Posts by Connecticut SPJ

High School Journalism Workshop Offered By C-HIT

The Connecticut Health Investigative Team, in collaboration with the journalism departments of UConn and Quinnipiac University, will host a summer investigative reporting workshop for high school students.

This intensive summer investigative reporting workshop will provide up to 25 high school students with the opportunity to develop investigative reporting skills in a unique workshop environment led by distinguished local and national journalists.

Selected students will spend a week on a university campus, learning the tools of investigative journalism by participating in workshops led by award-winning journalists; working on stories for publication; and spending a day visiting local newsrooms.

Click here for more details on C-HIT’s website.

When: July 9-13, 2012, at Quinnipiac University campus, Hamden, CT
July 16-20, 2012, at University of Connecticut campus, Storrs, CT

WORKSHOP TOPICS INCLUDE:

• Initiating investigative stories: where to look

• Conducting effective interviews

• Perfecting your writing style

• Using public data in investigative reporting

• Using Twitter, Facebook as reporting tools and web-based journalism.

• Journalistic ethics

Instructors include: Lisa Chedekel, award-winning investigative reporter, formerly for The Hartford Courant, now senior writer for C-HIT; Lynne DeLucia, Pulitzer Prize-winning former editor of The Hartford Courant, now editor and co-founder of C-HIT; Colleen Shaddox, award-winning writer whose work has been featured by The New York Times, Washington Post and National Public Radio and Kate Farrish, an award-winning veteran reporter, formerly of The Hartford Courant and now an adjunct professor at UConn.

WHO’S ELIGIBLE AND HOW TO APPLY:

Eligibility: High school students, ages 16 and older, with a strong interest in journalism; prior experience writing for school publications an asset.

Cost: $800 for the five-day (9-5 p.m.) program. (Some scholarships available) Students with a need for overnight accommodations should contact Lynne DeLucia at delucia@c-hit.org.

Program structure: Students will spend mornings learning reporting, writing and investigative skills. Afternoon workshops will be led by working journalists, in which students will use data to produce in-depth stories for their school newspapers or local publications.
Applications due: June 1, 2012.

For application form or queries, contact Lynne at delucia@c-hit.org, or 203-215-6373.

This program is supported by the Dow Jones News Fund

FOI Day: Can Free Information and Economic Development Co-Exist?

Guest speaker Attorney General George Jepsen. Photo by Mitchell Pearlman

By Don Stacom

One of the biggest crowds in recent memory for an annual Connecticut FOI Conference turned out April 3 to hear spirited debates about how — or if — free information and economic development can co-exist.

Panels and workshops also provided news about recent FOI precedents and interpretations, along with insights into the latest issues surrounding public access to information.

The key debate featured Andrew. J. McDonald, the governor’s chief legal counsel, and Preston First Selectman Robert Congon arguing for why government wants — and corporations demand — temporary secrecy during sensitive bargaining about economic development.

Taxpayers aren’t well served if detailed news reports in mid-negotiation scare off companies that might have brought jobs and tax dollars to the state, they said.

On the other side, Connecticut Mirror reporter Keith M. Phaneuf joined Agility Resources Group President Vincent M. Valvo, a former Hartford Courant reporter, in giving the case for faster and more extensive transparency.

“Ever since the first bill was passed, we’ve done nothing to expand it. What comes out every year at the Legislature are attempts to restrain it and pull it back,” Valvo said. “We ought to be embracing a culture of openness.”

Phaneuf offered a series of examples of state bureaucrats illegally withholding information for reasons as petty as personal convenience. For years, one state agency refused to give out financial documents until two days after distributing them to legislators, defending the policy as merely “being sure that everyone is comfortable” with the numbers, he said.

“There is no comfort clause in the FOI law,” Phaneuf pointed out.

But he also acknowledged that years of cost-cutting are responsible for many of the media’s failings as a watchdog. Too few young reporters understand FOI law or how to use it effectively, he said.

“The media today is shrinking, inexperienced and borderline irresponsible — I’m tempted to take the ‘borderline’ out,” Phaneuf said. “We’re lucky if the (Capitol) press corps is one-quarter the size of what it was in 1988, and probably has one-quarter of the experience level.”

The conference was sponsored by the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government and the Connecticut Council of Freedom of Information.

College Contest Opens April 1

The Connecticut SPJ college journalism contest will open for entries on April 1. The deadline to enter will be May 1.

