Rio Grande Chapter of SPJ

The George Polk Investigative Grants are given to experienced reporters to pursue reporting projects relating to social justice. The intent is to promote public awareness of social problems in immigration, housing, welfare, health, employment and other areas and to promote investigative articles on the Web as well as in print.

Grants will range from $2500 to $10,000, depending on the duration and complexity of the project. Find out more and apply here.

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Revelations that the U.S. Department of Justice ignored its own guidelines and secretly seized emails from Associated Press and Fox News reporters (and labeled one reporter a co-conspirator in a national security breach) are more than this week’s scandal du jour. This is troubling news for journalists everywhere, including New Mexico.

In May, the Rio Grande Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists established a Freedom of Information Committee — a group formed by and for journalists to advocate for the rights and freedoms of SPJ members, as well as to offer resources.

“As we learn more about what’s been happening at the Justice Department, it’s important that reporters understand — and exercise — their First Amendment rights,” said SPJ-Rio Grande Board President Laura Paskus. “We also need to resist the temptation to become paranoid or worse, jaded, and instead step up efforts to gain access to public documents, important meetings — and new sources.”

Freedom of the press is essential to a healthy democracy. Reporters listen to policymakers, ask tough questions, attend meetings and hearings, and analyze government reports. But, we have an obligation to do more. And that means developing confidential sources. Really, it’s not a new issue.

The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics emphasizes independence. The code’s preamble correctly states a journalist’s duty is to seek truth and to “serve the public with thoroughness and honesty.”

Members of the Rio Grande Chapter of SPJ live by the code. Our credibility with viewers, listeners and readers depends on it.

During the president’s 2008 campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama assured everyone his administration would be more open and transparent than the previous one. It hasn’t been. Too often, reporter’s questions are blocked or not allowed in the first place. There are fewer news conferences, Q&As, and even photo ops. Instead, the White House offers news organizations “official” images.

The ability of government to suppress information, intimidate reporters and control the message is further enhanced by news outlets’ diminishing resources. As cutbacks plague newsrooms, the ratio of better-paid, often better-equipped public relations workers to journalists has swelled from 1.2 to 1 in 1980 to 3.6 to 1 in 2008. The result, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis, was a 2008 presidential campaign in which many beat reporters ended up “acting primarily as megaphones, rather than as investigators, of the assertions put forward by the candidates and other political partisans.”

This presents a serious problem not only for journalists, but for citizens everywhere, regardless of partisan affiliation. As government officials deny access, suppress information and work to control the narrative, journalists must rely increasingly on whistleblowers — the courageous citizens willing to risk their jobs and social status to ensure that the truth still does get out.

The net result is a chilling effect. What that means, in plain English, is that public officials whose taxpayer-funded jobs include providing information to the public become emboldened to instead suppress it — and that those brave whistleblowers turtle back into the shadows, afraid of reprisal for sharing the truth.

New Mexico is not immune to these trends. Reporters who cover federal, state and local government here are experiencing the kind of stonewalling and intimidation that follows any clampdown on the free flow of information. Reporters also face daily challenges when trying to access public meetings and public documents, and adherence to the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act and Open Meetings Act is inconsistent. The news of the DOJ’s actions against reporters only exacerbates the reluctance of both public officials and whistleblowers to volunteer information.

Last week, President Barack Obama said journalists should not be at “legal risk” for watchdogging the government or for receiving documents and information on government activities. We hope that’s true, and as a first step, we urge New Mexico’s U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich to support passage of the Free Flow of Information Act, which the Senate is scheduled to consider this week.

Protecting journalists’ rights protects the public’s ability to know what’s going on in the government. After all, it’s always been a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. If we protect reporters, we protect everyone.

Congratulations to all the New Mexico journalists whose work landed awards in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Region 9 contest, the Top of the Rockies

Circulation Less Than 10,000

* Feature Photography

First place: Randy Siner, New Mexico Business Weekly

* Personal or Humor Column

First Place: David Fryxell, Desert Exposure

* Editorials

First Place: David Fryxell, Desert Exposure

* Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Steve Ginsberg and Dennis Domrzalski, Albuquerque Business First (formerly New Mexico Business Weekly) “Labs in the Balance”

* Breaking News

First Place: Megan Kamerick, Albuquerque Business First, “Sony Pictures Imageworks to Leave New Mexico”

Circulation between 10,001 and 29,999

* Front Page Design

Third Place: Cynthia Miller, Santa Fe New Mexican, “Slices of History”

Second Place: Kristina Dunhman, Santa Fe New Mexican, “Red-letter moment”

First Place: Brian Barker, Santa Fe New Mexican, “Obama”

* Feature Page Design

Third Place: Carlos  Lopez, “Taste,” Santa Fe New Mexican

Second Place: Carlos Lopez, “Turn up the steam,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Feature Photography

First Place: Jane  Phillips, “Cozy Coats for Kids,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* News Photography

Third Place: Jane  Phillips, “Slow Burn” Santa Fe New Mexican

Second Place: Jane  Phillips, “Best from behind the lens,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Spot News Photography

Second Place: Jane  Phillips, “2 Killed ‘execution style’ in Rio Arriba,” Santa Fe New Mexican

First Place: Jane  Phillips, “Smoky Skyline,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Health Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Deborah Busemeyer, “A cannabis catch 22,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Health General Reporting

Third Place: Bruce  Krasnow, “Doctor’s dismissal leaves questions,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Science General Reporting

