The Society of Professional Journalists is here to support student journalists nationwide as they begin to mold their careers. Whether it’s a campus chapter, student media outlet or individual, SPJ is here to offer advice, training and up-to-date information on important freedom of information decisions.

Contact your SPJ Campus Board Members

Vice President, Campus Chapter Affairs
Neil Alan Ralston
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd #11070
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1070
(270) 745-5841
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Neil Ralston serves as vice president for campus chapter affairs, a position he was elected to in 2007 and re-elected to in 2009 and 2011. He began serving on the SPJ Board of Directors in 2003 when he was elected as a campus adviser at-large. Ralston is an assistant professor of journalism at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky. Before joining the faculty at WKU in 2006, he was an associate professor of journalism at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches (NAK-uh-tish), La., where he advised the student SPJ chapter. He also has taught at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. Ralston began a career in journalism in 1978 and has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer at weekly and daily newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana and Texas. His most recent full-time reporting job was in 1985-89 when he worked for the San Antonio (Texas) Light where he covered city hall, the police, federal law enforcement agencies and the federal courthouse.

Ralston has bachelor's degrees in communication and industrial technology from Northeast Missouri State University and a master's degree in journalism from The Ohio State University where he was a fellow in the Kiplinger Program of Public Affairs Reporting. He earned a doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2002. Additionally, Ralston was named SPJ's campus chapter adviser of the year for the 1998-99 school year.

Campus Advisers At-Large
George Daniels
The University of Alabama
Associate Professor
P.O. Box 870172
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
(205) 348-8618
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Now in his second term as a campus adviser at-large on the SPJ National Board, George L. Daniels is a former chair of the SPJ Journalism Education Committee. As a graduate student, Daniels participated in the University of Georgia’s SPJ Campus Chapter.

But, his first experience with SPJ came when he received a scholarship from the Washington DC Chapter of what was then Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) in the early 1990s. Daniels was a 2006 SPJ Diversity Leadership Fellow and 2007 Scripps Institute Fellow.

Daniels is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences. He joined the UA faculty in 2003 after completing his master's and Ph.D. degrees at The University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Before moving into the academic arena, Daniels worked as a news producer at WTVR-TV in Richmond, Va., WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio and WXIA-TV in Atlanta. He is a cum laude graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC.

Kym Fox
Texas State University
601 University Dr.
San Marcos, TX 78666
(512) 245-3484
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Kym Fox joined SPJ while an undergrad at Arizona State University in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She has been president of the San Antonio Pro Chapter and is currently the co-adviser to the Texas State University student chapter. Fox spent the first 20 something years of her career as a reporter and editor, first at the Mesa Tribune, a 40,000 daily in a suburb of Phoenix, and then 18 years at the San Antonio Express-News. She was the deputy metro editor when she left the Express-News to take to the classroom at Texas State. Most of her career, she spent covering courts and legal affairs, thus her affinity for Freedom of Information projects. Over the years she has covered everything from high school sports to George H.W Bush signing NAFTA. She has interviewed the Queen of England and Michael Jackson, though not at the same time. Along with her B.S. in journalism, she earned an M.A. in communications from the University of the Incarnate Word while an editor at the Express-News. At Texas State she is a senior lecturer and coordinator of the journalism sequence. She teaches a variety of writing classes as well as multimedia journalism. Her take on the future of journalism: “Newspapers are NOT dying. They are evolving.” Find her on Twitter @kymfox.

Taylor Mirfendereski
Ohio University
614-975-6260
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Taylor Mirfendereski is a multimedia journalist from Columbus, OH with a passion for storytelling, technology, and diversity.

She joined SPJ in 2008 during her first year at Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She has served on the OU SPJ executive board for the past three years and currently serves as the vice president of the chapter.

Taylor sees life in the context of a story and finds herself viewing the world through the lens of a camera. As one of a select group of campus correspondents for CNN during the 2008-2009 school year, she produced a series of news packages to air on CNN.com. Through this experience, she gained knowledge and expertise in pitching focused story ideas, writing conversational scripts, capturing visually appealing b-roll, and editing packages with continuity.

In addition to her work with CNN, Taylor has held several local and national internships. In 2008, she was a communication's intern for Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. During the summer of 2009, Taylor interned with Central Ohio's NBC affiliate WCMH-TV. Most recently, in the Fall of 2009, she held internships with NBC's TODAY Show and NBC Weekend Nightly News with Lester Holt.

While Taylor's internships have offered her hands-on opportunities, some of her most valuable experience has stemmed from her independent reporting. She has produced several stories on Iran, including an article about the treatment of Iranian homosexuals and transsexuals, and several Q&A stories about Iran's 2009 presidential election fallout. She also produced a story about the homeless in Columbus, OH, in which she sought out five homeless individuals and profiled their living conditions.