You can access the website to enter by clicking this link.

The college contest is open for stories and photos published in college media in Connecticut between April 22, 2011 and April 1, 2012.

This year, the contest will accept all media types — television, radio, online and print. A full list of categories is posted below.

Entries are limited to three per person per category. Each story, editorial, photo, etc. is a separate entry.

Entry Fees:

  • $5 for active SPJ members
  • $10 for non-members and colleges or universities paying for entries

NOTE: You must choose “College Contest” as the main category for entry in the contest system, or your entries will be disqualified.

If you have questions or problems, contact contest coordinator Jodie Mozdzer at jmozdzer@ctspj.org.

CATEGORIES:

Audio > Feature
Audio > General Reporting
Audio > Commentary
Audio > General Column
Audio > Sports Feature Story
Audio > Sports News Story
Audio > Spot News

Video > General Reporting
Video > Commentary
Video > General Column
Video > Sports Feature Story
Video > Sports News Story
Video > Spot News
Video > Feature

Print/Online > General Reporting
Print/Online > Editorial/Op-ed
Print/Online > General Column
Print/Online > Page 1 Layout
Print/Online > Non-Page 1 Layout
Print/Online > News Photo
Print/Online > Feature Photo
Print/Online > Sports Photo
Print/Online > Sports Feature Story
Print/Online > Sports News Story
Print/Online > Spot News
Print/Online > Feature

 

CTSPJ Board Seeking New Members

The Nominations Committee of CTSPJ is currently seeking nominations for the 2012-13 Officers and Board of Directors. All officer positions are one-year terms and there are three Board of Director positions open for two-year terms.

Officers:
President
Vice President
Vice President/Communications
Treasurer
Secretary

Three board positions (terms July 1, 2012-June 30, 2014).

All officers and board members must be paid members of CTSPJ and SPJ national.

If you are interested in running, please send President Cindy Simoneau a note at csimoneau@ctspj.org, and attach a recent resume. The committee may ask to meet with you for a follow-up interview.

Nominations close: Tuesday, March 27. Please consider serving your chapter.

Nominations Committee:
Cindy Simoneau, Chairwoman
Liz Glagowski
Cara Baruzzi

Shine The Light On Local Government

by Ricky Campbell

There is no more opportune time than now to educate newsrooms and the public on the Freedom of Information Act and public records in Connecticut.

The past year has been a roller coaster of public record proposed legislation and department mergers, from “a disaster for FOI in Connecticut” to “attempts to strike a balance” between the public’s right to know. As a journalist, watching lawmakers attempt what they believe are correct measures, it’s important to watch, analyze – and scrutinize – their every move.

The impact and importance public records are to us, as journalists, is no mystery. However, our communities need continuous education on the significance of the FOI law, reminding them of its initial mission: government oversight.

Sunshine Week commences Monday, and I encourage every newsroom, blogger, veteran, student, or interested community member to educate their contacts with the importance of our right-to-know. While some projects might take time and preparation from weeks ago, there is still time to do your part.

Simple experiments, rigorous investigations, edgy editorials -– whatever. Sunshine Week is a great time to remind news consumers of what is truly important, and any assault on a lack of free information should be on the forefront.

As a beat reporter in a town with questionable transparency, it encourages my competitiveness to kick in, looking for even more opportunities to exercise public information. This week, residents of the northwest corner can expect a school district comparison and Litchfield community members can prepare for some otherwise-hidden emails on a growing political topic in town. Also, with every twist in the current Torrington Police debacle, I can encourage our readership that, well, “We’ve only just begun.

So, as a journalist, what are you doing this week? Are you going to just shrug it off and go about everyday news life? Or will you take some more steps to educate your readership, going that extra mile to remind them why they buy newspapers or click on your links?

I suggest the latter. It’s your duty. In a state with a unique outlet and a country with laws like FOI at our fingertips, we better take advantage of it all.

Happy Sunshinin’!

Don’t be shy and share your stories with us. Here are some great starting points:

Sunshine Week Idea Bank
SPJ FOI activities
IRE’s Extra Extra
Connecticut FOI resources from NFOIC
Tips and Tales – New Haven Register’s Alexandra Sanders’ blog
Cool Justice – journalist Andy Thibault’s blog
The Scoop – Hartford Courant blog

Connecticut Sunshine Week projects — CTSPJ blog

Ricky Campbell is a CT SPJ board member and reporter for the Torrington Register Citizen. You can reach him by email at rcampbell@ctspj.org, on Facebook, or Twitter

Sunshine Week Is Here

Public information belongs to the public.

