The two-day conference is open to all student and professional journalists in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. It’s going to be jam-packed with fun, information and networking opportunities. Programming highlights: Social Media, beginners and advanced; First Amendment watchdogs; Keeping government accountable; Having fun with open records; Journalism 2.0 Models for the future; Making it as a freelancer; Ethics in a digital age; The care and feeding of citizen journalists; Getting arrested for doing journalism; Great resumes – landing that job.

There will also be a Mark of Excellence awards luncheon and tours of the Denver Post and other newsrooms.

Download your .pdf flyer and post it in your newsrooms and classrooms and distribute via your own social media.

Register for the event using Black Tie Colorado with event code “SPJ2012.”

We’ve arranged for some discount hotel deals at the following locations:

The Curtis Hotel, 1405 Curtis St., Denver, 80202. Phone: 303.571.0300 or 1800-525-6651

http://www.thecurtis.com  SPJ cost: $129/night

Location: Adjacent to Auraria Campus

or

Holiday Inn Denver in Lakewood, 7390 W. Hampden Ave., Lakewood,  80227

Phone: (303) 980-4284 or 1-888-737-5253

www.hilakewood.com

SPJ cost: $69/night

Location: 20 minute drive from Auraria Campus

We hope to see you all at Auraria Campus in Downtown Denver April 13-14.

While you are marking the date, the Colorado Pro Chapter is hosting the Region 9 conference this year in Denver. This year’s theme is Opening Doors — and the programming line-up will include sessions ranging from new opportunities for journalists, the latest in social and digital media, and holding government accountable via open meetings and open records. The conference is April 13 and 14 in the historic Tivoli Student Center on Auraria Campus. We’ll keep you updated regularly on details, including dates for registering. Meantime, if you have a programming idea or want to volunteer, contact conference coordinator Karl Herchenroeder at kherchen@gmail.com.

Are you a journalism student, or do you know of one? The Colorado Pro Chapter is now accepting applications for our 2012 college scholarships. For more information click on “scholarships .”

BlueInk Review, a website devoted to reviewing self-published
books (founded by former Rocky Mountain News Books Editor Patti Thorn and
literary agent Patricia Moosbrugger) is currently looking for journalists who have
written for major publications who are interested in writing reviews. They are particularly in need of those with expertise in business, fantasy/sci-fi/horror, New Age/spirituality, Christian fiction and nonfiction, romance, war memoirs. We pay $75 per 250-300 word review. If you are interested, please email Patti Thorn at patti.thorn@gmail.com. For more information on BlueInk Review www.blueinkreview.com.

Colorado Pro Chapter Presents:

Ethics in the Digital Age

Join the Colorado SPJ Pro Chapter for this free program as media professionals discuss the challenges, and the temptations, of high-tech delivery systems for news. Moderated by Doug Bell, editor of four weekly Evergreen Newspapers.

Time: 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 7

Place: The Denver Post Auditorium, 101 W. Colfax Ave., Denver

Panelists:

Raj Chohan: A former reporter for News4, Chohan has become an attorney and now hosts “Colorado Inside Out” on Channel 12.

Deb Hurley Brobst: After 25 years as head of the Metro State journalism program, she is now an editor at Evergreen Newspapers.

Fred Brown: A respected expert on journalism ethics, longtime Denver Post reporter, and the former national president  of SPJ, Brown will offer a larger perspective.

Jim Anderson: Anderson, the news editor for the Associated Press in Denver, will discuss ethical challenges related to war images and international coverage.

We are thrilled to be sponsoring the upcoming premiere of a powerful documentary about Anna Politkovskaya, an investigative journalist for Moscow’s newspaper Novaya Gazeta, who was murdered at age 48 for simply doing her job.

"A Bitter Taste of Freedom" will be screened at the Denver Film Fest.

The film, by one of Russia’s most celebrated filmmakers Marina Golovskaya, is part of the upcoming 34th Starz Denver Film Festival in Denver. The SPJ-sponsored screening is Saturday, Nov. 12 at 12:15 p.m. at the Tivoli.

We have a bloc of tickets for the film, and they are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. SPJ member cost is $11.50 per ticket. Secure your ticket today by contacting SPJ President Cara DeGette @ cdegette@gmail.com.

Now, some more great news. During the September national convention in New Orleans, Denver was selected as the site of the 2012 SPJ Region 9 Spring Conference. We are working with the newly revived Auraria student SPJ chapter to secure space on the Auraria campus. The conference, scheduled April 13 and 14, 2012, should be jam-packed with great programs, training and networking opportunities for student and pro journalists alike.

