CONTACT:
Patricia Gallagher Newberry, SPJ National President, pattinewberryspj@gmail.com
Ashlynn Neumeyer, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-361-4133, aneumeyer@spj.org

SAN ANTONIO -- Patricia Gallagher Newberry became the 103rd president of the Society of Professional Journalists during the President’s Installation Banquet at the 2019 Excellence in Journalism conference in San Antonio.

Newberry worked as a business reporter, editor and columnist for 10 newspapers in seven states during her 15 years in the newspaper industry and continues to occasionally write freelance pieces. She has extensive experience teaching journalism and ethics courses at Miami University and serves on various committees in Oxford, Ohio.

She has been an active participant on SPJ’s national board and has been the secretary-treasurer and Region 4 director in the past. Additionally, she has been on the executive committee and SPJ Governance Task Force and has been involved in many more areas of the organization.

Her goals for the Society include advocating more for press rights, collaborating more with media advocacy groups, increasing Legal Defense Fund efforts and establishing clearer lines of communication between SPJ leaders and members.

“I will do my best to help the Society as the Society has helped me. I told my board I wanted a pretty boring year,” Newberry said.

Newberry said she does not plan to make any major changes but focus on what is essential to the health and stability of the Society.

She now takes over from the previous SPJ president, J. Alex Tarquinio, who’s a freelance journalist based in New York City.

Newberry earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her newspaper career includes the Fort Collins Coloradoan, Indianapolis News and Cincinnati Enquirer.

Coverage of the 2019 Excellence in Journalism conference is available from EIJ News. EIJ19 is a joint conference between SPJ, Radio Television Digital News Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to informing citizens; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and fights to protect First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. Support excellent journalism and fight for your right to know. Become a member, give to the Legal Defense Fund or give to the SPJ Foundation.

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