It’s a simple premise that can be overlooked by the gatekeepers of that information.

That’s why each spring, the American Society of News Editors joins up with other open government groups to host Sunshine Week.

It’s a national project to get people talking about government transparency, and inform everyone about their right to public information.

This week Sunshine Week runs from March 11 – 17.

We’d like to highlight the efforts around Connecticut this week as newspapers and other organizations take part in Sunshine Week.

Please e-mail Ricky Campbell at rcampbell@ctspj.org if you’d like us to highlight your project here. (List of projects will be posted below graphic.)

For more information, and for resources to participate in Sunshine Week (like the graphic posted here) visit www.SunshineWeek.org.

Connecticut Sunshine Week

Let sun shine on government, elections — The Day editorial

Shine The Light On Local Government — CTSPJ blog

Citizen Journalism Recap

CTSPJ and the Register Citizen of Torrington held a discussion on citizen journalism on Feb. 4.

Speakers included Andy Sellars, a staff attorney for the Citizen Medial Law Project, Ed McKeon, past editor for the Middletown Eye and Matt DeRienzo, group editor for JRC.

If you missed the program, you can watch it again here:


Live video for mobile from Ustream

Or read the live chat, moderated by CTSPJ board member and Register Citizen reporter Ricky Campbell.

As part of the larger discussion on citizen journalism, CTSPJ plans to post future blog posts on the topic, to help those involved in acts of journalism come up with common best practices for collaboration.

Participants also suggested creating a “reporting 101” document to help citizens understand some of their rights and responsibilities in publishing news stories.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the panel discussion.

Click the links below to read to blog posts leading up to the discussion.

Traditional Media And Citizen Journalism: Time To Curate, Collaborate

Citizen Journalism: Don’t We All Want The Same Thing?

Lessons From Citizen Journalists

Lessons From Citizen Journalists

While we’re talking about about raising standards for both citizens and journalists reporting the news, I don’t want the assumption to be that only citizens can improve.

There’s a lot practiced, professional journalists can learn from citizen journalists as well.

One of the most important lessons was featured in a Nieman Journalism Lab blog post this week: Report news how you’d like to consume news.

It’s a simple premise, but often overlooked during the grind of reporting stories — especially breaking news stories.

And it’s one that citizen journalists, by nature, are better at doing.

Gina Chen, in her post on Nieman Lab, gives tips for how journalists can improve their breaking news reporting. It includes the simple notion that some AP Style guidelines don’t make sense in a digital world.

Read her whole post here.

Another tip: Use social media like the rest of the world uses social media.

(Full disclosure — This premise was learned from Eugene Driscoll, the author’s editor. Read his direct words in his article in Street Fight Magazine.)

Most citizens don’t sign up for Twitter and Facebook to drive traffic to their personal blogs. They do it to be part of a community, learn about other people and find interesting stories through links.

There has to be a balance — even for journalists.

Facebook and Twitter shouldn’t be dumping grounds for RSS feeds. They should be places where journalists can engage with their readers and learn about their communities.

 

So what other lessons can journalists learn from citizen journalists? Weigh in on Facebook or in the comments field here.

2011 Excellence In Journalism Contest

The 2011 Excellence in Journalism contest is now open for submissions.

The entry fees are the same as last year:

  • $10 for active Connecticut SPJ members
  • $25 for non-members and news organizations
  • $50 for the three top awards

Click here to enter the contest.