Colorado SPJ is planning to host the annual Top of the Rockies regional contest reception to coincide with the regional conference.

More details to come as planning gets underway.

Finally, we are already planning a repeat of last year’s wild and successful SPJ holiday party at the Denver Press Club in December — complete with an invigorating guest speaker. Stay tuned, and we’ll update you on details as they are finalized.

We look forward to seeing you at an event soon. As always, let us know how we can better serve you by emailing us at news@spjcolorado.com, or contacting a board member through spjcolorado.org. Also, make sure to check out and “like” our Facebook page, at Colorado SPJ Pro. The SPJ family is posting journalism-related news there quite often, so join in the discussion!

Nominations now being accepted

If you have always wanted to get more involved with your local SPJ Chapter, now is your chance! The Board of Directors is seeking nominations for six open board positions – president-elect, treasurer and four at-large members.

To indicate your willingness to run for a position and to serve on the board, please email Deb Hurley your name, the position you are running for, a photo, a biography of no more than 250 words and a statement of no more than 200 words explaining why you want to be on the board. Hurley can be reached at dchurley@aol.com.

The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, July 1.

Board meetings are held once per month, and board members may attend in person or via conference call. Board members may reside anywhere in Colorado, and must be members in good standing with national SPJ and the Colorado Professional Chapter.

Members will receive election information by July 5 with voting due before July 15. All voting will be electronic.

DPC sponsors lecture with Jane Pauley

The Denver Press Club has only 6 tickets remaining to the DPC-sponsored after-lecture reception with broadcasting’s Jane Pauley on June 6. The $100 ticket price includes her speech at the Buell Theater that will be part of the Unique Lives & Experiences series of lectures.

The DPC has put together a special catered reception with Pauley after the lecture, and it’s limited to 30 people. It’s a chance to meet her, have a photo taken, chat or get a book signed in an uncrowded atmosphere. Wells Fargo Bank will supply wine, beer and desserts.

The proceeds will benefit the club’s scholarship program. The tickets are all orchestra seating. For tickets, contact David Migoya,dmigoya@denverpost.com or call club manager Carmen Green at 303-571-5260.

Registration open for digital training

The Online News Association, in partnership with the Colorado Society of Professional Journalists, the Auraria Campus SPJ and Colorado Public News, is sponsoring a daylong intensive digital journalism training Thursday, June 23 at the Tivoli Student Union on the Auraria Campus in Denver. 

The ONACamp sessions are tailored specifically to the needs of independent, displaced and employed journalists, bloggers, entrepreneurs and students. Trainers include leaders in their fields, covering the latest in multimedia, blogging, generating revenue, mobile, legal and business issues, free web tools, marketing through social networks and finding a niche on the web.

See a sample itinerary of the training that ONA recently conducted in Hawaii.

Cost for the Colorado program is $5 to cover lunch. Registration is limited, so sign up today.  

LSJ looks at juveniles in the system

The Colorado Bar Association and the Colorado Judicial Branch jointly offer “Law School for Journalists,” an ongoing series of classes designed to provide reporters with background information about issues in the legal system and judiciary.  The sessions are free and typically run for 90 minutes at the Colorado Bar Association offices.

WHEN: Monday, May 16, 8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Colorado Bar Association, 1900 Grant Street, 9th Floor, Denver, CO 80203

TOPIC: Juveniles in the Legal System – This program will provide an overview of the path of a juvenile in the legal system, including how it is determined whether a juvenile will be tried as an adult.

SPEAKERS:   Bonnie E. Saltzman is a sole practitioner based in Denver. Her practice focuses on juvenile law, family law, child custody, child support and child abuse and neglect. Saltzman served on the Colorado Juvenile Council from 1987-97 and has remained active in the organization from 2001 to the present.

The Honorable D. Brett Woods was appointed a District Judge of the Denver Juvenile Court in September 2007. He hears a docket of juvenile delinquency and dependency or neglect matters. Prior to his appointment, Judge Woods was a county magistrate and municipal judge. Judge Woods graduated from the University Denver College of Law, where he was editor in chief of the law review. He clerked at the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of appeals, and worked in private and public practice before joining the bench. Before law school, Judge Woods worked as a reporter.

Details and course materials, once available, are posted at: http://www.cobar.org/index.cfm/ID/21788.

RSVP to pr@cobar.org. You may attend in person or participate via webcast. There is no charge to attend.

