2009 SPJ Announcements!

Fellow Students and Journalists:

Greetings and warmest holiday wishes to you and your family this season! I hope Winter Intercession has provided each of you an opportunity to relax and take a breather from the daily stresses and fatigues of college life at OU. However, winter quarter is creeping ever closer and soon enough we will be returning to Athens and the daily grind.

The New Year is in just a couple of days and we at OU SPJ have made our resolution already – to be more proactive in working for YOU. In 2009, we celebrate 100 years of improving and protecting journalism and the Ohio University chapter has a full slate of helpful workshops and programs to further YOUR education and experience and to connect YOU to hundreds of working professionals across the country.

Fall quarter we offered you a variety of unique programming geared toward “Hot Topics” from the election to the economic meltdown. But that was just the beginning… Here’s a quick look at what OU SPJ has up its sleeve for you this January:

Meetings

Our first meeting will occur on Tuesday, January 6 and will be a detailed introduction to the programs I outline below. We will also introduce you to SPJ’s Centennial plans on a nationwide scale. From here we will meet as committees to plan the work the needs to be completed throughout the quarter – this is YOUR chance to make a difference and leave a legacy – make SPJ something more meaningful then a weekly meeting.
Then on Tuesday, January 13 we will have pizza and board games as a chance to get to know each other better and build a community here at Scripps. We hope you’ll join us for free food and fun and bring your friends!
This quarter we are focusing on the values upheld by national SPJ – diversity, First Amendment, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Come to SPJ and know YOUR rights as a journalist across the country.

inc. – internships. news. commentary.

By far the most exciting of our new projects is the new OU SPJ publication, “inc.”
“inc.” includes insightful stories and helpful hints from alumni and guest speakers in the industry. Also inside you’ll find a continuously updating list of available internships.
“inc.” will be the definitive resource for Scripps students interested in internship opportunities, free-press activism and in what’s going on in the media industry. Editions can be picked up in Scripps Hall and at weekly SPJ meetings.
“inc.” will initially be published bi-weekly, with an expanded schedule and online version to be available in future months.
“inc.” drops Tuesday, January 13.

Book Drive

Reading is one of the most crucial aspects of good journalism – it is the stepping stone to the English language and, ultimately, the world of journalism. This is the basis for our 1st ever book drive in Athens and on campus. Books can be donated in bins located not only in select buildings on campus, but also at businesses in town.
This community effort will bring the joy of reading to children in struggling Appalachian schools which have little or no funding to provide adequate libraries of books to be read for pleasure.
The initiative will last from January 23 to February 30.

High School Essay Contest

As part of a larger national endeavor, OU SPJ is joining in the 2009 SPJ High School Essay Contest as judges for our region. This year’s theme is “Why Free News Media Are Important” and essays are to be 300-500 words.
Using the WOUB service area as a map, we will be contacting and recruiting for essays from high schools in 19 counties. As an organization, we’ll be reading and judging the submitted essays in March.
Our winner will compete against others for a $1000 scholarship.


This is just the tip of the iceberg for our schedule for Winter Quarter – we at OU SPJ hope that you share in our excitement about the programs scheduled for these next three months.

We’ll see you and your friends for our first meeting on Tuesday, January 6 at 5 p.m. in Scripps 111! Don’t forget to read our blog at http://ohiouspj.blogspot.com to keep in touch and learn more about the programs mentioned above.

Hope you had a safe and happy holiday season and we will see you in 2009!


Warmly,

Evan Millward
President
SPJ Ohio University chapter

Trouble Hits Home

In a front page note Sunday, Cincinnati Enquirer publisher Margaret Buchanan announced the paper will debut a narrower page size in March as well as combine its Local and Life sections.

The Associated Press also reports the paper plans on cutting classified ads on Mondays and Tuesdays as part of further cost-cutting efforts after seeing revenues decline all year.

The Enquirer is owned by Gannett, which recently cut some 2000 jobs in the latest of budgetary precautions being taken by the publishing powerhouse.

Looks like print editions are going to be taking the Jenny Craig route to save money at least for the time being.

