Proud to be a 15-year member of SPJ

When I took my mail out of the mailbox this evening, I didn't know why I was getting a little package from SPJ.

When I opened it up and shook it out, out fell a letter from headquarters -- and my 15-year pin.

It's a little hard for me to believe it's actually been 15 years, but I'll take headquarters' word for it. And I'm proud to have been a member of SPJ for 15 years now.

If you're a journalist and you're not a member of SPJ, you should be. Join now by clicking this link.

SPJ calls on members to encourage their U.S. senators to vote for federal shield law

From an SPJ e-mail just now:

Dear SPJ members,

SPJ is calling on you! Help the Society fight for a federal shield law to uphold the free flow of information.

On Thursday, Sept. 17, the Senate Judiciary Committee will discuss, and hopefully pass, S. 448 - the Free Flow of Information Act. The bill would create a federal shield law that would grant protections to journalists who refuse to reveal confidential sources, even when compelled by a subpoena and the threat of penal action. Currently, journalists and their sources are only protected by privilege statutes or administrative rules in certain states. There is no federal shield law protecting journalists and their sources.

Now is the time to act. The nation's journalists need your voice. SPJ encourages members to contact their senators and let them know how important S. 448 is to a free press.

Every member's support is important, and we particularly encourage those represented by senators on the Judiciary Committee to contact that senator before he or she meets Sept. 17 to discuss and finalize S. 448. The following is a list of Senate Judiciary Committee members (Click on names for contact information):

Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Ranking Member
Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.)
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
Edward Kaufman (D-Del.)
Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)
Charles Grassley (R-Iowa)
Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.)
Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
Al Franken (D-Minn.)
Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)
Arlen Specter (D-Pa.)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
John Cornyn (R-Texas)
Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman
Herb Kohl (D-Wis.)
Russell Feingold (D-Wis.)

We also encourage all SPJ members to contact their senators and voice support for a federal shield law.

To learn more about SPJ's efforts, click here. Read shield law press releases sent earlier this year on SPJ News.

Thank you for your continued support of SPJ and this vital piece of legislation.

SPJ aids publication trying to get records from CCA

If you've ever looked at your SPJ renewal notice and wondered what that money goes toward, here's just one example: Helping people get public records. SPJ has signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in an effort by the Prison Legal News to wrest records from the private Corrections Corp. of America. (Remember: The state's public records law says that records are public if they are in the possession of a private entity performing a government service in place of a governmental agency.)

Here's the whole statement from SPJ national:

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists has joined an amicus brief written by the Tennessee ACLU supporting a magazine that won an open records battle in its quest to cover and analyze prisoners’ rights.

The brief supports the appeal of Prison Legal News, which is fighting off an appeal by the Corrections Corporation of America, a private company that operates state prisons in Tennessee, after a lower court determined that the CCA was subject to the state’s open records laws. The amicus brief argues that the trial court was correct in determining that the law in Tennessee requires contractors of the corrections system to turn over records upon public request, just as government agencies must do.

The Prison Legal News has also appealed the lower court’s decision to deny it attorneys’ fees in the case. “The Prison Legal News should have its legal fees paid by CCA,” said SPJ President Dave Aeikens. “It would serve as a good deterrent to those who refuse to release public information.”

Joining the ACLU and SPJ in supporting the Prison Legal News on appeal are the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Associated Press, and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors.

This is the second case SPJ has supported in 2009 by joining an amicus brief. The last case, in January, involved the appeal of a historical society in Nebraska asking for open death records at a state mental hospital. Read about the case and SPJ’s support here. Learn about SPJ’s legal advocacy and other news items by reviewing the news archive here.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well- informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.

And you can read more about public records and FOI issues not only here but on the TCOG blog.