Society of Professional Journalists
Improving and protecting journalism since 1909

SPJ President David Cuillier will testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday regarding problems journalists are encountering with the Freedom of Information Act and how the law can be improved.

"No doubt about it, FOIA is broken and needs an overhaul," Cuillier said. "Journalists are frustrated and angry about increasing delays, denials and over-zealous redactions. A lot of federal agencies have learned how to game the system, and it's time we push back."

Cuillier is one of three speakers representing the public records requester community, and he will also represent the Sunshine in Government Initiative, a consortium of nine journalism organizations dedicated to fostering government transparency. Read complete press release

— Watch a webcast of the hearing

The Ted Scripps Leadership Institute helps participants become better leaders by offering a mix of sessions focused on interpersonal and organizational leadership skills, as well as sound chapter management practices.

We love this program. So much, in fact, that we’re bringing it to your backyard. The Scripps Institute made four stops in 2013 at locations around the country, and we're planning to make four more in 2014.

Our third stop is in San Diego in March. Initial details are here, and we’re accepting applications right now. Applications are due by midnight ET on April 6, so do not delay!

— 2014 Highlights (so far): Scripps Leadership Institute heads to Fort Worth

Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia provide journalists with a “reporter’s privilege,” protecting them if a state government seeks to make him or her reveal confidential information, including the identity of a source. Some states have statutes, known as “shield laws,” and some provide the protection through case law.

There is absolutely no protection at the federal level. It’s time to pass a federal shield law.

Find out more — including how you can help us right now to raise the shield — by visiting our shield law page.

SPJ’s Spring Conferences are day-long professional development meetings bringing area journalists, students and journalism educators together in one place to hear from industry experts on a wealth of topics. Get available details — including announced dates, locations and contacts — right here.

March 28-29
Region 2: Washington, D.C.
Region 6: Bloomington, Minn.
Region 8: League City, Texas
Region 9: Salt Lake City
Region 11: Honolulu, Hawaii

April 4
Region 4: Columbus, Ohio

April 11
Region 5: Chicago
Region 12: Fayetteville, Ark.

April 25
Region 1: Boston, Mass.
Region 7: Overland Park, Kan.

EIJ14 Scholarships and Fellowships: Apply now

Terry Harper Memorial Scholarships: Terry Harper passed away in 2009 after a two-year battle with brain cancer. In honor of Terry’s efforts to improve SPJ and the entire journalism community, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation set up a memorial fund following his death. With a generous outpouring of support, the Society can now proudly provide up to four scholarships to SPJ members to attend its annual convention. Applications due May 12, 2014.

Diversity Leadership Fellows Program: As we face the many challenges of an evolving industry, strengthening SPJ’s diversity efforts is more important than ever. The goal of the Diversity Leadership Fellows program, ultimately, is to increase the diversity participation of SPJ members within national committees and on the national board of directors. As part of the program, we bring fellowship recipients to the convention to begin a year-long immersion and education program. Applications due May 12, 2014.

Robert D.G. Lewis First Amendment Award: From the generosity of the Lewis family, the award is given each year to a student SPJ member who has demonstrated outstanding service to the First Amendment through the field of journalism. The award assists a student with his/her attendance to SPJ's annual convention. Applications due March 21, 2014.

SPJ is seeking 12 interns for the EIJ News. Interns will cover the EIJ14 conference in a variety of ways (video, audio, photos, written stories) that will be displayed online. Collegiate multimedia journalists are invited to apply for these select positions.

This year’s conference is set for September 4-6 in Nashville, Tenn. Selected interns will need to arrive in Nashville on Wednesday, Sept. 3 and attend a mandatory 3 p.m. staff meeting. The internship ends Sunday, Sept. 7 at Noon.

Click here for more information and to apply online.

The January/February 2014 issue of Quill is now online. Stories include:

– From the President
– Ten with David Folkenflik
– Member Profile - Samaruddin Stewart
– You (Yes, You) Are Smart Enough To Code
– Why Not (apply for a fellowship)?
– Digital Media Toolbox
– Education Toolbox
– Ethics Toolbox
– FOI Toolbox
– Freelance Toolbox

To see all stories, follow this link.

Download, analyze, visualize. For journalists, those are the three main steps in using data for news stories. Join SPJ and Jeff South for a one-hour webinar to walk you through the process 14 using recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other government agencies. We'll show you how to find and download the data from the agency's website; how to do some calculations, sorting and filtering with Excel; and then how to create an interactive chart (using a free tool called Datawrapper) for your news organization's website.

Watch now: Flash | HTML5

This webinar is available to all SPJ members at any time and is included, along with our collection of On Demand training sessions, as part of your SPJ membership.

(Not a member? Why not? Become one here!)

Become part of the nation’s largest, most broad-based journalism organization for just a few dollars a month with our new AutoDues billing option. It’s designed to make all the benefits of membership easily fit into anyone’s budget with a low, automatic payment that gives you access to everything SPJ offers — networking, training, advocacy and more.

SPJ AutoDues gives you the ability to pay both national and local chapter dues with low, monthly payments. Donations to SPJ or the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation may be bundled in as well.

Get all the details — including how you can sign up today — right here.

This free site from the Society of Professional Journalists contains thousands of links helpful for reporters, editors, educators or anyone else doing research. Edited by former Los Angeles Times reporter and DePaul instructor Mike Reilley, the site is organized by beats and industry topics such as Public Records, Crime, Legal Issues, Science, Environment, Journalism Jobs, Sports and more. The Toolbox is updated twice weekly and several times a day during prominent global breaking news events.