Two chapters have been awarded funds for their awesome programs thanks to SPJ Chapter Grants. We ended this years program on a great note by dishing out the cash to SPJ South Florida and the Fort Worth chapter for some great ideas.

According to their grant application, “SPJ South Florida and the Miami chapter of NAHJ are following the lead of their national organizations- who are joining forces for EIJ this summer in Anaheim – and we’re sponsoring our own mini-conference on Saturday, July 13, at the Mayfair Hotel in Coconut Grove.” For more information on the event, visit their website.

The Forth Worth chapter plans to host an in-depth program about investigative journalism at the request of many of their members. They also hope to help out the community and had this to say: “By providing in depth training, the community will benefit as journalists apply theskills learned to report on the misuses and abuses as well as the beneficial events occurring in ourarea as well as beyond it for those reporters who take these skills with them into other areas.”

Either way, both chapters are set to provide quality programming with some extra in their wallets. Look for information about the next round of Chapter Grants in the future and congrats to these two great chapters!

The Chapter Grant Committee decided to not award any grants this month, rolling over the $500 cold, hard cash to next month where we’ll be giving away multiple grants for amazing chapter programs.

I’m sure you all know the drill already. The deadline is May 1 and you don’t want to miss out, so apply soon!

Congratulations to two amazing chapters! They’ve both hit the jackpot with unique and creative programming, which landed them SPJ Chapter Grants that padded their wallets with $500 each.

The Minnesota Pro chapter is hosting a Journalism Film Festival, showing some of the best journo flicks to those working in the business and the general community. They hope to “discuss journalism with the broader public and raise Minnesota SPJ’s profile in the community.” Chapter members, fellow journalists and the community will likely come together during receptions at the opening and closing of the festival, engaging in conversation about journalism and media.

A chapter-in-the-works  at Florida Atlantic University will receive $500 for their upcoming program, JournoSwitch, where FAU students will switch jobs and cover the playing of the 1950′s retro game, Scoop.

“Prominent pro journalists and Frank LoMonte, the executive director of the Student Press Law Center, play an old-school game while discussing the future of journalism and media law. We’ll raffle off spots in the game for journalism students.”

Sign us up!

Congrats to both chapters on great programming and FREE cash. Don’t worry, your chapter can receive some money, too. Applications are available for April and May, so hurry and apply today!

Congratulations to the two chapters selected to receive Chapter Grants for the month of January! They submitted stellar programming ideas and were rewarded accordingly, each receiving $250 to fund their upcoming event.

Don’t forget, your chapter can get cold, hard cash, too – just by applying. February applications aren’t due until Feb. 6, so apply now!

The University of Arizona was awarded a grant for their upcoming program, the Future of Investigative Reporting – With a Pulitzer Prize Winner, which features Ryan Gabrielson, a Pulitzer Prize winner for Local Reporting in 2009. Gabrielson and another University of Arizona Journalism School alumnus reported on Arizona’s controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio. According to Susan Knight, who applied for the grant on behalf of the chapter:

Their reporting on the sheriff’s illegal-immigration operation showed that other crimes, such as sexual assaults, were going un-pursued. In addition to winning the Pulitzer, the package of stories titled “Reasonable Doubt” won the George Polk Award for justice reporting, the Best of the West first place award for investigative reporting and the Arizona Press Club’s Don Belles award.

The chapter will invite Gabrielson to host a workshop on investigative reporting, give a public lecture and speak to several reporting classes about doing investigate journalism and new economic models in the news industry.

Alabama Pro, the second chapter awarded a grant for the month of January, “makes no bones about the fact that we are stealing this idea from the Minnesota chapter.” They plan to host their program, Freelance Love, in response to massive layoffs in their area, an effort to help people over the difficult hump. In their grant application, the chapter notes:

Alabama just suffered massive layoffs in the newspaper industry and there are more freelancers looking for work than ever. The Birmingham News, Huntsville Times and Mobile Press-Register laid off hundreds of people last summer, so the media industry here is in a state of shock.

The program aims to connect freelancers with potential employers and will be held at DISCO, a program in an “underserved neighborhood that helps students write, and keeps them off the streets.”

Congratulations to both chapters!

Congratulations to the two chapters receiving Chapter Grants for the month of December!

The campus SPJ chapter at Truman State University will be taking an in-depth look at crime reporting during their upcoming program “Inside look: Crime and emergency response reporting.” The chapter was awarded a $250 grant to partner with area emergency responders, including the University police, local police department and Sheriff’s office to “host a panel and a mock press conference to help the community better understand what happens during a criminal investigation as well as an emergency response situation.

The Virginia Pro chapter also received $250 for their program celebrating George Mason’s birthday. The program, which included a public reading of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and a lecture by Ashley Messenger, associate general counsel of National Public Radio, took place on Dec. 16.

Left to right, Julie Asher, Paul Fletcher, Caroline Cardwell and Brian Eckert read during a wreath-laying ceremony at the George Mason Memorial Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011.

Does your chapter want free money? There are still several opportunities to apply for one of SPJ’s Chapter Grants, where your chapter could receive up to $500 for unique and creative programming ideas. The next deadline is Jan. 9 so apply today!

