• We recognize the achievements of journalists and best practices of media organizations through our awards programs.
• We monitor and fight against efforts to violate the First Amendment and suppress free press.
• We build public trust in the media and greater accountability in the profession via an ethics response team, ethics hotline, and other programming.
• We proactively design initiatives that amplify new and diverse voices for both SPJ and journalism overall.
The Society of Professional Journalists is dedicated to the perpetuation of a free press as the cornerstone of our nation and our liberty.
To ensure that the concept of self-government outlined by the U.S. Constitution remains a reality into future centuries, the American people must be well informed in order to make decisions regarding their lives, and their local and national communities.
It is the role of journalists to provide this information in an accurate, comprehensive, timely and understandable manner.
Read about our mission here.
SPJ's lengthy roster of chapters provide its backbone. Locate, participate in and develop a chapter here.
Find chapters in your state
SPJ's lengthy roster of chapters provide its backbone. The local chapter is the conduit SPJ members require to learn about events in their local journalism community as well as positions that journalists are taking nationwide on topics such as Freedom of Information and First Amendment rights. Locate, participate in and develop a chapter here.
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The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation's largest and most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.
Learn about the many programs and committees that embody this principle. The work of SPJ is largely done at the national committee level. No matter what your passion — freedom of information, legal defense, diversity, ethics, freelance, international journalism, First Amendment rights, journalism education — SPJ has an outlet for your talents, passion and energy.
Chester C. Wells, Sigma Delta Chi’s second national president, is remembered today through the Wells Memorial Key, which is the highest honor SPJ can bestow on a member. But little else about his legacy has been documented.
Journalist Gordon Govier set out to discover the story of Chester Wells, who was elected president at the second national convention of Sigma Delta Chi, held in Madison, Wisc., in May 1913. This is what he found.
Related
— SPJ History: Timeline, milestones, presidents and more
— Wells Memorial Key for Outstanding Service to the Society
