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Holly Edgell is journalist, consultant and journalism teacher/trainer based in St. Louis. She comes to the roster of SPJ Committee leaders with experience in journalism and academia.
College Membership Subcommittee Chair
Tara Puckey
PO Box 7144
Fishers, IN 46038
765-730-4283
E-mail
Twitter
Bio (click to expand)
Tara Puckey is a freelance journalist based in Indianapolis, Indiana. She always enjoyed writing, premiering her work at the age of three with “Blue Dot, Yellow Dot,” a story about two colors that befriended each other. Later, she participated in the Young Authors competition and wrote an article for American Way magazine. Sadly, there's no link to that since it was written before the Internet existed. Later in life, after choosing journalism in a list of alphabetical majors, she fell in love with the business. In 2011, she graduated from IU School of Journalism at IUPUI with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, with High Distinction. At that point, she had been freelancing for four years and won several national awards. Part of a military family, Puckey originally focused her freelance business on military media. Later, she expanded to offer web design, branding, editing and other services. She is especially fond of working with small, local businesses and non-profits.
Students and Educators:
Let SPJ help guide the way
The Society of Professional Journalists understands that changes in the industry have forced educators to rethink and revise curricula. They are being asked — or required — to help students learn about everything that’s new while still teaching the reporting and writing skills that serve as the foundation of journalism. Institutions of higher learning are breaking their budgets to keep up with new software, new hardware and new gadgets. The job of a journalism educator is more demanding than ever before.
Just know that you are not alone. And the Society of Professional Journalists is there to help.
By becoming a member of SPJ:
— We can connect you with experts in reporting, writing, ethics, diversity, freedom of expression, open government, freelancing and, yes, media technology.
— We provide a chance for your students to work alongside our professional members. This is because our students are full members, complete with the same benefits as our professional members. (Two students even serve on our national board of directors.)
— We keep students updated on the industry through local and regional professional development programs, and publications such as our weekly e-newsletter “SPJ Leads” and our member magazine “Quill.”
— We connect your students to the organization with the best-known journalism code of ethics in the world. (It’s been translated into 11 languages.)
The best way for SPJ to serve your students is for your school to start a campus chapter. This would encourage your students to work together to provide locally relevant, SPJ-sponsored programming that will enhance their education. It is easy to set up a campus chapter; you can find out how by visiting this page.
If a campus chapter isn’t something you can do right now, we ask that you still encourage your students to join SPJ. This will give them an opportunity to network with other student and professional members. And if you have a professional chapter nearby, your students may be able to join their group.
Joining is easy and affordable; students pay only $37.50 for annual dues (cheaper than most textbooks) or $100 for a four-year membership if the student is a freshman or sophomore. You can learn more about becoming an SPJ member, and download applications, by following this link.
Your school can also show its dedication to journalism is by joining SPJ as a collegiate institutional member. In doing so, your school will demonstrate to students (and parents) its commitment to producing the best journalists possible. For just $400 a year, your school can join SPJ as a Collegiate Institutional Member. Please share this information with your journalism department leaders.
Our Collegiate Institutional Members receive:
— A plaque indicating the school’s affiliation as a Collegiate Institutional Member of SPJ.
— Your name on SPJ.org’s Collegiate Institutional Membership page that links to your school’s Web site.
— A subscription to Quill Magazine.
— A $5 discount on individual memberships for students and professionals from your school. This benefit will help you in building a chapter on your campus.
— A complimentary entry in SPJ’s Mark of Excellence Contest, which honors the best in student journalism from across the country.
— A framed copy of SPJ’s Code of Ethics and several pocket-sized copies of the Code.
— A complimentary convention registration to SPJ’s National Convention (a savings of nearly $200).
The best part is your school doesn’t need to have a campus SPJ chapter to become a Collegiate Institutional Member. And it’s one of the easiest ways to expose your students to the largest journalism organization in the country.
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