Society of Professional Journalists Northern California Chapter Presents
Posted Nov. 3, 2005
See a PDF copy of this document
The James Madison Freedom of Information Awards recognize Northern California organizations and individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of freedom of information and expression in the spirit of James Madison, the creative force behind the First Amendment. The awards are presented at a ceremony in March near the anniversary of Madison's birth.
Eligible for nomination are Northern California journalists, citizens, media organizations, or community groups which, during 2005, have defended public access to meetings, public records, meetings or court proceedings or otherwise promoted the public’s right to know, publish and speak freely about issues of public concern.
Award Categories (awards may not be given in every category):
The Professional Journalist and Student Journalist awards recognize journalists who have been involved in fights for access to records, meetings or court proceedings, who have made exceptional use of public records in their reporting or who have promoted education on FOI issues through stories, editorials or other advocacy.
The Public Official award is given to a governmental official who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to keeping public records or meetings public, or otherwise has taken exemplary leadership on FOI or First Amendment issues.
The Legal Counsel award recognizes extraordinary efforts by attorneys in these areas, especially the generous commitment of pro-bono time to FOI issues.
The Norwin S. Yoffie Career Achievement Award is named in honor of a stalwart supporter of the chapter’s Freedom of Information Committee, who died in November 2000 after many years of distinguished service to SPJ and the cause of freedom of information.
See http://www.spj.org/norcal/awards/foiwinners.html for past award recipients.
Deadline: Entries must be e-mailed or postmarked by January 6, 2006.
ENTRY FORM:
Mail entries to:
James Madison FOI Awards
SPJ Northern California Chapter
c/o Matthew Hirsch
San Francisco Bay Guardian
135 Mississippi Street
San Francisco, California 94107
FOI Committee JM Award chairs:
David Greene (510) 208-7744
dgreene@thefirstamendment.org
Seth Rosenfeld
srosenfeld@sfchronicle.com
Category
Nominee’s name
Address
Home phone Work phone
Nominator
Address
Home phone Work phone
Submission Guidelines:
1. For each entry, please submit in triplicate:
A. An entry form
B. A cover letter with the following information:
i. A summary of the story, stories or action taken.
ii. A description of the freedom of information aspect of the story or action, specifically explaining how freedom of information laws and tools were employed and/or how the story or actions shed light on governmental activities.
iii. A discussion of major findings, achievements and subsequent results (i.e., did other outlets pick up the story; did new legislation, regulatory change or better public service result from the story or action).
iv. An account of the difficulty or uniqueness of effort in obtaining the story or pursuing the action.
C. Supporting documents including published stories and any other supporting material which will demonstrate merit of nomination.
D. Any corrections, clarifications or retractions made after initial publishing or broadcast of stories must be submitted as part of the entry. Also, copies of any challenges to the story’s accuracy, including but not limited to letters and requests for corrections or retractions, as well as responses by the newspaper, must be included in the submission.
2. Nominations with no supporting documents may be submitted by e-mail to matthew (AT) sfbg.com. Subject line should read “James Madison Nomination,” and the format of the message should approximate that of this form.
Judges:
Judges are the members of the Freedom of Information Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
-- First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution