June 13, 2008 at 9:54 am | Posted by Sarah Bauer
Two Citizens Win Freedom of Information Award from State’s Largest Journalism Group
Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists presents its Peter S. Popovich Award to two women working to keep public information available to all citizens
NOTE: All 2008 Page One Award Winners are listed below.
Reporters and First Amendment lawyers aren’t the only ones who fight for freedom of information. With that in mind, the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists this year honored two non-journalists for their roles in keeping information public and available to all citizens.
Mary Flister, who has been recording Maplewood city meetings and making them available to the community, despite rebukes from to stop, and Robbie LaFleur, director of the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, who has been an unyielding advocate of information accessibility for the general public, both received the Peter S. Popovich Award. The award is given each year by the by MNSPJ to “the person or organization that exemplifies the fight for First Amendment Rights.”
The awards were presented Thursday evening at the SPJ’s annual Page One award banquet in St. Paul. The Minnesota chapter presented awards in more than 80 categories to the state’s top print, broadcast and online journalists for their work in 2007, including coverage of the I-35W bridge collapse. In a nod to the growing number of local news web sites, organizers expanded the number of online categories, including blogging and web-design awards.
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May 26, 2008 at 8:00 pm | Posted by Sarah Bauer
The 2008 Page One Awards Banquet will be held Thursday, June 12, and will honor the best in Minnesota journalism from 2007. The Minnesota Pro Chapter will also present the 2008 Peter S. Popovich Award as well as its 2008 student scholarship awards. The event will feature guest speaker Byron Pitts, a CBS News National Correspondent who recently was embedded with troops covering the Iraq war and served as CBS’ primary correspondent at Ground Zero following 9/11.
You are cordially invited to join us in celebrating our award winners.
When: Thursday, June 12, 2008
Reception begins at 6:00 p.m.
Dinner served at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Town & Country Club
300 Mississippi River Blvd. N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
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March 6, 2008 at 11:39 am | Posted by Sarah Bauer
What: Freedom of Information Day Celebration
Presentation of the John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award
Silha Center’s Jane Kirtley Envisions “The Light at the End of the Tunnel”
When: Friday, March 14, 2008 | 12:00 p.m.
Where: Minneapolis Central Library
The people’s right to know assumes a vast network of agencies and individuals committed to affirmation of that right. Recipients of the 2008 John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award reflect the many facets of information access. The Minnesota Coalition on Government Information (MnCOGI) will present this year’s awards as a highlight of Freedom of Information and the kickoff of Sunshine Week 2008.
By any measure, the collapse of the 35W Bridge is the story of 2007 - covered by every news medium from every journalistic angle. Recipients of the FOI Award include several investigative journalists including Associated Press staffers Martiga Lohn and Brian Bakst and Star Tribune reporters Dan Browning, Kevin Diaz, Patrick Doyle, Mike Kaszuba and Paul McEnroe. All of these journalists have enhanced public understanding of the tragedy through their explicit use of the Freedom of Information Act and the Minnesota Data Practices Act to gain access to public information.
The Coalition will also confer two Honorable Mention Awards. An Honorable Mention Award will be given to Susan Albright, former Editorial Page Editor at the Star Tribune. Albright, now with MinnPost, is recognized for her articulate appreciation of the dependence of a free press on access to government information and for her consistent editorial support of the principles of open government.
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January 28, 2008 at 8:00 am | Posted by Scott Theisen
The Minnesota Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (MN SPJ) recognizes the best in Minnesota journalism each year with its annual Page One Awards. This year, MN SPJ is excited to announce the addition of several new entry categories, expanding its awards for the state’s best broadcast and online journalism. In addition, for the first time, broadcast entries will be judged in separate divisions, based on newsroom size.
We are currently accepting 2008 Page One contest entries from newspapers, magazines, weekly news publications, television and radio newsrooms, and online news media outlets. The winners will be honored at the annual Page One Awards dinner in May 2008.
Journalists working for all print, broadcast and online news outlets in Minnesota (or news outlets in neighboring states that cover Minnesota) are eligible to enter. All work published or broadcast during the 2007 calendar year is eligible. Entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, February 1st, 2008. The fee is $20 per entry.
*UPDATED* 2008 Entry Form (PDF)
Questions? Contact:
Sarah Bauer
e: sarah.bauer@news-council.org
p: 612-341-9357
November 14, 2007 at 6:05 pm | Posted by Scott Theisen
Annually, the Society of Professional Journalists presents the Mark of Excellence Awards honoring the best in student journalism. Read the rest of this entry »
November 1, 2007 at 1:10 pm | Posted by Sarah Bauer
NEW! Now Open to ALL Journalism Formats
The Frank Premack Memorial Award competition is one of the state’s most coveted and celebrated journalism honors. Started in 1975 after the death of Frank Premack, a reporter and editor at the Minneapolis Tribune, the competition seeks entries from all Minnesota media doing public affairs journalism in their community or region.
All journalists - working in print, broadcast and online media - who exhibited outstanding public affairs journalism in 2007 are encouraged to submit entries. For complete contest information, please visit the Minnesota Journalism Center Web site today.