Thoughts?

Evan

Holiday Message

SPJers -

I know we had promised some announcements before the holidays, but we all have been very busy these past few weeks with other obligations.

You'll see those come next week, I promise haha. We'll also catch you up on what's happening in the media world then too.

Thanks for hanging in there and we'll see you all in Athens in just under two weeks!

On behalf of SPJ the OU chapter - Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Evan

Detroit Papers - No More Home Delivery

Well, it's official.

We reported here last week rumors that the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News would both be cutting home delivery on most days of the week.

We also reported that they would announce their final plans today

CNN and other sources have reported what we feared most... read on.

But, is this a bad thing? It's been no secret that the future lies online, and that is what these papers are doing now - cutting home delivery on all but three days and boosting their electronic editions. Is this the future of the industry?

What do you all think about this news? Does this affect anyone's plans to major in news writing/editing at OU?

Also, we will have our promsied announcement up tomorrow, once we send it to membership via email! :D

Evan

Waiting for Tuesday

Uh-oh.

It looks as if the rumor that has been flying all week, that the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press would cut daily circulation down to a select couple of days each week, may be coming true.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that people close to the company have said that the president is scheduled to make an announcement Tuesday and this is the leading scenario.

Here is the full story.

On a related note, everyone's favorite raging conservative pundit (or bitch?), Ann Coulter, has now thrown her opinion (as if anyone cares) into the ring - she is thrilled about the supposed impending death of newspapers.

Watch the video here.

Finally today, regardless of the news out of Detroit Tuesday, we at OU SPJ will have some VERY exciting news coming via email that day. I'll post it here as well - be on the lookout for it!

Have a great weekend!

Evan

Someone Tell Dr. Stewart

Here's a fun story-

Tickets are now on sale for a little competition in Washington D.C. called "Journopalooza."

Four bands made up of reporters from The Washington Post, the LA Times, McClathy Newspapers, the Washington Independent, Bloomberg News, and others will compete for the title of Best Reporter-Based Washington Rock Group.

The proceeds from the event benefit both the Committee to Protect Journalists and the National Press Club and their efforts to train and support journalists.

Visit the official website and check out the contenders!

Who knows - maybe one day our very own Bob Stewart will be taking the stage as a journalist-musician in D.C. as well!

Trouble in Toledo

Turns out Dayton wasn't next, it was Toledo.

The Associated Press is reporting that the Toledo Blade, owned by Block Communications, is cutting 25 jobs from the newsroom due to declining ad revenues and its ties to the faltering auto industry.

Is it me or has this month been a landslide of trouble for newspapers?

I want to know what you all think newspapers should be doing to slow this snowball effect of layoffs and closures or sales...thoughts?

Evan

Could Dayton Daily be next?

More bad news from the newspaper world and Cox Publishing this evening.

Cox, which owns the Dayton Daily News, announced last week the imminent closure of its D.C. bureau.

Now it appears the Cox-owned Atlanta Journal-Constitution will cut its distribution area by 27 counties in Georgia and North Carolina as well as 156 full- and part-time jobs in the newsroom and business sectors.

Read more on this

My worry - will Dayton soon see similar cuts and struggles? Though it appears to be the flagship paper of the company (since it is the birthplace of Cox Enterprises and all), I feel like these economic times and the news coming in from around the business are taking no prisoners.

Something to watch for those of us in and around the DDN's distribution area, me thinks.

Evan

A Win for Public Records

Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of the "Toledo Blade" in a debate over public records.

Seneca County commissioners must now hand over emails that discuss proposed plans to replace a 120-year old courthouse.

Read more here

On a side note, join us Winter Quarter for discussion on YOUR rights as journalists and reporters to these public records. We'll be spending time discussing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and First Amendment rights as well.

A full schedule of Winter events will be announced shortly.

Evan

Making Friends

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with Taylor Dungjen and Elissa Sonnenberg today in Cincinnati.

Taylor is the president of the University of Cincinnati SPJ chapter and Elissa is the organization's faculty adviser.

