The Quill articles from October 2004

The Quill archives from October 2004

Thinking big: it's no small task for journalists.(From The President)
October 1, 2004... In the welcome message I wrote for this year's national convention in New York, I encouraged attendees to think big, like the city serving as host. It's time for journalists like us and our news organizations to start thinking bigger....

When getting in the last word, make it the correct one.(Words And Language)
October 1, 2004... A reader e-mailed that a television ad for a fast-food restaurant's new line of salads declares: "Each bite better than the next." So, she asked, the salad just tastes worse and worse the more you eat? That ad writer's intended meaning...

'Fall' into the learning cycle with a search for a good book.(Narrative Writing)
October 1, 2004... The yard sale was just a week away. Junk piled up in the basement, and it was my job to get down to the basement and sort through it all. I started with the boxes by stuffing them with items I hoped someone else would haul away at 25...

SPJ@nyc.wow!(SPJ NYC 2004)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... SPJ took a bite out of the Big Apple with its 2004 Annual Convention at th. Grand Hyatt. When the gavel banged for the last time following the installation speech by Irwin L. Gratz, the Society's new president, the more than 900 people...

Notable news anchors discuss the past, present and future of TV news.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... In 1952, Walter Cronkite and fellow journalists relished political conventions where guests and organizers ignored the cameras that captured their words and actions. Today, anchorman Brian Williams and his colleagues cover conventions...

Moyers articulates his growing concern with less access to government records.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... On the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, PBS "NOW" host Bill Moyers said the ensuing "zeal for secrecy" in America has created "a victory for the terrorists." Moyers, speaking at the Society of Professional...

Bloomberg News, SPJ launch training partnership.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... Bloomberg News and the Society of Professional Journalists will seal their landmark partnership when training begins in newsrooms throughout the country on the essentials of business reporting, precision writing, freedom of information,...

Wells Key recipient shines a lot of light on the dark side of the government moon.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... (Editor's note: The full list of award winners can be found on pages 30-32.) Ian Marquand doesn't like the dark. At least that's what his colleagues say. It's a place where secrets can hide and truth gets obscured. Marquand has...

Gratz takes the helm in his home state.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... (Editor's note: The full text of Irwin L. Gratz's installation speech can be found on pages 28-29.) When Irwin L. Gratz took the helm of the Society of Professional Journalists on Sept. 11, he told members he would not run SPJ. It's...

There's no doubting Thomas when it comes to toughness.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... Helen Thomas holds a reputation of never backing down from a story, an issue or even a president. The former United Press International reporter for four decades and now a columnist for Hearst Newspapers has been told time after time what...

Session avoids getting 'blogged' down when addressing latest Internet craze.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... The SPJ National Convention professional development session on blogging didn't just happen. It bubbled. "Bubble" also was the word many panelists and participants at the SPJ National Convention used to describe the way blogs--short...

Media outlets serving ethnic groups continue to grow, break news.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... Mainstream journalists often ignore stories in the ethnic media or use that ground-breaking work without properly crediting it. That's the message panelists delivered during an SPJ National Convention session on relations between the...

Ethical lapses lead to changes.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... Ask editors at the top newspapers in the nation about potential fixes to ethical lapses, and you'll get some surprising answers--from offering well-publicized "1-800" telephone numbers for readers to vent complaints, to offering public praise...

The SPJ/JAK exchange leads to learning and friendship: Asian visitors left the New York City convention to visit American towns and media outlets throughout the United States.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... Two Korean men and two American teen-agers sat cross-legged on a living room floor. Taking turns, they snapped small, stiff cards against cards lying in front of them, looking for a match. There was much laughter as the men taught the...

Legal Defense Fund Auction raises nearly $30,000.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... Betsy Ashton's antics at the 2004 Legal Defense Fund Auction during the SPJ National Convention nearly got the best of her. They certainly got the best of her wallet. Ashton engaged in a fierce bidding war over four framed photos...

Board backs magazine project for 2005.(SPJ NYC 2004)
October 1, 2004... The Society of Professional Journalists plans to publish another issue of The Journalist to coincide with the 2005 national convention in Las Vegas. Society leaders said they received an overwhelmingly positive response to the 2004...

SPJ bets on success for a convention in Las Vegas.(Society of Professional Jouralists)
October 1, 2004... SPJ leaders are looking forward to the Society's 2005 National Convention, and it's not because "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." The convention, scheduled for Oct. 23-25 at the Aladdin Resort and Casino on Sin City's main strip,...

Seoul to soul: bridging culture, craft: Korean exchange program shows many sides of diversity, journalism.(Varying The Voice)
October 1, 2004... When Sally Lehrman, SPJ's national Diversity Committee chairwoman and newly elected at-large director, asked me to host two Korean journalists visiting the San Francisco Bay Area in September, I eagerly agreed. The decision came easily...

