For immediate release

Contact:
Andy Schotz, SPJ Ethics Committee Chairman, lawngyland@aol.com

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists is excited to award nine $2,500 grants for chapters nationwide to hold interactive public forums on journalism ethics.

‘The Public & The Press' forums will bring news consumers, journalists and others together for a meaningful discussion of ethical, credible news and why it matters. The grants are funded by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation.

The chapters receiving grants are:

Chicago Headline Club, Illinois
Fort Worth Pro Chapter, Texas
Valley of the Sun Chapter, Arizona
Washington, D.C., Pro Chapter, Washington, D.C.
Snake River Pro Chapter, Idaho
Press Club of Long Island, New York
Southwest Missouri Pro Chapter, Missouri
New Mexico Pro Chapter, New Mexico
Connecticut Pro Chapter, Connecticut

The grants will enable the chapters to hold programs that will give members of the public tools to discern between talking heads and ethical, credible news. The goal of the programs is to provide a platform for the public and the press to sit down together and have an open exchange of ideas, which we hope will combat the public’s eroding trust in journalism.

The Sigma Delta Chi Foundation and SPJ believe this program is desperately needed as the public is hit each day with a barrage of news from all types of outlets, making it difficult for them to identify credible, reliable journalism. As the public’s trust in the media decreases, SPJ and the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation fight to keep ethical and fair journalism strong for all U.S. citizens and for democracy.

While the SPJ chapters will spearhead the meetings, civic partners, such as local Rotary, Kiwanis clubs and universities, are invited to be involved and to help conduct and market each program. Chapters will hold their individual sessions between Aug. 2010 and May 2011. More information about when and where the programs will take place will be available soon.

To learn more information about the grants and the upcoming programs, please visit the SPJ Public & The Press Web page or contact SPJ Ethics Committee Chairman Andy Schotz at lawngyland@aol.com.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.

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