We discussed membership challenges and programming opportunities in our chapters as well as the state of the media and business in general.

As we prepare for the 100th Anniversary of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Region 4 conference in Columbus in April, it was nice to meet other involved students and faculty. Especially following the news from publishers across the country last week, networking is becoming more important than ever before.

Be on the lookout - OU SPJ has made some new friends and maybe, just maybe, we'll be seeing more of them over the next few months too ;)

As a reminder, dues need to be paid by December 31. Be on the lookout - we'll be sending members emails over the next week or so about the exciting new projects and schedules for Winter Quarter!

Evan

Plain Dealer Announces Layoffs

Hey Everyone!
It has been a rough week for newspapers across the country. In addition to the last couple posts, the Cleveland Plain Dealer also announced layoffs earlier this week. Editor Susan Goldberg cited lack of participation in the sale of the 166-year-old publication, which is currently owned by Advance Publications (Sun Newspapers, Conde Nast). Twenty-seven employees were notified Tuesday through a telephone call from Goldberg that they did not need to come into work.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003918104

On a side note, I hope everyone is having an awesome break! Let me know if you have any suggestions! I look forward to working with you!

Sincerely,
Stefanie Toth
Treasurer

Winter Blues Part 2

Team,

While researching for the previous post, I ran across some more information that might be valuable.

The E.W. Scripps Company is selling off the Rocky Mountain News, one of the nation's most recognized and respected tabloid newspapers. This may come as surprise, especially following announcements by other large publishing companies, such as Cox (Austin American-Statesman) and Landmark (Virginia Pilot in Norfolk), of sales in recent weeks.

Also, an update on the Gannett story. Editor & Publisher is reporting that the total number of jobs cut in the company's move to scale back its workforce may be over 2,000 by the end of the cuts.

I highly recommend reading through Editor & Publisher on occassion. For more on these stories and others, go to www.editorandpublisher.com

I'll try and find some happy news to post about later ;)

Your thoughts?

Evan

Winter Blues

Some news from national SPJ HQ to update you on over break:

No good news to be had anywhere, I guess - with an auto industry bailout up in the air and banks still struggling to stay in their seats on the current economic roller coaster, it should come as no surprise that the already-struggling media companies have begun to fall victim to the current worries as well.

This week marked the beginning of a shocking and painful round of layoffs across the country, the largest being a 10% cut of staff throughout the Gannett company (owner of the Cincinnati Enquirer). The layoffs began Monday and already total over 650 positions. These cuts were not unexpected, as Gannett had announced them in October, but are still painful in these trying economic times.
More on this

Also this week, Cox Publishing (owner of Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun, and many local papers in suburban Cincy) announced the April 1, 2009 closure of its ENTIRE Washington bureau. The company will also sell 10 of 17 of its daily papers, including the Austin American-Statesman. Luckily, the Dayton Daily News will still have reporters stationed in D.C.
More on this

And finally, today, in SPJ -related news, the organization and journalism community is mourning the loss of past president and former Mexico (Mo.) Ledger editor and publisher Robert White. White,93, passed away Thursday, November 20 following a lengthy illness. White was known for his work for press-freedom advocacy.
More on this

Remember - become an SPJ today and get weekly updates about news like this from SPJ Leads! Dues must be in by December 31 for the OU chapter! Join at www.spj.org/join.asp

Evan

Holiday Update

Hey SPJers!

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and very very tasty!

We are entering the loooong stretch of winter intercession and your SPJ Executive Board is hard at work with the exciting programs and projects that are being planned for Winter Quarter. I can't stress enough how exciting these events are and how much help we will need from you, the membership.

Between now and January 5th, we'll be announcing these projects and our Winter Quarter so be on the lookout here, on our Facebook page, and in your email inboxes!

Also, another reminder that dues must be paid online at www.spj.org/join.asp by December 31st in order to be inducted into the Ohio University chapter later this academic year. By joining, you will be able to receive a variety of benefits, including attending the Region 4 conference in April in Columbus. Don't miss your opportunity to join the largest journalism society in the world - it's your best way to network and meet future colleagues and bosses!