Congratulations to SPJ DePaul for receiving $500 from a November Chapter Grant to help fund their upcoming program, Twitter for Journalists with Mark S. Luckie. The manager of journalism at Twitter, Luckie will visit the campus in late January to do multiple sessions depending on experience levels.

Here’s what SPJ DePaul had to say about the program:

A Knight study released in late 2011 showed that only one in four high school journalism students get any online media training before starting college. Even fewer know Twitter. This training would help our younger members get the fundamentals they need and learn how to use the medium in a professional, ethical manner.

The advanced training would help our more experienced student members learn how to embed Twitter into not only their reporting but also how to use Twitter’s API (application programming interface) to build social media tools into their blogs and websites.

Sounds like a great program! Congratulations again!

And for the rest of you chapter leaders out there – don’t forget your chapter can also receive $500 to fund a unique, creative program. The next Chapter Grant deadline is Dec. 5, so hurry and apply today!

Congratulations to the Ithaca College chapter and the Maryland Pro chapter for receiving October’s Chapter Grants, each for $250.

Ithaca College is welcoming David Cay Johnston, a career investigative reporter with the likes of the San Jose Mercury, Detroit Free Press and the LA Times, to name a few. Johnston is also the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for work at The New York Times, an IRE Medal and the George Polk Award. He’ll meet with two classes at the college, speaking with them about investigative reporting and his experience as Investigative Reporters and Editors president. Johnston will also be present at a dinner with Ithaca chapter members before he gives a keynote presentation in the evening on Nov. 13.

The Maryland Pro chapter is hosting “The Benefits of a Diverse Newsroom” on Nov. 9. The workshop will bring the chapter together with two surrounding universities - Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore. David Burns of the Maryland Pro chapter says the program will:

challenge all SPJ members to confront journalism’s dreadful past with regard to diversity in the workplace and freely discuss our industry’s present and future.

Congratulations to both chapters and we look forward to seeing a recap in pictures or video!

More than 40 attendees packed the TVC McCorkle Center at the University of New Mexico on Sept. 26 for an eight person panel discussion on covering science.

Here’s a portion of the recap posted to the chapter’s blog:

There were a lot of thought-provoking questions for our 8 panelists and great responses from them. Perhaps the finest journalist idea came from Albuquerque Journal science reporter John Fleck who suggested what is needed is a “slow journalism” movement (ala the slow food movement). Take a step back, he said, and remember it took years for a scientific breakthrough, six months more for the research paper to be peer reviewed and published. Don’t be in a rush to publish a news story about the research paper because the story is more likely to be wrong, Fleck suggested.  “Breaking news” in science is different from other types of breaking news. Scientists seemed to agree with him on the point.

Attendees received tip sheets full of information about accurate reporting on science issues along with some great refreshments. The program was so popular that the chapter plans to hold another similar event in a different city.

This program was funded in part by SPJ’s Chapter Grants. Your chapter can apply for one of eight remaining cycles to receive a programming grant of up to $500. But hurry, because the next deadline is Oct. 10.

Congratulations to the Connecticut Pro chapter for receiving a chapter grant this month! Here’s the chapter’s recap of the events:

Connecticut SPJ hosted a presentation by Daniel Russell, a research executive with Google, on strategies for using Google faster, more efficiently and more comprehensively. The event took place Sept. 10, 2012.

His one-and-a-half-hour presentation was free for everyone, with space provided by Southern Connecticut State University and its student SPJ chapter.

It drew approximately 25 attendees: a mix of college journalism students (mostly SCSU and Quinnipiac University), faculty and working professionals.

Russell didn’t provide handouts or worksheets for his session, but instead referred attendees to information from a reasonably similar session he presented at the 2012 conference of Investigative Reporters and Editors in Boston.

Congratulations on a successful program, Connecticut!

Congratulations to the Rio Grande and University of Miami SPJ chapters! Check out the programs listed below that they’ll be hosting with the help of funds from a SPJ Chapter Grant. If you’re interested in applying on behalf of your chapter, the next cycle deadline is September 5. Apply online today!

Rio Grande Chapter

The Rio Grande Chapter of SPJ was awarded a chapter grant to hold the program “Simplifying Science” in September.

Bringing together scientists, reporters and the public, the event will discuss better ways of communicating complex, important scientific research. It will feature a panel of four scientists and four experienced science writers, each offing tips about how scientists can communicate more effectively with the media and vice versa.

Because New Mexico is home to two national laboratories, Intel and three top research universities, the chapter realized the complexities that some reporters face when covering entrepreneurs developing cutting edge robotics, renewable energy systems, software and much more.

The chapter plans to webcast the event for members who can’t attend and will post tips and video to their website as well.

University of Miami Chapter

An August Chapter Grant was also awarded to the University of Miami SPJ chapter for their program, “Miami Representative on the National Stage.”

The chapter will invite Pia Malbran, current president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists South Florida Chapter, to speak on television production. Her vast experience in investigative broadcasting, both on the local Miami scene as well as national outlets, will provide students and faculty with great tips of the trade and solid advice.