CONTEST CATEGORIES

All categories are open to all Connecticut journalists. Entrants will be judged against similar media types (listed below). The exception is the CTSPJ Special Awards, in which entrants are judged against all other entrants, regardless of media type.
To enter, the work must have been published or broadcast during the 2011 calendar year.
MEDIA TYPES
For each category, please indicate what category your news organization falls in:
• Daily Newspaper above 50,000 circulation
• Daily Newspaper at 18,000 – 50,000 circulation
• Daily Newspaper below 18,000 circulation
• Regional non-daily
• Community non-daily
• Magazine
• Special Supplement
• Television
• Radio
• Online– Independent (includes for-profit and not-for-profit organizations that publish and stream video exclusively online on a regular schedule. The primary purpose of the website must be to inform, rather than to sell or promote a product, or advocate a political point of view.)
• Online – Affiliated (The online product for a news organization that also has a print or television/radio product. The material must appear exclusively online.)
SPECIAL AWARDS…………..(open to all Connecticut journalists, judged against each other)
  • Stephen A. Collins Public Service Award: This is a special award open to all media for a story or stories having a significant impact in the public interest. Entries must include supporting documentation such as letters, editorials, evidence of a change in public policy, etc. showing how the entry had an impact.
  • Theodore Driscoll Award for Investigative Reporting: A single story or formal series containing information, obtained through reporter initiative, not readily available to the news media or public.
  • First Amendment Award: A single story, column, or series which increases understanding of the public of the role of the press in a free society.
CATEGORIES …………….. (open to all Connecticut journalists, judged according to media type)
Editorial
  • General Column: A single column (other than sports, opinion or Op-Ed) that does not express a strong opinion or point of view on an issue or an event.
  • Opinion Column: An opinion column clearly states an opinion on an issue or an event. It must appear in any section other than the Op-Ed or Sports pages or portion of a broadcast.
  • Single Editorial: A single editorial represents the opinion of the publication, station, or news website as an organization. It can be written by one or more than one person.
  • Editorial Cartoon: A single cartoon that appears online, in print or on a broadcast.
  • Op-Ed Column: An Op-Ed column must have been published in the Op-Ed section of a paper or news site, or designated portion of the broadcast. It must have a byline or author.
Reporting
  • In-Depth Series: a formal series helping the reader understand situation beyond information provided in a normal news story. Limit 1 series per person.
  • In-Depth Reporting: a single story helping reader understand situation beyond information provided in a normal news story
  • Investigative Series: a formal series containing information obtained through reporter initiative that was not
    readily available to the news media or the general public. Limit 1 per person.
  • Investigative Reporting: a single story containing information obtained through reporter initiative that was
    not readily available to the news media or the general public.
  • Spot News: a single story involving coverage of a spot news event written under an immediate deadline. Non-
    daily and magazine classes are not eligible for this category.
  • Feature: A single story written for some factor other than timeliness.
  • Feature Series: A series written or produced for some factor other than timeliness.
  • General Reporting – Single: A single news story not covered by any other category.
  • General Reporting – Series: A formal series of articles or broadcasts that do not fit into any other category.
  • Business: A single story about a business topic.
  • Arts&Entertainment: A single story dealing with the arts.
Sports
  • Sports Column: A column that appears in the sports pages or portion of a broadcast.
  • Sports Feature: A sports story written for some factor other than timeliness
  • Sports News: A single sports story.
Photography
  • News Photo
  • Feature Photo
  • Sports Photo
  • Photo Layout: the photo layout category is not a design category. It is for photos only; not their arrangement. It generally should be for the work of one photographer.
Layout
  • Headline: All three headlines submitted for each headline entry must be the work of a single individual but not necessarily from the same publication. Entries involving the work of more than one person will be declared ineligible.
  • Page 1 Layout: A category for the person who arranged the text and the illustrations, not for the writers and photographers of the materials on the page. Only the layout person should be listed.
  • Non-Page 1 Layout: A category for the person who arranged the text and the illustrations, not for the writers and photographers of the materials on the page. Only the layout person should be listed.
Graphics
  • Informational Graphic – Design: a static graphic that appears in print, online or in a broadcast to augment reporting on a topic. Entrant should be person who designed the graphic.
Multimedia
  • Video Storytelling: Excellent use video medium to either tell a story alone, or bolster written reporting.
  • Interactive Graphic – Reporting: Use of free Internet tools to present data or reporting in an interactive format
  • Interactive Graphic –Design: Creation of a functional interactive graphic using tools such as Flash or HTML.
  • Audio Storytelling: Excellent use of digital audio production for online storytelling, including podcasts, audio
    interviews.

AP Seeks Stringers For Election Coverage

The Associated Press is looking for stringers to call in results from Connecticut towns and cities for the April 24 presidential primary, the Aug. 14 primary and on Election Day, Nov. 6.

For more information, contact stringer coordinator Kate Farrish at katefarrish@live.com or 860-871-8089.

Copyright 2010-2017. Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists, P.O. Box 5071, Woodbridge CT 06525