You don’t want to miss the opportunity to see the fabulous items available for bid and to network with hundreds of journalists — all for a great cause! Proceeds from this event will go to SPJ’s Legal Defense Fund, a unique account that financially supports journalists waging legal battles to defend the freedom of speech and the press.
This year, both the live and silent auctions will be held during the convention’s Opening Night Reception.
Pitch in!
You can help fight important legal battles that protect the First Amendment by contributing to SPJ's annual LDF auction, to be held during the national convention in Indianapolis.
Journalism and campaign memorabilia, original artwork, autographed books and tear sheets and newsroom T-shirts always sell well. Get creative!
Donations must be received by July 31, 2009. We are unable to accept items on-site during the convention. Please be sure to include the Item Donation Form with your auction item. Questions? Contact Awards Coordinator Lauren Rochester by e-mail or by phone at 317-927-8000 x 210.
Please send donations, along with the donation form, to:
Society of Professional Journalists
Attn: LDF Auction
3909 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
If you are making a monetary donation, please be sure your check or money order indicates that the contribution is for the Legal Defense Fund. Please note: Donations are not tax deductible.
Legal Defense Fund Committee The LDF Committee oversees the Society's Legal Defense Fund, a unique account that can be tapped for providing journalists with legal or direct financial assistance. Application to the fund is approved by either a small committee or the national board, depending on the level of assistance sought. The committee works throughout the year raising funds for LDF.
Legal Defense Fund Committee Chair Julie Kay
Florida Bureau Chief
National Law Journal
633 S. Andrews Ave
Miami, FL 33301
(954) 468-2622 E-mail Bio (click to expand)
Julie Kay is an award-winning South Florida journalist who covers the southeast United States for the National Law Journal. She previously worked for the Daily Business Review for seven years, where she authored a weekly column entitled “Justice Watch.” Kay is also the Florida consultant for C-SPAN and freelances for People Magazine and Closer Magazine.
Previously, Kay worked as a staff writer for the Miami Herald for five years, covering city and county government in Broward County, as well as for the Palm Beach Post. In the late 1980s, she worked for a business publication in New York in the late 1980s, covering the international airline industry.
Kay has won numerous awards for her reporting, including the Green Eyeshades, the Florida Press Club, the Florida Bar Media Awards and SPJ’s Sunshine State Awards.
Active in the South Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists since 2000, Kay served as chapter president from 2002 to 2004. She currently serves on the Legal Defense Fund committee and the FOI committee of the national SPJ.
Holly Fisher, vice chair
Freelance Writer/Editor E-mail Bio (click to expand)
Holly Fisher is a freelance writer and editor in the Charleston, S.C., area. She most recently was the research editor for SC Biz News LLC, publisher of the Charleston Regional Business Journal, Columbia Regional Business Report, GSA Business, SCBIZ magazine and other business news publications. She also served as special projects editor and electronic media editor for the company. Fisher is a former regional director and board member for SPJ and a former board member of the SDX Foundation. Fisher also has served as an adjunct professor at the College of Charleston. Previously, she worked in the newspaper business in Indiana, Texas and South Carolina. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University and a master’s of mass communication from the University of South Carolina. She lives in Mount Pleasant, S.C., with her husband, Clint; daughter, Katherine; and two Labrador retrievers.
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.
Society of Professional Journalists
Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Center, 3909 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208
317/927-8000 | Fax: 317/920-4789 | Contact SPJ Headquarters | Employment Opportunities
Julie Kay is an award-winning South Florida journalist who covers the southeast United States for the National Law Journal. She previously worked for the Daily Business Review for seven years, where she authored a weekly column entitled “Justice Watch.” Kay is also the Florida consultant for C-SPAN and freelances for People Magazine and Closer Magazine.
Holly Fisher is a freelance writer and editor in the Charleston, S.C., area. She most recently was the research editor for SC Biz News LLC, publisher of the Charleston Regional Business Journal, Columbia Regional Business Report, GSA Business, SCBIZ magazine and other business news publications. She also served as special projects editor and electronic media editor for the company. Fisher is a former regional director and board member for SPJ and a former board member of the SDX Foundation. Fisher also has served as an adjunct professor at the College of Charleston. Previously, she worked in the newspaper business in Indiana, Texas and South Carolina. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University and a master’s of mass communication from the University of South Carolina. She lives in Mount Pleasant, S.C., with her husband, Clint; daughter, Katherine; and two Labrador retrievers.
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 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.