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National SPJ Election Time

All members of the Society of Professional Journalists can vote in the election for national candidates.

Voting will take place electronically during the Excellence in Journalism 2013 conference, Aug. 24-26. Additional instructions will arrive via email, so make sure that information is up to date!

The list of candidates can be viewed here.

The candidates will be available in person at the National Convention in California. If you can’t attend, you can also watch videos of their speeches online at the www.SPJ.org website.

Courant Columnist Tom Condon Wins National Press Award

CBA’s DeCesare appointed to co-chair of legislative FOI committee

The Connecticut Broadcasters Association released the following regarding the legislative-mandated task force aimed at public records legislation:

Connecticut Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. has appointed longtime broadcaster Don DeCesare to be a Co-Chair of a new 17 member Task Force on public information and privacy, the body mandated by the 2013 Legislature’s public records legislation. DeCesare of Norwalk, Conn. is a Past-President of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association and one of two members of that organization to be named to the Task Force. He will serve as Co-Chair with State Rep. Angel Arce of Hartford, who was appointed to that position by the Connecticut Speaker of the House of Representatives, Brendan J. Sharkey.

DeCesare is President and General Manager of WLIS-AM in Old Saybrook, Conn. and WMRD-AM in Middletown, Conn. A journalist for more than four decades, he spent 20 years at CBS Broadcasting in New York and globally. At CBS, DeCesare went from editing radio broadcasts to overseeing television news coverage and senior management. He served as Chair of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association from 2005 to 2007. During that time, the Association led the successful effort to adopt a strong Shield Law for Connecticut. A founder and past Treasurer for CT-N, DeCesare also is a member of the Media Center Advisory Board at Middlesex Community College. He has contributed opinion pieces to a variety of publications.

The other member of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association to be appointed to the task force is Klarn DePalma, the organization’s current Chair. DePalma is Vice President and General Manager of WFSB-TV 3 Hartford, Conn. and WSHM-TV 3 Springfield, Mass. He also oversees the National Sales team for the Local Media Group of the stations’ parent company, Meredith Corporation. The Cheshire, CT resident joined WFSB as a Sales Account Executive in 1993 and became the station’s Local Sales Manager in 1998. In 2002, he rose to Director of Sales of both WFSB and WSHM and, in 2005, was promoted to Vice President and General Manager for both stations. DePalma serves on the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Science Center and the Channel 3 Kids Camp, and is a faculty member at Howard University.

DeCesare and DePalma were two of four media members appointed to the task force by the Connecticut Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (CTSPJ). They are joined by journalists Brian Koonz, Metro Editor for the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, and Jodie Mozdzer Gil, President of the Connecticut SPJ Board and Assistant Professor of Multimedia Journalism at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT.

The Task Force totals 17 members. Other members include a representative from the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information (CCFOI) and the Executive Director for the FOI Commission, as well as legislators, attorneys, and representatives of law enforcement. The legislation creating the Task Force calls for it to produce a report, including recommendations, to the Legislature by January 1, 2014.

Since its establishment in 1955, the Connecticut Broadcasters Association has been a respected industry leader in legal, governmental, education and community issues on both the State and National levels. Members include broadcast TV stations, radio stations, vendors and companies with a business interest in broadcasting, educational facilities, and individuals with involvement in the broadcasting industry. For more information about the association, visit www.ctba.org or call (860) 305-2038.

Elect your new National SPJ members

Delegates at the 2011 national convention approved a bylaws change that transforms the way SPJ elects members of its national board. In the past, candidates were selected by chapter delegates. Now, elections are inclusive of all members — one member, one vote.

To find out more about the candidates, to vote and for more information, visit: https://www.spj.org/elections.asp

Former state Rep. Winkler appointed to Freedom of Information Commission

Former state Rep. Lenny T. Winkler has been appointed to the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and confirmed by the state Senate.

Winkler, who represented the 41st District, was sworn in as a commissioner on May 22. Her term runs until June 30, 2016. She serves with eight other commissioners…

Read more at theday.com.

CT job listing: Visiting Journalist at Manchester High School

Visiting Journalist at Manchester High School

Overview

Manchester High School is seeking a visiting journalist to help shape all elements of MHSRedline (our school website), its companion print newspaper (called The Harbinger) and our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Vine accounts, while drawing on other resources (including our yearbook, photography and broadcast journalism classes) as we create the best high school communications operation in the country.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

You would work with our students, helping them

• understand the role of journalism/journalists in the 21^st century.
• write timely, accurate and compelling news and feature stories
• shoot photographs and video that are revealing and entertaining
• learn the importance of ‘digital first’ as we share content in real time through social media
• create strategies to build our audience across all platforms
• edit and design our newspaper
• make discoveries that keep us on the cutting edge

Time commitment

This is a grant-funded position that lasts from August 2013 to June 2014. You would be expected to assist our journalism teacher during two classes each week from Aug. 29 (our first full day of school) through late January, and then once a week from February through June.  (The class meets from 12:35-2:05 p.m. every other day, so visits typically would be either M/W or T/Th depending on our rotating schedule cycle.) You would be expected to attend occasional school events such as the Homecoming Parade, Miss MHS Pageant, perhaps a prom. You would also be expected to be available on an at-least-checking-email basis nights and weekends, as we are an 18/7 operation.

