The “Ethnic Media: Their Challenges, Tips for Good Coverage and At Least One Good Story Idea” lunch panel will be at noon on Thursday, July 9, at Lucas Park Grille at 1234 Washington Ave. (14th Street and Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis). The cost is $10, which includes lunch. The participants include: Aida Fuentes of El Mundo Latino; Ertana Dzidzovic of SabaH Bosnian newspaper, and more TBA.
Reuters reporter and author Tim Gaynor discusses his book, “Midnight On the Line: The Secret Life of the U.S.-Mexico Border” with KMOX’ Charlie Brennan from 9 to 11 a.m. on Friday, June 26, at the Missouri Athletic Club, 405 Washington Ave. This is a live broadcast. The event is free, but reservations are required. Calll (314) 444-1827.
Take in the sights of the city and the Loop at SPJ’s June Happy Hour at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, at the Eclipse rooftop bar at the new Moonrise Hotel at 6177 Delmar Blvd. If it rains, we’ll meet in the bar on the ground floor.
The Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis has established a fund to spur enterprise reporting in our region.
Fellowship awards of up to $10,000 will be given to journalists who propose stories that will shine a light on an under-reported community topic or trend. The project may be investigative or explanatory in nature. The money can be used to cover expenses, travel or simply pay for a reporter’s time in preparing the story.
The fellowship program is offered at a time when the region’s media outlets are suffering through the worst recession in decades and have cut their staffs and reporting budgets.
“With each passing day, we see journalistic resources drying up in this community and we want to help,” said Press Club President Dick Weiss. “We all have a stake in maintaining a vibrant press.”
Weiss and his wife, Sally Altman, provided $5,000 to kick off the fellowship effort in memory of Weiss’s late parents, Richard M. and Helen Weiss, both of whom were active in local media. The Press Club matched that amount with $5,000 from its own treasury. The club also plans to raise more money for the program through fundraisers and solicitations. Weiss said he would like to see grants amounting to $50,000 in the first year – perhaps spawning as many as a dozen groundbreaking stories.
“Great journalism is both labor intensive and at times costly,” Weiss said. “If we want to see reporting that genuinely improves and enhances civic life, we will have to find a way to pay for it. One way to do that is to reach into our pockets and make a donation just as we do for other civic assets, such as the Saint Louis Symphony, Art Museum, and Forest Park. In this case, the assets are our region’s talented journalists.”
All journalists in print, broadcast, and online are eligible to submit a story idea and apply for a grant. The program is open to both full-time employees at any one of the area’s media outlets and to freelancers.
Weiss said the fellowship program could be a boon to journalists who have been recently laid off from their jobs and others who have been asked to take furloughs. “We will also consider applications from full-time journalists who know their employers would not otherwise be able to give the time to do an ambitious story,” Weiss said. “Our goal is simply to increase the number of enterprise stories readers and viewers will see in local media.”
Applications from area journalists will be reviewed by a Press Club committee. Selection criteria will include the applicant’s demonstrated commitment to reporting stories with a strong local interest, the impact the proposed story will have on the community and a determination of which candidates most need the resources.
Proposals will be considered as they are submitted so that the stories can be produced on a timely basis.
More information on how to both donate to the program and apply for fellowships can be found on the Press Club’s website at stlpressclub.org
Journalists often face decisions regarding travel, gifts and perceptions about credibility.
Join former Post-Dispatch columnist Sylvester Brown, freelancer Chris Birk and Dale Singer, a Beacon writer, Washington University journalism ethics professor and former Post journalist, for our next lunch panel at noon June 4 at Lucas Park Grille, 1234 Washington Ave., downtown. $10
Join SPJ for our next Happy Hour Thursday, May 28. We’ll meet at 7 p.m. at The Royale at 3132 S Kingshighway Blvd., St Louis. Bring friends!
The national SPJ board recently approved a six-month extension for existing members who have lost their jobs. The offer is good for the next year. This will help journalists who have been laid off maintain their SPJ memberships while they transition to their next job. Quill will be sent digitally to members who apply for this option. Visit http://www.spj.org for more details.
All SPJ members are invited to attend a general membership meeting at noon Thursday, May 7, at Lucas Park Grille, 1234 Washington Ave., St. Louis, for the election of St. Louis chapter officers. Running unopposed so far are Kelsey Volkmann, of the St. Louis Business Journal, for president; Elizabeth Donald, of the Belleville News-Democrat, for vice president; and Jill Moon, of the Alton Telegraph, for secretary.
We are still looking for someone to take over as programming chair and other board positions, so feel free to stop by to find out more about them or call Volkmann at 314 440 2332.
The program for the upcoming conference can be viewed here.
Access the Webcast:
To access, use this link: http://asx.ihets.org/SPJ/live.asx or see the home page of www.spj.org, which will have the link displayed prominently on Friday. The schedule for live Webcasting is (all times Eastern):
3-4:30 p.m. - panel discussion
4:45-5:30 p.m. - anniversary ceremony
5:45-6:05 p.m. - opening remarks from President Dave Aeikens at dinner
7:30-8:30 p.m. - Jane Pauley keynote
Archived video:
The Webcast will be available next week in archived (downloadable) format for later viewing and will be accessible for 90 days. That will require a separate link that we will provide next week. Additionally, the entire day will be recorded (this is separate from the Webcast video) for later distribution, cataloging and, you guessed it, possible sale in commemorative form. More information to come.
Twitter:
Remember, you can also follow along on Twitter, everyone’s favorite work distraction: @spj_tweets .
Pictures and Video:
Some chapters are hosting gatherings on April 17 to coincide with the event. If your chapter is holding such an event, we encourage you to take plenty of pictures and video for later inclusion in Quill or a presentation at the Convention.
Centennial Web page:
If there is anyone out there still looking for information on travel, speakers or anything of the sort, find it here.
SDX Awards:
Here are the winners of the 2008 Sigma Delta Chi Awards.
