Archive for 2009

Annual Meeting June 15

The Annual Meeting will take place at O’Gara’s Bar and Grill in St. Paul at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 15. At the meeting, ballots will be unsealed and counted by the elections committee. All chapter members are welcome to attend. Results will be posted to the Minnesota SPJ Web site. Also, election winners will be notified individually.


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Page One Awards Photos


Tom Brokaw addresses the audience at the 2009 Page One Awards banquet at Profile Event Center in Minneapolis May 14, 2009. (Scott Theisen/MnSPJ)

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VIDEO: Tom Brokaw speaks at MN SPJ’s Page One banquet

Watch video of Tom Brokaw’s address before Minnesota Professional Journalists May 14, 2009.

2009 Page One Winners Announced

Please note: You can find a full list of winners at the end of this post.

Faribault Echo Students Win Freedom of Information Award from State’s Largest Journalism Group

Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists presents its Peter S. Popovich Award to high school journalists who started online newspaper to confront principal’s censorship efforts

Professional journalists are only too aware of the constant specter of censorship. But a group of high school students learned this lesson late last year as well when they delved into a story covering sensitive information about a teacher who was under investigation and on administrative leave.

Students from the Faribault Echo persevered when school Superintendent Bob Stepaniak demanded prior review of their story. They refused to give in to his demands, worked with the city’s professional paper, the Faribault Daily News, to publish the story, then started an independent, online version of the Echo when Stepaniak later shut the print version down. For steadfastly adhering to the principles of the Freedom of the Press, these students received the Peter S. Popovich Award, which is given each year by MNSPJ to “the person or organization that exemplifies the fight for First Amendment Rights. Continue reading →

Page One Attendee Info

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday evening for the 2009 Page One Awards Banquet. Here is some important information for attendees. If you have any questions, please respond to this email or call Sarah Bauer at 612-341-9357.

PARKING
There is a limited amount of parking directly in front of the Profile Event Center. FREE parking is available in a lot across the street from the facility. The entrance to the lot is on 27th Ave. SE – kitty corner from the event center. This lot is next to the “Northstar Professional Center” at will be marked with a sign and balloons the day of the event. Please refer to the this map.

SILENT AUCTION
For the first time, we will be holding a silent auction, during the reception hour, to benefit our student scholarship fund. Each year we give away at least two student scholarships. Make sure to arrive early to bid on some fantastic items including GREAT Twins tickets, free Caribou Coffee for a year, theater tickets and style and design consultations with your favorite Twin Cities-based expert …(to name a few)!

LOCATION
Profile Event Center
2630 University Ave. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414

TIME
Reception – 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Dinner – 7:00 p.m.

EVENT BROADCAST
If you cannot attend Thursday evening’s banquet, you can watch the program online. Go to www.theuptake.org to watch live streaming video of the event.

Election Nominations Period is Closed

The nominations period for elections to the board of directors for the 2009-2010 fiscal year is now closed. Chapter members will be receiving ballots by mail shortly. The Annual June Meeting is scheduled for June 15 (time and location TBD).