Start improving today the next year of your life.(Society of Professional Journalists)
October 1, 2004... (Editor's note: Carla Kimbrough-Robinson is joining SPJ's stable of columnists and will write on personal and professional development for Quill. Carla will focus on surviving and thriving in a career in the rapidly changing world of...

Staffers sang different tune the day the music died.(Weighing The Impacts)
October 1, 2004... It's always a relief to have survived another presidential election, no matter what the outcome. Elections raise ethical questions for reporters, and the answer to the ethical questions remains the same: Avoid any display of partisanship,...

Prisons lock public out.(Collecting Information)
October 1, 2004... When prison officials in California recently denied my request for a face-to-face media interview with condemned California inmate Maureen McDermott, they cited policies restricting this kind of access. I had only one other option: enter...

Generation J reaches out to SPJ's young professionals.(Society of Professional Journalists)
October 1, 2004... It was the first day of my first "real" job. This wasn't an internship or a summer fellowship. I was a reporter at a midsize daily newspaper in West Texas. I was 22 and eager, and I wrote two stories that first day. Yes, I...

A broader world view can narrow journalism's shortcomings.(Collecting Information)
October 1, 2004... In the aftermath of the next terrorist attack on the United States, the news media will play a particularly important role. As the shock of being attacked again sinks in, journalists will once more need to explain the realities of the war...

President Irwin L. Gratz installation speech Sept. 11, 2004.(Collecting Information)(Transcript)
October 1, 2004... As you may have read in today's Working Press, planning for this convention was supposed to begin at a meeting here in Manhattan exactly three years ago today. But I made it only as far as Logan Airport, and you know the rest. We...

2004 SPJ award winners.
October 1, 2004... WELLS MEMORIAL KEY Ian Marquand FELLOWS OF THE SOCIETY Tom Curley, president and CEO, The Associated Press Anne Garrels, National Public Radio Bob Woodward, assistant managing editor, The Washington Post HELEN...

2003 Mark of Excellence Winners.(Society of Professional Journalists)
October 1, 2004... The Society of Professional Journalists announced the 2003 Mark of Excellence Awards National Winners for outstanding student journalism at the 2004 SPJ National Convention in New York City. This year's winners were chosen from more than...

Awards.(Journalism)(Advertisement)
October 1, 2004... Penn State College of Communications Bart Richards Award for Media Criticism 302 James Building University Park, PA 16801-3897 Contact: Steve Sampsell Phone: 814-865-8801 Fax: 814-863-6134 E-mail:...

Internships.(Journalism)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
October 1, 2004... Kaiser Family Foundation Kaiser Media Internships in Urban Health Reporting Kaiser Family Foundation 2400 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park, CA 94025 Contact: Penny Duckham, Executive Director, pduckham@kff.org ...

Fellowships.(Journalism)(Advertisement)
October 1, 2004... Pulliam Journalism Fellowship Contact: Russell B. Pulliam The Indianapolis Star P.O. Box 145 Indianapolis, IN 46206-0145 E-mail: russell.pulliam@indystar.com Web: www.indystar.com/pjf Jump-start your journalism...

Seeking a free press for collegiate journalists.(Chapter Briefs)
October 1, 2004... When Kansas City Press Club SPJ Chapter President Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell heard allegations about censorship of the University of Missouri at Kansas City student newspaper, the press club went to work. First, a panel discussion on...

Ethics Week scheduled for April.(Society of Professional Jouralists)
October 1, 2004... SPJ has announced the third annual Ethics in Journalism Week will take place April 25-30, 2005. During the week, all SPJ chapters are encouraged to hold programs about ethical issues journalists face. Every chapter, professional and...

Help set standards: volunteer as a national judge SPJ contests.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... SPJ is compiling a database of professionals, SPJ chapters and regional representatives who are interested in judging one or more of the Society's annual awards programs. Take this opportunity to examine some of the nation's best print,...

Survey reveals openness of candidates.
October 1, 2004... Indiana groups that serve as government watchdogs--representing the public and journalists--decided to track down information this election year that might serve the public in an unusual way. How do gubernatorial candidates feel about...

Resolutions express commitment.(Society of Professional Journalists)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Delegates to 2004 Society of Professional Journalists National Convention adopted 18 resolutions on Sept. 11, during a convention business session. In a resolution presented by the Northern California Pro Chapter, the Society urged...

Connecting with communities: small-town journalism will gain big with training resource.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Nearly 60 million Americans live in rural areas and according to some experts, the concept of community in rural America is losing ground. The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues was established in 2001 to help...

Fairness and objectivity tested as reporter questions decision: Jon Leiberman speaks to students and faculty at the University of Maryland.
October 1, 2004... In October, Jon Leiberman was fired from his position as Washington bureau chief for Sinclair Broadcasting Group. Later that month, he spoke with SPJ members at the University of Maryland about being willing to risk their jobs to stand up for...