Minnesota SPJ

SPJ Speaks out against Subpoena of Reporter Phone Records

Posted on 13. Dec, 2007 by sarah.bauer.

SPJ leaders call Minnesota Police Department’s administrative subpoena
of reporter phone records an abuse of public power

INDIANAPOLIS — The St. Paul Police Department’s administrative subpoena of KMSP-TV reporter Tom Lyden’s phone records and the phone records of a Ramsey County sheriff’s department employee was an abuse of power and an affront to First Amendment rights, Society of Professional Journalists leaders said Wednesday.

“Tom Lyden was doing his job and a service to the people of St. Paul and the state of Minnesota,” SPJ National President Clint Brewer said. “This was clearly a public record, and the St. Paul Police Department’s actions are nothing less than an attack on the First Amendment and the notion of open government. They should withdraw their subpoena, return Mr. Lyden’s phone records and apologize.”

According to published reports, including the Associated Press, Lyden went to the police department with intentions to research the criminal record of a woman who was sitting in a car with a man who allegedly shot an undercover police officer last June. Under Minnesota’s public records law, Lyden should have been entitled to view a copy of the seven-year-old traffic arrest of the woman. However, he was denied by St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh. Lyden later obtained the document from a county official who acknowledged it was public information. He reported his story without naming the woman, who was considered a witness in the police shooting last summer. After the story aired, the police department issued the administrative subpoena, citing concerns over data privacy.

“In obtaining my phone records they basically opened up my reporter’s notebook,” Lyden told another KMSP-TV reporter. “They basically looked at my notes. They have looked at sources. They have looked at people I have tried to protect.”

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Covering Minnesota’s Hmong Community

Posted on 30. Nov, 2007 by jeff.achen.

Watch video from the Minnesota Pro Chapter’s Nov. 27th, 2007 Diversity Event: Covering Minnesota’s Hmong Community: The culture, the community and the challenges in covering America’s largest Hmong population.
Panelists from left to right:
Ilean Her, Executive Director – Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans
Curt Brown, Reporter – Star Tribune
Pakou Hang, Political Activist & Community Leader
Wameng Moua, Editor – Hmong Today
Lynda McDonnell (moderator), Executive Director – ThreeSixty

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Nov. 12, 2007 Meeting Minutes

Posted on 14. Nov, 2007 by scott.theisen.

Society of Professional Journalists
Minnesota Pro Chapter
Board of Directors meeting
6:30 p.m. Nov. 12, 2007

WCCO-TV offices, Minneapolis

Nov. 12, 2007 Meeting Minutes (PDF)
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Mark of Excellence Awards

Posted on 14. Nov, 2007 by scott.theisen.

Annually, the Society of Professional Journalists presents the Mark of Excellence Awards honoring the best in student journalism. [...]

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SPJ Diversity Event: Nov. 27th

Posted on 10. Nov, 2007 by sarah.bauer.

Covering Minnesota’s Hmong Community:
The culture, the community and the challenges in covering America’s largest Hmong population

What: The Twin Cities are home to the largest Hmong population in the United States, yet many Minnesotans know very little about this influential community. SPJ will convene a panel of experts including journalists and Hmong community leaders who will speak about Hmong culture, what it means to be Hmong in Minnesota and the challenges to covering the community in both the mainstream and ethnic media. After their presentation, there will be plenty of time for questions.

Where: The Hmong Cultural Center
995 University Avenue West-Suite 214
Saint Paul, MN 55104-4796

When: Tuesday, November 27th | 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Panelists Include:
Lynda McDonnell (moderator), Executive Director – ThreeSixty
Curt Brown, Reporter – Star Tribune
Pakou Hang, Political Activist & Community Leader
Ilean Her, Executive Director – Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans
Wameng Moua, Editor – Hmong Today

Fun food and refreshments will be available at the event. Donations are encouraged. The event is open to the public.

Event Flyer (PDF)

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SPJ Holiday Party — Friday, Dec. 7th

Posted on 10. Nov, 2007 by sarah.bauer.

The MN Pro Chapter cordially invites you to celebrate the holiday season with your SPJ colleagues.

When: Friday, December 7th | 7:00 p.m.
Where: Alyssa Ford’s Home (3445 First Avenue South | Minneapolis, MN 55408)

Please stop by for food and cocktails. Guests are welcome.

Questions: Contact Alyssa Ford (651-894-3661 or aford@midwesthomemag.com)

Holiday Party Invite (PDF)

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