Beyond her passion for storytelling and reporting, Taylor is intrigued by technology. She's been producing and editing video for eight years and is proficient in both linear and nonlinear editing systems, including Final Cut Pro, Avid, and Grass Valley
Aurora Edit. In 2008, she began work as a video editor for Best Light Video in Columbus, OH. She produced 30-second commercials for businesses in the area. Her editing on a project for the North Market in Columbus, OH helped to win the company an Ohio Interactive Award.

Taylor also has experience with video camera operation, still photography, computer assisted reporting, and web design (using XHTML and CSS).

Taylor is now a junior attending Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in the Honors Tutorial College. In addition to her involvement with SPJ, she serves as the president of the Radio-Television Digital News Association campus chapter. She is also an active member of Students for Global Media and Diversity and the Asian American Journalist's Association. Taylor is the co-coordinator of a new AAJA student broadcast organization called the Asian American Student Broadcast Journalists.

Taylor also volunteers at the Athens County Dog Shelter in Chauncey, OH. She is presently designing a multimedia website for the shelter to maximize pet adoption, educate potential adopters, and recruit volunteers.

When not in school, volunteering or reporting in the field, Taylor enjoys traveling, writing, and spending time with family, friends, and pets. She travels annually to Iran and has visited several other locations in the Middle East and Europe.

Gideon Grudo
Florida Atlantic University
E-mail

On this page, you’ll find resources that can help you and your chapter regarding freedom of information news and education.

You also may contact SPJ Headquarters at any time if you have comments, questions or concerns.

Together — students, alumni and professionals alike — we continue the fight to preserve and protect the freedoms granted by the First Amendment and help the public understand those freedoms.

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Students in SPJ News

• 5/7/2012: SPJ president voices concern over possible removal of college media adviser
• 5/2/2012: SPJ announces winners of the 2012 High School Essay Contest
• 4/24/2012: Announcing winners of the 2011 national Mark of Excellence Awards for collegiate journalists
• 4/16/2012: SPJ announces 2011 Region 5 Mark of Excellence Winners
• 4/16/2012: SPJ announces 2011 Region 9 Mark of Excellence Winners
• 4/2/2012: SPJ announces 2011 Region 10 Mark of Excellence Winners
• 4/2/2012: SPJ announces 2011 Region 11 Mark of Excellence Winners
• 4/2/2012: SPJ announces 2011 Region 2 Mark of Excellence Winners
• 4/2/2012: SPJ announces 2011 Region 6 Mark of Excellence Winners
See archive for more articles

Essential Tutorials, courtesy of Quill Magazine

How to Conduct a Campus FOI Audit
FOI audits are great tools to monitor open-records compliance and check weaknesses in your state’s laws. Audits return journalism to its roots by protecting citizens’ rights to freedom of information and keeping government accountable. The purpose of the audit is to test how easily the average citizen can obtain public records. Here is a condensed guide on conducting an audit on your college campus.

FOI Toolbox: Make copies of documents on the cheap
What good is access to government records if it costs as much as a bank buyout to get copies? Too often public agencies charge more than they should for copies of records, sometimes as much as $1 or more per page. That’s just wrong, and in most states it’s illegal. So don’t stand for government gouging. Here are 10 tips for reducing or eliminating those outrageous copy fees.

10 great FOI programs for chapters, newsrooms
Chapters and newsrooms are doing great work in freedom of information, so the FOI Committee decided to share some of its programs with everyone. At the SPJ Web site, you’ll find dozens of ideas for FOI programs suitable for professional chapters, campus chapters or newsrooms. You’ll also find tips for writing about FOI, quotable expert FOI sources and studies, and FOI teaching ideas. Here is a snapshot of 10 program ideas.

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Helpful Links

• Associated Collegiate Press
• Columbia Journalism Review
• High School Journalism Initiative
• Journalism Association of Community Colleges
• National Scholastic Press Association
• The Poynter Institute
• The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
• Student Press Law Center
• UWire

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All About FERPA
The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act was enacted in 1974 to protect the privacy of students and their education records. Unfortunately, school districts across the U.S. have twisted the law to deny records that would have otherwise been accessible. Reporters continue to strive for these records and for accountability within school systems.

We hope these resources help journalists gain access to what would otherwise be kept secret.

Language of the Law: GPO Access / FERPA

Relevant Articles:
• The SPJ Guide to FERPA
• Quill: FERPA Foibles
• SPJ News: Restraining order against Wyoming newspapers is revoked
• SPJ News: Columbus Dispatch writers win First Amendment award for reporting on FERPA

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