Founders Day 2010
Posted on April 19, 2010
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The untimely death of Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer and the subsequent appointment of Franklin County probate judge Eric Brown as interim chief justice has put the court in a political spotlight it normally tries to avoid.
Justice Paul E. Pfeifer (above), who is seeking his fourth term on the court, will be the keynote speaker for this year’s annual Founders Day event, Thursday, May 13. He’ll talk about the changes taking place in the state’s highest court, Moyer’s legacy and prior court decisions. A veteran of the press conference from his days in the Ohio Senate, Pfeifer also will participate in a Q&A session.
In addition, the chapter will present college scholarships and its First Amendment, Brick Wall, Distinguished Service and Appreciation awards.
Update: The silent auction returns. Bring your checkbook and take home an original drawing from Dispatch editorial cartoonist Jeff Stahler, passes for COSI or Franklin Park Conservatory, or a bow tie autographed by OSU President E. Gordon Gee. The proceeds help fund our scholarships.
Tickets are $30 ($20 for students). Reservation deadline: midnight, May 6.
The evening starts at 6 p.m. with a cash bar and networking, followed by dinner and the program at 6:45 p.m.
Join us for an evening of fellowship at the River Club Restaurant at Confluence Park, 679 W. Spring St.
Chapter award nominations sought
Posted on April 22, 2010
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With Founders Day fast approaching, chapter members are asked to submit nominations for our annual awards. The board of directors will review the nominations and select winners in each category, with the awards handed out at Founders Day.
The First Amendment Award: This award recognizes significant contributions to the First Amendment rights of freedom of expression. Individuals and organizations both inside and outside of journalism are eligible.
Distinguished Service Award: This award is for a member of the chapter who demonstrates professional excellence and dedication to SPJ.
Appreciation Award: This award is presented to an individual or organization that has made a notable contribution to journalism in central Ohio.
Brick Wall Award: Started in 2001, this dubious distinction is presented to the individual or organization that, according to chapter members, did the most to block citizen access to public records and proceedings or otherwise violated the spirit of the First Amendment during the past year. Anyone is eligible, but special consideration will be given to public officials and tax-funded agencies that fail to follow the law.
Send nominations, including background, to Kevin Kemper by April 30.
For prior award winners, see the listing on the chapter’s Web site.
‘Training on the Go’ coming to Columbus
Posted on April 1, 2010
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The Central Ohio Society of Professional Journalists will host a Training on the Go newsroom training program Saturday, May 1, at The Columbus Dispatch, 34 S. Third St.
The topic is National SPJ’s new ‘Social Media Series’ in its popular Training on the Go program, and the subject matter will be valuable to both expert and novice. Cost is just $20 and includes a boxed lunch from Panera, morning and break refreshments – though online pre-registration is required. See National’s Web site for more information or to register.
Ethics panel scheduled for April
Posted on March 31, 2010
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It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. How can those of us who participate in print journalism survive — and uphold the public trust — in an environment of competing interests and shrinking revenue streams?
The Central Ohio chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists plans to join with public-relations and advertising practitioners in a discussion of “Challenging Times in Print Journalism.” The event will serve as the SPJ chapter’s annual ethics panel and will take place starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 22, at the Worthington Inn, 649 High St. in Worthington.
Guests will include representatives of the Public Relations Society of America’s central Ohio chapter, and the Advertising Federation of Columbus. Editors and publishers of several of central Ohio’s newer publications also will be invited to join.
The event will begin with free snacks and a cash bar at 7 p.m. with the program at about 7:30 p.m. We’ll begin with SPJ and our guests sharing an overview of their ethics policies, then follow with discussion of several issues of common interest.
Admission is free but reservations are required. Please contact Barbara James no later than Monday, April 12 by e-mail at bjames001@columbus.rr.com or by phone, 614-461-5243.
Please note that there is parking behind the Worthington Inn. The meeting room will be on the second floor and because it is a historic building, no elevator is available.
Cleveland prepares for journalism uprising
Posted on March 31, 2010
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“Rise Up in Cleveland!” is the title of the 2010 Region 4 Spring Conference presented by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), April 9-10, in Cleveland. SPJ’s Cleveland Pro Chapter will host programs for professional development and improving journalism at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center and the newsroom of The Plain Dealer, the largest daily newspaper in Ohio.
Journalists, students and educators from Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania, which form Region 4, will gather for the annual spring meeting which is open to all journalists, including those not affiliated with SPJ.
High-profile, accomplished journalists speaking at the conference include Jim Schaefer, part of the Detroit Free Press team whose coverage toppled Kwame Kilpatrick, the former Detroit mayor, and won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting, and Regina Brett, a columnist at The Plain Dealer who twice won first-place National Headliner Awards. The two are among more than two dozen professional journalists, educators and entrepreneurs providing skills training for anyone who plays a journalistic role in any form of media.
For more information, see the event’s registration page.
PRSA event – Q&A featuring Bob Orr
Posted on January 25, 2010
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Central Ohio SPJ members: The Central Ohio Public Relations Society of America invites you to a Feb. 18 luncheon and Q&A featuring Bob Orr, Justice and Homeland Security correspondent for CBS News. Details and registration can be found here.
Meet the Kips 2010
Posted on January 15, 2010
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Happy new year!
Join Central Ohio SPJ and OSU’s 2010 class of Kiplinger Fellows for happy hour from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at Eddie George’s Grill in the South Campus Gateway.
Meet the Kips 2010 will give Columbus journalists a chance to meet the newest class of fellows, who are a diverse, talented group of mid-career journalists from around the country working on in-depth, multimedia projects during OSU’s six-month Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism.
This year’s projects include themes involving the housing crisis, juvenile obesity, post traumatic stress disorder among war vets, the survivors of drunken driving and Hurricane Katrina.
Complimentary hors d’oeuvres, cash bar. No charge to attend. We hope to see you there!
Eddie George’s is located at 1636 N. High St. Columbus, 43201. There is limited on-street parking as well as a garage a block south.
Reporters talk about covering the Rifqa Bary case
Posted on December 23, 2009
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Columbus Dispatch reporter Meredith Heagney, left, Dispatch columnist Joe Blundo and Amy Edwards of the Orlando Sentinel at the SPJ event.
Media coverage of the controversy surrounding a Muslim teen from Central Ohio who ran away to Florida to join a conservative Christian church was the topic of an SPJ diversity event on Thursday, Nov. 19, at the Worthington Inn in Worthington.
The Central Ohio SPJ Chapter sponsored the event which examined reporters’ experiences covering the Rifqa Bary case. Bary is the teen girl who ran off to Orlando, Fla., on July 19. At the time, she said her life was in danger if she remained in Columbus because her father would kill her as a result of her conversion to Christianity.
Law & Media conference success!
Posted on November 17, 2009
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A record number of journalists, lawyers, judges, students, teachers, PR professionals and others gathered last month for the Ohio State Bar Association’s annual Law & Media Conference to learn about topics such as the future of local media; challenges facing the student press; and the reporter’s privilege.
You may view sessions from this year’s conference at the Ohio State Bar Association Web site.
Mark your calendar to join us for the 2010 Law & Media Conference on Friday, Oct. 15.
Nov. 19 — Covering the Rifqa Bary case
Posted on October 26, 2009
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The story of Rifqa Bary, a 17-year-old girl who converted from Islam to Christianity then ran away from home, has been one of the most enduring stories of the year.
Join the Central Ohio Society of Professional Journalists for its annual diversity event at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Worthington Inn, where reporters from the Columbus Dispatch and Orlando Sentinel will talk about the challenges of covering the Bary story, which touches on religion, parenting, law and societal assumptions and misconceptions.
Bary secretly left her New Albany home this summer to join a Christian minister and his family in Orlando, Fla. Although her parents deny the claims, Bary repeatedly told law enforcement she had to leave because her family would kill her for converting. The result has been a protracted battle in Ohio and Florida courts and a deluge of letters and comments to newspapers from Christians, Muslims, parents and readers.
Reporters covering the story have heard an earful from both sides — and dealt with many an angry blogger — during their coverage.
Dispatch columnist Joe Blundo will moderate. No cover charge, free hors d’oeuvres and cash bar.
To register, e-mail Katy Waters at kwaters@bizjournals.com with your name and e-mail address.
Joe Blundo’s award-winning column, So to Speak, appears in the Life section of the Columbus Dispatch. It’s a mix of humor, human interest and information. Among his favorite topics are Columbusness: the peculiarities that make Columbus what it is. Such as why we rush to the store and buy all the milk and bread when a half inch of snow is in the forecast. He also likes to write about crazed Buckeye fans, bizarre entertainment acts and oddball collectors, such as the guy who keeps a million used lottery tickets in his basement.
Joe has been at the Dispatch since 1978. A native of New Castle, Pa., he is a 1975 graduate of Kent State University. He lives in Worthington. He and his wife have two children.
Amy Edwards been with the Orlando Sentinel for about five years and is on the breaking news team. She covers criminal justice and has written about the Jessica Lunsford kidnapping and homicide.
Amy won awards for a story about a hospital nurse who preyed on patients and for her coverage of the Casey Anthony case.
She graduated from the University of Central Florida.
Meredith Heagney has been the faith and values reporter at the Columbus Dispatch for 2½ years. In April 2008, her coverage of the first U.S. papal visit of Pope Benedict XVI in New York helped her win first place in the “Best Religion Reporting” category of the 2009 Ohio SPJ awards.
Before coming to the Dispatch, Meredith worked for the Columbus bureau of the Associated Press.
She is a native of Perrysburg, Ohio, near Toledo, and a 2006 graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.
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