Want to be part of an SPJ PSA?

The Society of Professional Journalists is looking for volunteers who would appear in a videotaped public service announcement titled “This I know.”

Participants would be asked to deliver lines such as:
“Because of a journalist, I know who covered up the Watergate break-in…
“Because of a journalist, I know who used steroids in baseball…
“Because of a journalist, I witnessed the fighting in Libya…

The taping will occur on Saturday, April 30 at 1 p.m.

If you are interested and available, contact John Ensslin at damon_runyon@hotmail.com
Or call him at 719-650-0877.

Congrats to our contest winners

Thank you to everyone who attended our reception for our annual Top of the Rockies Awards winners! It was a huge success with more than 100 attendees from across the state! A list of winners is in the Word document below.

We also gave three special awards:

Keeper of the Flame Award: Pamela White, Boulder Weekly

First Amendment Award: D. Reed Eckhardt and the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Staff, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle

Journalism Educator of the Year: Jack Kennedy, Rock Canyon High School and Colorado High School Press Association

2011Winners

CU closes J-School, SPJ Colorado responds

The SPJ Colorado Pro Board of Directors has over the past months advocated for University of Colorado Regents to keep the journalism school. Below is a press release following the regents’ vote to close it.

14 April 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The board of the Colorado Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists responded with disappointment in the University of Colorado Board of Regents’ 5-4 vote today to close the university’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. The board previously urged the university to consider strengthening its journalism program, rather than discontinuing it.

“Our position has been that university officials need to ensure their commitment to teaching the basics of reporting, photography and storytelling,” said SPJ Colorado President Cara DeGette. “Today we reiterate: The need has never been greater for a vibrant and vigilant press. As journalism programs evolve with new delivery methods and online and other technologies, it’s critical that they continue to emphasize reporting skills and ethical standards. The principles of fairness and objectivity, and the journalist’s role as a watchdog of government and industry, remain integral to a well-informed electorate and a thriving democracy.”

The Society of Professional Journalists is the oldest organization in the nation designed to protect and support journalists and their roles advancing the First Amendment, serving as watchdogs over government and business, and championing justice.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communications at CU has roots dating back 101 years and has turned out some of the best and brightest journalists in the country. It is currently one of 113 in the nation that holds an accredited journalism program. That accreditation is in jeopardy with the current plan to make journalism only a minor, or to be coupled with another degree.

As stated on the School of Journalism’s own website:  “The importance of the media and their messages is growing at an unprecedented rate.”

“Journalists often are the only watchdog at all levels of government to guarantee that the public’s business is done in public,” said Doug Bell, an SPJ Colorado board member. “Now more than ever we need journalism graduates who are well-schooled in open meetings and open records laws to ensure that citizens have continued access to the people who make decisions that affect their lives.”

Noted board secretary Dennis Huspeni, a CU J-school graduate: “I’m saddened that future CU students will not have an opportunity to earn a journalism degree from this institution of higher learning. That degree on my resume has gotten me jobs at several Colorado newspapers and opened the door of opportunity to sustain a 21-year career as a working journalist.”

The board urges citizens to let their voices be heard about the regents’ decision. A link to their contact information is here: www.cu.edu/regents/RgntsPUB0101.html.

 To urge the CU administration to encourage university programs to remain highly committed to teaching the basic tenets of reporting and storytelling, contact them here: www.colorado.edu/administration.

For more information, contact SPJ Colorado President Cara DeGette at cdegette@gmail.com

Reception planned for Colorado award winners

The judging is complete, and we are currently sending emails to those who won awards in our annual Top of the Rockies Contest! Award winners will be announced and honored on April 9 during the Saturday luncheon at the regional conference in Salt Lake City. In addition, SPJ Colorado will host an event the following weekend to honor winners from Colorado.

The reception will be at 6 p.m. Friday, April 15 at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm Place in Denver. Awards reception begins at 7 p.m. The event is free to those who won awards. The cost for members is $5 and $10 for non-members.

For the Colorado event, there will be a cash bar and light snacks. RSVP to Communications Chair Caroline Kipp at carolinekipp21@gmail.com if you are an award winner. RSVP online at http://www.blacktie-colorado.com/calendar/event-detail.cfm?id=21772 if you are a guest, not accepting an award.

(Information about this weekend’s regional conference in Utah can be found at http://utahspj.com/)

This year’s awards categories were expanded to include television, radio and online publications. We had a 16 percent increase in the number of entries over last year. Thank you to everyone who entered and to our judges for making this another successful awards year!

