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The First Amendment
Protect Your Work:
The 2006 HP scandal prompted many journalists to ask how to protect their privacy. SPJ member Scott Cohn, a founder of and senior correspondent for CNBC, has some answers.
Reference guide to the Geneva Conventions:
The SPJ's Journalist's Guide to the Geneva Conventions is online and read by people in more than 60 different countries. Use the alphabetical index to find out what the Conventions say about everything from access to grave sites to wounded prisoners of war. Read about the history of the Conventions, read the full texts, and more inside.
On Feb. 6, 2007 California freelance journalist Josh Wolf became the longest-jailed journalist in American history. Wolf, whom SPJ has supported through its Legal Defense Fund, refused to give up unaired video footage for a grand jury's review, rightly insisting that journalists never should be considered arms of law enforcement. "Josh's commitment to a free and unfettered press deserves profound respect," SPJ National President Christine Tatum said. Read more about Josh's case and how you can help defend the principles he's fought for.
First Amendment Awards:
Each year, the SPJ Board of Directors and the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee recognizes individuals and groups for extraordinarily strong efforts to preserve and strengthen the First Amendment.
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See archive for more articles
Quill: FOI Toolbox
News: SPJ celebrates passage of shield law bill from committee
News: SPJ supports Fairfield University student newspaper over controversial column
News: SPJ supports shield law compromise
Quill: FERPA Foibles
News: SPJ President calls for federal shield law in editorial
SPJ's LDF committee voted to provide amicus support for Griffis vs Pinal County. Find out why by visiting the committee's blog, and download a PDF copy of brief here.
Freedom of Information:
The Society of Professional Journalists seeks to maintain constant vigilance in protection of the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press and to encourage a climate in which journalism can be practiced freely. Inside, find resources for journalists and the public on issues involving access to government records and activities and freedom of information education.
The Public and the Press:
The relationship between public and press is shakier than it has ever been. Find resources and learn how to foster a greater understanding between your industry and your readership.
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Stay in Touch
SPJ Awards
SDX Awards Deadline: Feb. 12. Enter before it's too late!
Helen Thomas Award
Julie Galvan Award
First Amendment
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Project Sunshine: Find FOI Help
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FOI Audit Tookit | PDF
Anti-SLAPP: Protect Free Speech
Official Secrets Act bill
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FOI FYI:
SPJ's FOI Committee Blog
• Kansas reporter could be forced to reveal source
• Data go up, data come down
• Delaware considering below-average 10-day deadline on records responses
FOI Committee
This committee is the watchdog of press freedoms across the nation. It relies upon a network of volunteers in each state organized under Project Sunshine. These SPJ members are on the front lines for assaults to the First Amendment and when lawmakers attempt to restrict the public's access to documents and the government's business. The committee often is called upon to intervene in instances where the media is restricted.
Freedom of Information Committee Chair
David Cuillier
Assistant Professor
Department of Journalism
University of Arizona
Marshall Building, Room 323
Tucson, AZ 85721-0158
Work: 520/626-9694
Fax: 520/621-7557
E-mail
Bio (click to expand)
David Cuillier, a former newspaper reporter and editor, is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of Arizona. He researches public attitudes toward freedom of information and is one of the SPJ newsroom trainers for acquiring government documents.
Joe Adams, vice chair
Editorial writer
The Florida Times-Union
One Riverside Avenue
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Work: 904-359-4534
Fax: 904-359-4390
E-mail
Bio (click to expand)
Joe Adams is an editorial writer at The Florida Times-Union and author of The Florida Public Records Handbook published by the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee.
Eight universities in Florida have used the book as a textbook, the only one of its kind in the nation, and more than 1,000 journalists have attended his workshops on how to use public records for success. He is the recipient of the national 2007 Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award sponsored by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation and has earned two national Sunshine Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. In December 2000, Presstime magazine profiled him as one of the top 20 under 40 newspaper industry professionals to watch in the future.
As an editorial writer, Adams has received awards from the Florida Press Club, Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists. His year of public records research of the Jacksonville City Council uncovered widespread open meetings abuses. The resulting work by Adams and the newsroom inspired a grand jury probe and prompted the council in 2007 to create the state's first known local ordinance to ensure better compliance with Florida's Sunshine Law. He is originator of the www.iDigAnswers.com Web site about Florida FOI news and public records use.
Adams is founder and past coordinator of Times-Union University, the Jacksonville newspaper's newsroom training program, and is also former director of the National Newspaper Diversity Job Bank on the Internet. He also taught information gathering for two years as an adjunct professor at the University of North Florida.
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