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Every day, a new social media platform is coming full circle as part-time, volunteer and citizen journalists emerge. They’re gaining momentum in the media community and changing the way news is reported and delivered, as well as how community members view the world around them.

People are practicing journalism through blogs, Web site production and interaction with sites maintained by mainstream news organizations. They are contributing to the world’s 24/7 news cycle, making it easy and accessible for more of us to be in the know.

The Society of Professional Journalists believes the world benefits from more news coverage, not less. Through its Citizen Journalism Academy, SPJ seeks to help everyone wanting to practice journalism to do so accurately, ethically and fairly. The Society aims to help participants understand how responsible practices could increase their reach and help them have strong journalistic reputations within their communities and around the world.

Topics these one-day workshops will explore include:
— Journalism ethics. The new-media landscape is rife with dilemmas for anyone wanting to report accurately, fairly and outside the bounds of special interests.
— The basics of media law. The same longstanding laws concerning libel, slander and access to people and information apply to 21st-century news-gatherers.
— Access to public records and meetings. Public information can add substance and value to every news story. But knowing where to look for it can be tough.
— Standard and responsible reporting practices. With media ethics and law in mind, how else should news-gatherers approach sources? Get tips on smart interviewing techniques and learn more about writing and reporting that will help you connect more effectively with your audience.
— The use of technology. We'll show you an array of tools you could start using — or continue using more effectively.

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Dates and Locations

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About the speakers

Joel Campbell  Denver, May 9
Joel Campbell is an assistant professor in the Department of Communications at Brigham Young University. He was a reporter and editor at the (Salt Lake City) Deseret Morning News for 15 years covering everything from the night police beat to Salt Lake’s Olympic bid. He holds a master’s degree from Ohio State University and bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. He is active in many First Amendment and Freedom of Information causes and is past president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and Chairman of Society of Professional Journalists Freedom of Information Committee. He has received the SPJ Outstanding Chapter Member Award, Utah SPJ chapter’s Clifford Cheney Service to Journalism Award and the Utah Press Association’s Honorary Publisher Award.

Dana Coffield   Denver, May 9
Dana Coffield recently joined the Denver Post's city desk team, where she manages a crew of reporters covering education, the environment and religion and who handle breaking news. Before moving to metro, she was features editor, a GA reporter, and assistant business editor at the Post. She also edited business news at the late Rocky Mountain News, worked at the Associated Press in Cheyenne and Denver, and was a reporter and editor at several other small newspapers in Colorado. She's a graduate of Brandeis and Northwestern universities.

Fred Brown  Denver, May 9
Fred Brown is a former national president of SPJ (1997-98) and is very active on its ethics committee. He writes a column on ethics for Quill magazine and served on the committee that wrote the Society’s 1996 code of ethics. Expand bio


Brown officially retired from The Denver Post in early 2002, but continues to write a Sunday editorial page column for the newspaper. He also does analysis for Denver’s NBC television station, teaches communication ethics at the University of Denver, and is a principal in Hartman & Brown, LLP, a media training and consulting firm. He has won several awards for writing and community service, including a Sigma Delta Chi Award for editorial writing in 1988. He is an Honor Alumnus of Colorado State University, a member of the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame, and serves on the boards of directors of Colorado Public Radio, the Colorado Freedom of Information Council and the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. Compact Bio

Christine Tatum  Denver, May 9
Christine Tatum is a veteran writer and editor who has worked for the Chicago Tribune, The Denver Post and the (Greensboro, N.C.) News & Record. She was among the first journalists in the nation to work simultaneously in print, broadcast and online media via the Tribune’s Website and cable television station. Expand bio


Ms. Tatum’s reporting on business and technology has won honors from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Colorado chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.

In 2006, Ms. Tatum was elected national president of SPJ. During her tenure, she devised and helped develop SPJ's Citizen Journalism Academy.

Ms. Tatum frequently speaks on the newsgathering process to media organizations, civic groups and students nationwide, and remains a passionate advocate for the improvement and protection of journalism. She lives in Denver with her husband and their two children. Compact Bio

Steven D. Zansberg  Denver, May 9
Steven D. Zansberg, Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, L.L.P., a partner of the firm, represents news media organizations in seeking access to judicial proceedings, records and open meetings, libel defense, asserting the journalist’s privilege against being compelled to testify, and conducting pre-publication review and counseling. Expand bio


Mr. Zansberg also litigates and counsels clients in use of copyrights, trademark, trade dress and protection of trade secrets. He is listed in the First Amendment category in The Best Lawyers in America and Who’s Who in American Law. Mr. Zansberg has represented national media organizations in seeking access to court records and proceedings in the Oklahoma City bombing trial and the Kobe Bryant rape prosecution, gaining access to the search warrant affidavits for the Montana cabin of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, and to public records related to the investigations into the murder of JonBenét Ramsey and the Columbine High School shooting.