SPJ Colorado supports Overland HS students

Board sends letter to Cherry Creek Schools superintendent, school board

SPJ fights for First Amendment rights for journalists of all ages, so when the board heard about the incident involving the school newspaper at Overland High School in Aurora, board members took action.

In short, the school’s principal fired the newspaper’s adviser after refusing to run a story students had written about a fellow student’s death. The principal halted production of the newspaper for the remainder of the school year. To read a full account by the Student Press Law Center, visit http://www.splc.org/news/newsflash.asp?id=2205.

SPJ Colorado President Cara DeGette attended the students’ press conference last week and led the SPJ Colorado Board in drafting a letter to the school board and superintendent denouncing the events that took place.

“It is our board’s position that the news article in question be published in the Scout and that the students be allowed to publish all planned upcoming issues of their newspaper,” reads the letter. “We also support the immediate reinstatement of the newspaper adviser, and the halting of Mr. Lundie’s practice of prior publication review of all Scout stories.”

To download a copy of the letter, click the link below.

CCSDLetterFINAL

Chat Wednesday with CPR reporter

SPJ Colorado Pro will host another Fireside Chat Wednesday this time with Colorado Public Radio reporter Eric Whitney. The chat begins at 7 p.m. at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm Place in Denver.

About Eric Whitney

Eric was born in Ft. Collins and grew up in Colorado Springs. His family has been farming and ranching in eastern El Paso County for more than 100 years. Eric got his start in radio at KDUR, the student-community station at his alma mater, Ft. Lewis College in Durango. From there he moved to KOTO in Telluride. He then took a job at the regional High Plains News Service in Billings, Montana. A series of fellowships supported Eric’s work after that and allowed him to follow his interest in health topics. The Kaiser Family Foundation helped him report on mental health in the United States and infectious disease in southern and east Africa. The Knight Foundation allowed him to spend four months studying epidemiology at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. The Crime, Communities and Culture Felloship from the Open Society Institute sent Eric to report on prisons in the western U.S. Eric spent most of 2003 living in and reporting from Cape Town, South Africa, as a freelancer before becoming the news director at KRCC in Colorado Springs, a position he held for three years before moving to Colorado Public Radio.

Congrats to our scholarship winners!

SPJ Colorado Pro has chosen its winners for two scholarships the chapter awards each year.

Recipients of the Helen Verba print scholarship are Lauren Knobbe of the University of Colorado – Boulder and Jeremy Hoover of Metropolitan State College of Denver. Each received $1,500 to put toward tuition, books and fees. The board also decided to award Ashely Ward, a student at CU-Boulder, a $750 Verba Award.

The Award is named for Verba, a devoted member of Sigma Delta Chi (now known as the Society of Professional Journalists) throughout her life. She worked at The Denver Post from 1951 until her retirement in 1978. She joined The Post in its radio TV department, worked on the society desk and became club editor in 1971.  Before joining The Post staff, Verba worked for a Denver advertising agency and wrote and produced radio shows for the information department at the University of Colorado.

Paul Harris, also a student at CU-Boulder, was the recepient of the Sheldon Peterson broadcast scholarship. He received $1,500. The award is named for Peterson, who was an assistant general manager/public affairs director of KMGH-TV in Denver. Peterson moved to Denver in 1938 to become a reporter for The Denver Post. He left Denver briefly to work in Chicago, but returned in 1947 to become news director at KLZ. In 1970, he joined KMGH. Peterson was the Denver Press Club’s Communicator of the Year in 1986. He was a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Sigma Delta Chi.

Top of the Rockies Contest closed

Winners will be announced in March

Thanks to everyone who entered our regional Top of the Rockies journalism contest! We received about 16 percent more entries than we did last year. Judging is now open, and we hope to notify our winners in late March.

Though the official awards ceremony will be held during the Regional Conference in Salt Lake City, we’re hosting a ceremony to recognize Colorado winners on Friday, April 15 at the Denver Press Club. Please save the date and join us to celebrate the best in local journalism. More details to come.

Fireside Chat Wednesday

SPJ Colorado Pro will continue it’s Fireside Chat series this Wednesday with Metropoliatian State College of Denver photojournalism professor, Kenn Bisio. He will speak at 7 p.m. at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm Place in Denver. More information about Bisio is online at www.kennbisiophotography.com.

The Westword’s  Patricia Calhoun will be the focus of our chat on Feb. 23.