gala begin at 7 p.m. (For those on deadline, program likely to start around 7:30 p.m. as dinner proceeds.) Business attire. Cocktail or sun dresses appropriate for women. Tie optional for men, but no shorts please!