Mr. Zansberg serves on the Governing Board of the Forum on Communications Law of the American Bar Association, was past Chair of the Media, Privacy and Defamation Law Committee of the ABA’s Section on Torts, Trial and Insurance Practice. He is a co-editor the ABA’s quarterly journal Communications Lawyer. He also co-chairs the Newsgathering Committee of the Media Law Resources Center.

Mr. Zansberg has taught mass media law as a visiting professor at the University of Colorado. He is the author of numerous articles on media law, including Reducing the Glare of False Light, Communication Lawyer (2006), The Empirical Case: Proving the Need for the Privilege, Media Law Resource Center Bulletin, White Paper on the Reporter’s Privilege (2004), and Sunshine on the Thin Blue Line: Public Access to Police Internal Affairs Files, Communications Lawyer (2004).

Mr. Zansberg received his B.A. from Stanford University, Phi Beta Kappa, with honors, in 1982, and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1994. He was a member of Yale Law Journal. Mr. Zansberg served as a law clerk to the Hon. Dorothy Nelson, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1994-1995. He is admitted to practice law in the courts of Colorado and California, as well as the Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Zansberg previously was a partner of the firm Faegre & Benson, LLP. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Zansberg was a freelance documentary producer for public television. Compact Bio

David Brauer   Minneapolis, June 13
David Brauer reports on the local media for MinnPost, writes the Daily Glean and authors Braublog, which he recommends adding to your RSS reader. He's covered the media and politics for a couple of decades, as an alt-weekly staffer, talk-radio host, local/national magazine writer, MPR analyst and community newspaper editor. He lives with his wife and two kids in Minneapolis's Kingfield neighborhood and manages the Minneapolis-Issues civic discussion forum.

Don Gemberling  Minneapolis, June 13
A native of Montana, Don Gemberling received his B.A. degree from Macalester College and a J.D. with honors from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was employed by the State of Minnesota from 1968 to 2004. Expand bio


During 30 of those years, Don was the State of Minnesota’s pre-eminent expert and resource to the legislature, government, other organizations and the public on state and federal laws dealing with governmental openness and privacy including the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA). The MGDPA is Minnesota’s legislation that brings together freedom of information and fair information practices (data privacy) in one statute.

Don is the recipient of a number of awards and recognitions including: resolutions by the Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate honoring him for his years of service; the Defense of the First Amendment Award from St. Cloud State University; the John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award from the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information; the Peter Popovich Freedom of Information Award from the Society of Professional Journalists; the Friend of Minnesota Journalism from the Minnesota Newspaper Association; and, the Distinguished Service Award from the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission.

Although retired from government service, Don retains a keen interest in issues of freedom of information and privacy, continues to testify at the Minnesota legislature and looks for opportunities to educate the public on the importance of these issues. Compact Bio

Julio Ojeda-Zapata   Minneapolis, June 13
Among other things, Julio covers consumer technology and writes the Tech Test Drive column for the St. Paul Pioneer Press (and TwinCities.com). He's a self-described nerd and author of the book, "Twitter Means Business: How Microblogging Can Help or Hurt Your Company."

Leita Walker   Minneapolis, June 13
Leita focuses on media, copyright and trademark law for clients such as the Star Tribune, Minnpost.com, the Recording Industry Association of America, ASCAP and Target. She has experience in various aspects of media law, including defense of libel lawsuits, litigation to obtain access to government information and pre-publication counseling. She is co-chair of SPJ's Project Sunshine in Minnesota.

Wendy Wyatt   Minneapolis, June 13
Wendy Wyatt is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of St. Thomas. She teaches communication ethics, communication and citizenship, and gender race, class and mass media in London. Expand bio


Wyatt's research interests include media ethics, press criticism and media literacy. Her work has been published in such journals as the Journal of Mass Media Ethics and the International Journal of Applied Philosophy. Her book, Critical Conversations: A Theory of Press Criticism was published 2007. Currently, Wyatt is book review editor for the Journal of Mass Media Ethics. Since arriving in Minnesota in 2003, Wyatt has served on the Minnesota News Council, has coordinated the St. Thomas Whalen Symposium on Media Ethics, and has advised the St. Thomas chapter of SPJ. Compact Bio

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Funding for this program is provided by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) public foundation organized for the purpose of supporting the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and to serve the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.

Questions?
Contact Heather Dunn, at 317-927-8000 ext. 204 or via e-mail.