Second Place: Paul Weideman, “Disgruntled Ancestors: Scott G. Ortman on the conflicts that drive migration” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Arts & Entertainment Criticism

First Place: Adele Oliveira, “Faith in Love: Paloma at Teatro Paraguas,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Arts & Entertainment Single Story

Third Page: Paul Weideman, “First Faces: Native American portraits at the New Mexico History Museum,” Santa Fe New Mexican

First Place: Adele Oliveira, “A Wild Domesticity: Randall Davey and the Audubon Center,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Business General Reporting

Third Place: Bruce  Krasnow, “Charter school bonds: A day of reckoning,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Education Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Robert  Nott, “When you are hungry and you are tired, how can you  learn?” Santa Fe New Mexican

* News Feature

Third Place: Julie Ann  Grimm, “Chief at Crossroads,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Julie Ann Grimm , Geoff  Grammer, “Small Change Hustle,” Santa Fe New Mexican

* News Reporting Single Story

Second Place: Nico Roesler, “Jury watches interview with man charged in child’s death,” Santa Fe New Mexican

Circulation between 30,000 and 74,9999

* Environment General Reporting

First Place: Laura  Paskus, “Death By A Thousand Cuts: Will Santa Fe’s campaign to buy up water rights kill the Rio Grande?,” Santa Fe Reporter

* News Column

Third Place: Laura Paskus, “First Person,” Santa Fe Reporter

Circulation more than 75,000

* Info Graphic

Third Place: Cathryn Cunningham, “Spring Fling,” Albuquerque Journal

* Single Page Design

Second Place: Elizabeth  Trujillo, Last Bell, Albuquerque Journal

* Front Page Design

Third Place: Leah Derrington, Duke City’s ‘Bad’ Boy, Albuquerque Journal

* Feature Page Design

Third Place: Jennifer Swanson, Rising to a crescendo, Albuquerque Journal

* News Column

First Place: Joline Gutierrez Krueger, Albuquerque Journal

* Special Section

Third Place: Staff, “New Mexico — 100 Years of Statehood,” Albuquerque Journal

* Sports Enterprise Reporting

First Place: Mark Smith, “Kenny Thomas Foundation,” Albuquerque Journal

* Education General Reporting

First Place: Hailey Heinz, “Diploma Costs Weekend and $200,” Albuquerque Journal

* Arts & Entertainment

Third Place: Adrian Gomez, “Duke City Bad Boy,” Albuquerque Journal

* Editorials

Second Place: Sharon Hedrix, Albuquerque Journal

First Place: D’Val Westphal, Albuquerque Journal

* Public Service

Third Place: Jeff  Proctor, “Officers Get Union Checks After Shootings,” Albuquerque Journal

* Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Mike Gallagher, “New Mexico’s love affair with drugs,” Albuquerque Journal

* General Reporting – Series or Package

Second Place: Olivier Uyttebrouck, Charles  Brunt, Rene Romo, “Returning Veterans  Need Help To Heal Invisible Wounds,” Albuquerque Journal

Radio

* Feature Reporting

Second place: Megan Kamerick, KUNM “ISEA Artists Explore Intersection of Nature and Technology”

TV

* General Broadcast Excellence: Megan Kamerick, KNME “Public Square: Bullying”

* Enterprise Reporting

Second Place: Gadi Schwartz, Peter  St. Cyr and Laurie  Passman, KOB TV  “4 On Your Side: Campaign workers caught offering alcohol to voters”

The Rio Grande Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists presents:

Covering Breaking News Accurately and Ethically

Six of New Mexico’s top journalists will discuss the nuts and bolts of reporting breaking news. They’ll also hit on topics such as fact checking on deadline, the use of anonymous sources, the role of follow-up analysis, and how breaking news coverage has—and has not—changed with the advent of online reporting and live-blogging.

The panel will be moderated by KUNM’s Elaine Baumgartel and feature Jeff Proctor (Albuquerque Journal), Floyd Vasquez (KOB-TV), Jeri Clausing (Associated Press), Gwyneth Doland (New Mexico InFocus correspondent), and Matthew Reichbach (New Mexico Telegram).

When: Thursday, June 6, 2013 2:00 pm

Where: State Bar of New Mexico, 5121 Masthead St NE Albuquerque, NM 87109

Who should attend: Reporters and editors who cover breaking news, general or beat reporters seeking to improve their skills, and members of the public who are interested in how editorial decisions are made or how reporters cover their beats.

Panel is free to SPJ members and $10 for non-members.

(Been meaning to join SPJ? You can do it online: www.spj.org.)

For more information, contact: laura.paskus@gmail.com.

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SPJ President Sonny Albarado issued a statement condemning the government’s seizure of the AP’s phone records.

Albarado called the actions “shameful and outrageous” and said they demonstrate the need for a federal shield law for journalists.

“Prosecutors, unlike reporters, have subpoena power to compel testimony, yet lazy prosecutors often prefer to go after reporters’ notes and records rather than do the hard investigative work to dig out information without trampling on the First Amendment,” Albarado wrote.

See the full statement here.

The AP reported that the DOJ secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors at the news cooperative. Gary Pruitt, AP’s president and CEO,  said the government “sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation.”

Attorney General Eric Holder was grilled by Capitol Hill lawmakers this week regarding the actions on AP.

Join us for the next Rio Grande chapter gathering and fundraiser!