Stay tuned here for more updates as we release our exciting new schedule for Winter 2009!

Evan Millward
President

Exciting Meeting on Tuesday!!

Looking for an Internship??

Join SPJ at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday November 4, 2008 in Scripps 111

Tina Stewart, Alumni and Internship Coordinator
will be speaking at the meeting about finding internships and mentors in your field to help make sure your future is as successful as possible. This is the first time Tina has spoken with a Scripps organization, so join us to get an early glance at all she and O.U. has to offer!

NEED MORE T-SHIRT IDEAS

Hey everyone,
Just a reminder that I need more ideas for the T-shirt designs! I'm pretty sure we're going to make the shirts in SPJ's colors, blue and white. So, I just need a really funny/catchy slogan to put on the back and I can try and design something. Also, I will have pricing on the T-shirts as soon as I get a good idea! Right now, it looks like we will get American Apparel brand. But, it will be a little extra.

Some slogan ideas (Sorry these suck, don't hold me to these):
SPJ: We're off the record!
AP Stylin' since 1909
We read all of the papers!

Some Thoughts and Reminders

Hey SPJers!

Just a remind of our upcoming socials with Ad Club and PRSSA starting TONIGHT with the annual kickball tournament in the fields behind McCracken Hall on East Green. Be there at 6 p.m. and have your legs warmed up!

On Wednesday, October 29 come to the Wilhelm Amphitheater in front of Scripps Hall and get creative in a pumpkin carving contest at 6 p.m.! No need to bring supplies, they will be provided.

Also, congratulations to our new Freshmen Officers: Ian Bowman-Henderson, Sarah maloy, and Tayler Mirfendereski! Welcome to the OU SPJ Executive Board - we'll see you on Thursday!

Hope everyone enjoyed Tuesday's opportunity to learn about our current economic meltdown - we'll see you next week, same time, same place!

Evan

SPJ T-SHIRTS!!

Hey guys,
I want to have a T-shirt design by next meeting and the shirts ordered by the end of next week. So, this is where you come in. Please post your suggestions or send me ideas at stoth87@gmail.com. Think of a funny slogan that relates to journalism! Make it creative!

Some color suggestions:
Red with white lettering

Slogan Suggestions:
We Write Good


Thanks everyone! Let's make these stand out!

~Stefanie Toth, Treasurer

SPJ 10/21/08

Join SPJ on Tuesday October 21, 2008 as Dr. Richard Vedder and Mark Tatge discuss our current economic meltdown!!

Richard Vedder studies higher education financing, labor economics, immigration, government fiscal policy and income inequality. A distinguished professor of economics at Ohio University, he is the author of several books.

Mark W. Tatge spent three decades as an investigative editor and reporter. He comes to the EW Scripps School from Forbes Magazine Midwest Bureau and where he was the Bureau Chief and Senior Editor, writing for the magazine and Forbes.com while appearing on Forbes on Fox.

This is going to be a fantastic opportunity! Dr. Vedder is an expert in his field and we are very privileged to these two distinguished guests visiting us- hope everyone can make it!

Last Tuesday's (10/13) meeting follow-up

Hello everyone!

I just want to say first of all how productive, albeit short, our discussion was following the documentary. I was really glad to see you all take on the documentary itself and not accept it all as it was presented. For those of you who weren't able to make the meeting, I will be hosting the second make-up meeting tomorrow at 8:30PM at the Front Room in Baker. If you would like to see the documentary again or have something else you would like to add to the brief discussion we had Tuesday, I encourage you to attend! If you're not able to attend or just really don't feel like it, You can find the documentary below. Thanks again for all your awesome participation and thoughts and I look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday. Tell your friends how much fun you are having at SPJ and then bring them too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJRyRnj1tlQ

For more information on the documentary itself, check out this website

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/sticksandstones.html

Best,

Kevin

Final Debate 2008

Hey guys,

Wednesday night is the LAST presidential debate of this election year. Since we've been discussing ethics in politics and media this quarter, what better way to say goodbye to those pesky campaign ads and "Have you registered to vote? In Athens?" people than by enjoying some pizza on SPJ and watching as Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama discuss policy and talking points one final time before November 4th!