Experience & qualifications

Applicants should:

Have journalism experience, both print and digital

Be savvy with social media

Be familiar with WordPress and Camayak

Applicants must:

Love working with high school students

Have high standards and integrity

Compensation

$10,000

Application instructions

Please send resume and a cover letter to mgeary@manchesterct.gov

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

CTSPJ appoints four journalists to legislature’s task force

June 18, 2013 — The Connecticut Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists voted to appoint four journalists to the Connecticut task force on public information and privacy, created by the state legislature as part of the Newtown public records legislation this month.

The four CTSPJ appointees are:

• Don DeCesare, President and General Manager of WLIS-AM in Old Saybrook and WMRD-AM in Middletown. DeCesare is past chairman of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association. DeCesare is a 40-year broadcast veteran, and spent several years at CBS in New York City, where he went from editing radio broadcasts to overseeing television news coverage. He is a past treasurer for CT-N, and is a member of the Media Center Advisory Board at Middlesex Community College. DeCesare helped push for a Connecticut Shield Law.
• Klarn DePalma , Vice President and General Manager for WFSB-TV 3 Hartford and WSHM-TV 3 Springfield. DePlama has spent the last 20 years at WFSB, starting as an entry-level account executive in 1993. He was named Vice President and General Manager in 2005. DePalma is the chair of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association.  He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Connecticut Science Center and Channel 3 Kids’ Camp.
• Brian Koonz, Metro Editor for the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, a Hearst Connecticut newspaper. Koonz has spent the last 26 years in daily journalism in Connecticut. In addition to his role at the Connecticut Post, he has also worked as a sports reporter and columnist at The News-Times in Danbury, and has reported for the Register Citizen in Torrington, The Day of New London, The New Britain Herald and the Republican-American in Waterbury. Koonz, a Newtown resident, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing for his coverage of the Newtown school shooting.
• Jodie Mozdzer Gil, president of the Connecticut SPJ board and assistant professor of multimedia journalism at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. Mozdzer Gil is also a freelance reporter for her former employer, the Valley Independent Sentinel, as well as other online news sites, including the Connecticut Health Investigative Team. Mozdzer Gil is a member of the national SPJ Digital Media Committee. Prior to her time writing for the Valley Independent Sentinel, she previously reported for the Hartford Courant and the Republican-American of Waterbury.

The appointees represent print, radio, television and online media.

“Our board is pleased to find four journalists who are enthusiastic to serve on this committee and who represent CTSPJ’s views — that transparency and public access to records is paramount in a free and open society,” said Cindy Simoneau, immediate past president for CTSPJ.

The task force includes 13 other members, including a representative from the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information and the executive director for the FOI Commission.

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Brendan Sharkey, and president pro tempore of the Senate, Donald Williams, will select two chairpersons for the committee.

The task force is asked to meet between July 1, 2013 and Jan. 1, 2014, at which point a report with recommendations will be sent to the Connecticut General Assembly.

Sherman London receives Helen M. Loy Award

The Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists gave its FOI award to Sherman D. London at the annual Excellence in Journalism Awards Dinner May 23, 2013.

Sherman D. London, a past CTSPJ president and member of the Connecticut Journalism Hall of Fame, has been a member of the Freedom of Information Commission since 1996, having been appointed by Gov. John Rowland.

The award, named after the late Helen M. Loy, honors a person who has fought for freedom of information in Connecticut.

A graduate of Rider College in New Jersey, London came to the commission after a distinguished journalism career, during which he reported on local politics and the Connecticut General Assembly. During the last 20 years of his journalism career, London was the editor of both the Republican and the American newspapers in Waterbury.

Since his appointment, London has become known as a “work horse.” Not only does he rarely miss a commission meeting, but he also presides as hearing officer over contested cases on a weekly basis. He has quickly mastered the law and the procedures under which the commission operates, and is studious in preparation. Even simple typographical errors rarely get by him.

At 17 years, London is the commission’s longest serving member. His last term on the commission ends this year.
London’s two careers, first as a reporter and editor and then as a public servant, together demonstrate a decades-long commitment to the values of open government so important to SPJ.

The late Helen M. Loy was a former chairwoman of the Freedom of Information Commission, and one of the trio of original members appointed by then-Gov. Ella T. Grasso. Loy served as a commissioner from 1975-1985 when she died. She worked in various local and state government positions throughout her career.

According to former FOI Executive Director Mitchell Pearlman, “It was said of Helen Loy that she never saw a public record that she thought ought to be kept secret, and, to a large extent, this was true. She believed passionately that democracy requires the greatest amount of public disclosure possible.”

Upon her passing, the Connecticut Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists named its annual Freedom of Information award in her honor. The award honors any member of the public or officials who use the state’s Freedom of Information laws to advance open government.

New London Day: Secrecy wins, but discussion continues

“Any erosion of the public’s right to know, any prohibition on access to evidence that can independently assess the fairness and thoroughness of criminal investigations, is reason for concern,” the New London Day wrote in a June 6 editorial. “We therefore object to the legislature’s decision to approve a blanket prohibition on the release of and access to photos of homicide victims. It is also objectionable that the legislation results from discussions that took place in secret and bypassed the normal committee and public hearing process. It is thick irony that elected leaders, including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, used such backroom dealing to corrode Connecticut’s Freedom of Information law.”

Please click here to read the full editorial.

CTSPJ board to meet

The CTSPJ Board of Directors will meet on June 8, 2013 in East Hartford, Conn.

The meeting is the time when CTSPJ starts planning programs for the upcoming year, discusses upcoming SPJ conferences and the board-run contest.

Click here to download a copy of the agenda.

If you have any suggestions for programming or items you wish the board to discuss, please contact CTSPJ President Jodie Mozdzer Gil at jmozdzer@ctspj.org by Friday, June 7.