VIDEO: Byron Pitts address at Minnesota SPJ’s 2008 Page One awards banquet
Congratulations to all 2008 Page One Honorees
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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Call for 2008-2009 Election Nominees
Are you passionate about journalism and want to advance the cause? Then consider a seat on the board of the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Through Monday, May 12 we are accepting nominations for a position on the board during our 2008-2009 fiscal year. The general board meets once a month and committees meet more frequently.
To nominate someone or if you have any questions, please contact Nicole Garrison-Sprenger at ngarrisonsprenger@pioneerpress.com.
MN COGI Event
COGI-tations: A program of the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information
James Nobles
Legislative Auditor, State of Minnesota
“Bringing Light to How Government Works”
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
5:00 p.m.
TIES Administrative Building
1667 Larpenteur (SW corner of Snelling & Larpenteur)
St. Paul
Free and open to the public
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VIDEO: New Media, New Standards? Ethics in Online Journalism
Watch video of the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists and Minnesota Public Radio forum on online journalism ethics Feb. 25, 2008. Host Bob Collins and lead panelist Dan Gillmor, along with guest panelists, discussed what is possible and what is at stake. Guests included:
Chuck Olsen, MNstories.com/theUpTake.org
Michael Caputo, MPR - Public Insight Journalism
Jane Kirtley, Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics & Law (University of MN)
Steve Perry, Minnesota Monitor
Dave Pyle, AP
Terry Sauer, Star Tribune
Wendy Wyatt, University of St. Thomas
Scott Libin, WCCO-TV
Freedom of Information Day | March 14, 2008
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.