MNSPJ wins national Circle of Excellence Award

MNSPJ has been recognized for its many professional development events, including this forum with five winners of the Pulitzer Prize.

The Society of Professional Journalists has recognized the Minnesota Pro Chapter as one of eight in the nation to win the Circle of Excellence Award.

The Minnesota chapter won the award for its professional development programs.

The chapter presented a number of professional development events for journalists in 2016, including a program with the Star Tribune on trust in news media with five Pulitzer Prize winning journalists. The chapter also hosted a program with journalists from Minnesota Public Radio who developed the award-winning “In the Dark” podcast.

The chapter engaged the legal community with a panel of journalists, lawyers and judges on covering crime and the law. It also partnered with the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication on an ethics discussion that featured an investigative reporter from Politifact who researches and reports on fake news websites.

The SPJ Circle of Excellence Awards recognize outstanding efforts in the areas of First Amendment/freedom of information, communications, diversity, professional development and campus chapter relations.