Contact:
Rebecca Baker, SPJ President, (203) 640-3904 (EST), rebecca.baker.ny@gmail.com
Robert Leger, SDX Foundation President, 480-559-3656 (MST), rleger@spj.org
Anna Gutierrez, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-920-4785 (EST), agutierrez@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists has joined #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that encourages philanthropy and celebrates generosity worldwide.

Occurring this year on Nov. 28, #GivingTuesday is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season and inspire people to give back to the charities and causes they support.

SPJ will celebrate this day as #GivingNewsDay to promote its mission to protect the First Amendment, foster excellence in journalism, encourage diversity and ethical behavior in the profession, inspire future generations of journalists and promote the free flow of information as a cornerstone of democracy.

“SPJ is taking a leading role in creating a more informed citizenry by advocating for ethical journalism, media literacy and freedom of the press,” said Rebecca Baker, SPJ national president. “#GivingNewsDay is about raising awareness for how SPJ and its members are fighting against attacks on journalism – whether it be a school trying to censor its student journalists, or reporters being arrested for doing their work – SPJ has a number of resources and experts who can help protect journalists and the information they gather and report.”

On #GivingNewsDay, SPJ will raise funds and awareness for the Society’s efforts to improve and protect journalism through the First Amendment Forever Fund, the Legal Defense Fund, and the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation.

The SDX Foundation provides education and training to journalists across the United States to promote ethical journalism, press rights and the free flow of information.

SPJ provides financial aid for journalists facing court battles to defend their First Amendment rights. The Legal Defense Fund gives thousands of dollars each year to dozens of journalists and their attorneys for defending press freedoms in court.

The first of its kind, the First Amendment Forever Fund is a permanent endowment created to provide sustainable resources for protecting the freedom of speech and press through litigation and advocacy.

“The #GivingNewsDay campaign makes it easy to promote the missions of SPJ and the SDX Foundation to improve and protect journalism,” said Robert Leger, SDX Foundation president. “This is a challenging time for journalism, and the more support we have the more support we can give the profession. I urge everyone who values press freedom and open government to donate whatever they can to help us continue the fight.”

Since 2000, the SDX Foundation has granted more than $5.95 million to improve and protect journalism.

Members and supporters are encouraged to share stories on social media about how SPJ has helped them become journalists and better-informed citizens using the hashtags #GivingNewsDay and #ProtectPressFreedom. Join SPJ’s #GivingNewsDay initiative by visiting spj.org/donate.asp.

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