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
Join Mid-Atlantic journalists in Roanoke April 8-9 for SPJ’s Region 2 conference. The event starts Friday evening with a reception sponsored by the School of Communication at Virginia Tech. The conference opens at 8 a.m. on Saturday with sessions on using Google tools, starting out as a freelancer, startups in the new media climate and much more.
At an evening reception on Saturday the SPJ Virginia pro chapter will honor Beth Macy with the George Mason Award. Macy is the author of the bestselling book “Dopesick,” which was made into a series starring Michael Keaton. The reception will be held at the O. Winston Link & History Museum of Western Virginia.
Register HERE.
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)
Time and location to be set.
For information contact soverman@spj.org
Region 2 Conference
Registration for the Region 2 Conference is $50 for students and $60 for pros. Lunch only is $37.
SIGN UP https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spj-region-2-conference-tickets-556212666057
The event starts with a reception Friday evening, March 31. Registration opens Saturday, April 1, at 8:45 a.m., followed by a full day of breakout sessions. Mark of Excellence Awards will be presented at the conference luncheon. For information contact Region 2 Coordinator Stephenie Overman.
Washington Post enterprise video reporter and on-air correspondent Joyce Koh will be this year’s keynote speaker April 1 at SPJ’s Region 2 Conference.
The conference, which will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park, also features the Region 2 Mark of Excellence Awards.
The conference will kick off March 31 with an evening reception. Saturday sessions will include “How (or Whether) to Use AI/ChatGPT in Reporting” and “Mining the Trade Journalism Job Market.”
Bonnie Newman Davis will lead a panel on “Fighting to be Heard.” Davis is managing editor of the Richmond Free Press and author of “Truth Tellers: The Power and Presence of Black Women Journalists Since 1960.”
Koh, an alumna of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, has covered the war in Ukraine, the 2020 presidential campaign, police brutality protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the Trump administration, and the national opioid crisis. Prior to working at the Post, she covered the South Carolina state house as a television reporter.
Join Will Schick, editor-in-chief of Washington, D.C.’s Street Sense Media, for a panel discussion on covering homelessness with respect and sensitivity.
The panel will be presented online at 6 p.m. April 19 by SPJ Region 2. For more information, or to register for the event, click HERE.
Street Sense Media’s recently published “A journalist’s guide to covering homelessness” provides a list of broad principles and considerations for reporters. The guide draws its inspiration from the SPJ Code of Ethics.
Schick will be joined by two Baltimore Banner reporters. Sophie Kasakove is a housing reporter who previously covered housing and climate issues as a fellow on the national desk at the New York Times. Hallie Miller covers city and regional services. She is a Baltimore native who previously worked at The Baltimore Sun.
Street Sense Media former editorial director Eric Falquero will moderate the discussion. Falquero is now strategic partnerships editor at WAMU 88.5 in Washington, D.C
Looking for a Job?
Three Washington area editors who are hiring will discuss job possibilities during a free online program May 3 at 4 p.m.
The program, presented by SPJ Region 2, will be led by former SPJ National President Rebecca Baker, who is now editor at large for Bloomberg Tax/Bloomberg Industry Group in Washington. Bloomberg provides financial news to companies and organizations worldwide through Bloomberg News and Businessweek.
Thai Phi Le, senior managing editor at Industry Dive, will talk about jobs available at the company’s more than 30 publications. Industry Dive publications cover topics including banking, construction, education, fashion, food, healthcare, hotels, med-tech and retail.
Teresa Anderson is vice president of content, ASIS International, which covers the global security industry.
The editors especially are interested in recent graduates or those who have a few years of work experience for entry-level full-time roles, Baker said. They’re also looking for freelance writers.
For more information or to register
To get a link for the session, send an e-mail to soverman@spj.org
North Carolina Chapter Zoom Event
Details coming soon.