Bring your friends and anyone who plans on watching the debate for good pizza and politics! There's no better way than to watch the debate on the BIG SCREEN!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15
8:30 P.M.
SCRIPPS ATRIUM

We'll see you there!

Ethical Breach?

Continuing our theme of ethics and politics in the campaign year, we will watch a probing documentary at our meeting this Tuesday at 5 p.m.

"The Fifth Estate: Sticks and Stones" observes the polarization of mainstream media and is a near perfect complement to the ongoing discussions we've been having in our meetings.

Regardless of whether you've ever complained about the "liberal media" or yelled at someone else who has, you don't want to miss this film and the discussion that will follow!

Bring your friends, liberal and conservative!

Tuesday October 7th, 2008

Join us as
We continue our discussion of
Campaign 2008
with
OU Student and Freelance Repoter

Mike Ludwig

shares his experiences from Denver and the 2008 Democratic National Convention, reporting for The Athens NEWS.
Mike is a freelance writer and reporter. His is currently the Campus Editor at The Athens NEWS, an alternative bi-weekly in Athens, Ohio. Mike is also a senior student at The Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. We all look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 5:00 in Scripps 111

Continuing our discussion from Tuesday

First of all, let me just say that I had a wonderful time discussing ethics with you all and I really appreciate all your great ideas and opinions. On that note, I wanted to introduce an article that appeared in the latest issue of Mother Jones magazine. It is an opinion piece and should be read as such, but thought-provoking nonetheless. I'm curious what you awesome ethics scholars have to say about the general premises that this piece discusses. You can find the article here. I hope that some of you get a chance to read it and respond because I would really like to hear more from you guys. Thanks again for an awesome meeting on Tuesday,

-Kevin

SPJ T-shirts/ Membership Dues

Hi everyone,
I'm working on the design for SPJ T-shirts. What colors would you like the shirts to be? Also, I'm open to shirt designs and any words or symbols. Feel free to post your comments or send an e-mail to stoth87@gmail.com.

Also, don't forget to order your "You Can't Spell Journalism Without OU" T-shirts!

One more thing:
If you decide to join SPJ and pay membership dues, they are due by December 31,2008. The fee is $36 for national dues and $4 for local dues. You can write a check for $40 and bring it to a meeting, or you can pay online at www.spj.org.

~Stefanie Toth

Ideas for meetings

Just leaving this open for everyone to comment about what we should plan for future meetings. Your basic options are speakers, discussion or workshops. If you do want workshops tell us want you want to learn about; website building, resume building, interview info, etc. If you want discussion tell us what topics you would like to discuss. If you would like speakers tell us who or what topics. If you would like to do something completely different that is great too, just let us know! We're all really looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say :) Also comment if you are interested in writing for the blog- thanks!

Success

Hey everyone! Tonight's meeting was awesome, we had some fabulous discussion going! Just a reminder, our theme tonight was "Ethical Breach? Campaign '08". We watched an awesome video including an AP journalist and Mitt Romney. Hopefully I will get all the slides and the link posted up here so everyone can refer back to if desired. So yea, feel free to continue our discussion by commenting on this blog post. Nice job tonight!

Next Meeting

Hey everyone I just wanted to encourage you to come to our meeting tomorrow night! The theme is "Ethical Breach?? Campaign 08" and we will be basically encouraging discussion, so come with your opinions and be willing to share them! We are all looking forward to seeing you there- Tuesday September 30 at 5pm in Scripps 111

First Blog!

Hi everyone! This is Ohio University's first blog entry and we are all very excited. Just so everyone knows we meet every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. in Scripps 111. This Tuesday we will have a meet and greet with a select few of the E.W. Scripps school staff!! We are very excited for our new members and can not wait to get everyone's impute. Remember- writing for the blog would get you get samples for your portfolio and to make your ideas known. Can't wait to see you guys tomorrow!