What to do when someone ‘borrows’ your copy

Duane Lester at the All American Blogger tells a story on how to handle getting mugged by another publication.

Lester wrote an article for his blog that appeared, virtually verbatim, in a local newspaper in Missouri. Instead of folding, he fought back and asserted his copyright. He presented a bill for the story to the paper and walked out with the $500 check he was seeking.

Here is his story. Take notes if you blog or free lance. Bookmark this one.

 

Tickets available for the 2012 George Mason Ceremony and Celebration

The Society of Professional Journalists
Virginia Pro Chapter

invites you and your guests to

The George Mason Award Ceremony & Celebration

TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2012
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Alice Haynes Room, Tyler Haynes Commons

The University of Richmond, Richmond, Va.

Honoring the recipient of the 2012 George Mason Award
for his or her outstanding contributions to Virginia journalism
and

Presenting the SPJ, SDX Educational Foundation’s 41th College Scholarships to two deserving students
and

Honoring SPJ members with 20 or more years of service to the Virginia Pro Chapter

and

Electing our 2012-20123 Officers, and Board of Directors and SPJ, SDX Educational Foundation Trustees

and

Hosting a silent auction to benefit the SPJ, SDX Educational Foundation

Tickets are available now through June 11 online at: http://georgemason2012.eventbrite.com/

SPJ national president speaks at Virginia Pro chapter

By Kristine Hadeed

Broadcast Journalism Senior, Virginia Commonwealth University

April 14, 2012

Brian Eckert, Region 2 director of the Society of Professional Journalists, estimated it was the first visit of its kind in over 30 years.

National SPJ president John Ensslin made an appearance as guest speaker at Saturday’s Virginia Pro Chapter meeting, held on the University of Richmond’s campus.

Before Saturday night, Eckert says the last president to visit the Virginia Pro Chapter was Alf Goodykoontz, a former executive editor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, who headed SPJ’s national organization from 1977-1978.

Ensslin made the trip to Virginia from his home in New Jersey at the invitation of chapter president Paul Fletcher. The national president’s talk focused on ethics, but also touched on ideas to expand SPJ’s membership internationally.

Ensslin commented on the influence SPJ’s Code of Ethics has on practices of journalism in the United States. “It is not law;” he said, “and it has much more power as a result.”  

The system of peer-enforced accountability that SPJ’s ethics code promotes is one that Ensslin said he would like to see more journalists adopt “beyond the borders of this country.”

“We are an organization that values diversity, and I would like to see us grow in that direction,” he said.

However, he also noted concerns about advocating SPJ’s ethical doctrines in countries that do not enjoy as extensive rights to freedom of speech as those offered in the U.S.

“Part of SPJ’s code says that journalists should act independently, but not all journalists have that independence,” Ensslin said, citing Iran as an example of a country where one must carry a license in order to practice journalism. He welcomed thoughts and opinions on that topic as he and other members of SPJ’s national board develop plans to expand the organization’s membership, both domestically and abroad.

Following Ensslin’s talk, Virginia Pro Chapter members watched a screening of the award-winning documentary, “Page One: Inside the New York Times.” The film follows journalists working at the iconic paper’s Media Desk and sheds light on how new technologies have affected practices and perceptions of  one of journalism’s oldest and most influential institutions.

Ensslin said the opening scene of “Page One,” which shows the closing of the Rocky Mountain newspaper, hits close to home for him.

“That was my newspaper, and my editor up on the screen,” he said. “I remember that day; it stabs me right here every time I see it.”  Ensslin is currently a reporter covering local government for The Record, a newspaper in  Bergen, N.J.

For young journalists looking to become viable in an evolving media landscape, Ensslin advised that the training, professional support and camaraderie gained by joining SPJ’s network gives students and professionals alike an advantage in their careers.

“When a newspaper editor gets an application from someone who’s joined SPJ […], that signals that this is a person who’s serious about journalism,” said Ensslin. “If you’re not going to invest in yourself, who will?”

[Photo by Pat Kane][p>

Local student wins national SPJ essay contest

A big congratulations is due to Daniel Yoo, a student at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School in Richmond, for winning the 2012 SPJ High School Essay Contest. Our chapter chose Yoo as the top essayist in our area, and the national judges seemed to agree.

From our national office:

The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce three scholarship winners in the 2012 High School Essay Contest. Nearly 1,000 public, private and home-schooled students in grades 9-12 submitted essays on the topic “Why is it important that we have news media that are independent of the government?”
Professional and student SPJ chapters served as judges for the local round of the contest. First-place local recipients advanced to the national round of judging, which took place in April. The national judges were from SPJ’s chapter at Ithaca College.

2012 High School Essay Contest Award Winners

First Place, $1,000 Scholarship Winner:
Hwasung (Daniel) Yoo of the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies in Richmond, Va.

Second Place, $500 Scholarship Winner:
Niisackey Mills of South Plainfield High School in South Plainfield, N.J.

Third Place, $300 Scholarship Winner:
Dustin Chandler of East Burke High School in Connelly Springs, N.C.

Chapter social with Kevin Clay of GayRVA May 7

Join fellow chapter members of the Society of Professional Journalists, Virginia Pro chapter, next Monday, May 7, when we meet at Capital Ale House in downtown Richmond for Burger Night and a program with an online journalist discussing how he started a Webmagazine serving Central Virginia’s GLBTQ audience.

Kevin Clay of GayRVA.com will be our speaker, sharing the story of his website and the challenges he has encountered in the past three years.

We’ll gather in the downstairs Game Room around 6:00 p.m. for a meal, then hear from Kevin about 7:00 p.m. Capital Ale House features Burger Night on Mondays (half-pound Angus burgers for $2);  the full menu is also available. The restaurant is located at 623 East Main Street; parking is available on the street and in a deck around the corner at 6th and Cary streets.

Please make plans to join us – and please bring a friend, a colleague or your significant other!

Congrats to VCU, fellow Region 2 Mark of Excellence winners!

Congrats to Dan Nacu, a cartoonist from Virginia Commonwealth University, and all of the other Mark of Excellence Award winners and finalists from Region 2!

General Column Writing, Four-Year College/University
National Winner: Christopher Haxel, The University of Maryland

Online Feature Reporting, Four-Year College/University
National Winner: “Salmonella Lurks from Farm to Fork,” by Jeffrey Benzing, Esther French, Judah Ari Gross and Robyne McCullough, University of Maryland

Online In-Depth Reporting, Four-Year College/University
National Winner: “How safe is your food?” by News21 Staff, Arizona State University & University of Maryland

Best Independent Online Student Publication, Four-Year College/University
National Winner: Howard University News Service, Howard University

Sports Column Writing, Four-Year College/University -National Finalist: Jeremy Schneider, The University of Maryland

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper, Four-Year College/University— National Finalist: The GW Hatchet, George Washington University

General News Photography, Four-Year College/University — National Finalist: “National Go Topless Day,” by Michelle Rattinger, George Washington University

Editorial Cartooning, Four-Year College/University— National Finalist: Dan Nacu, Virginia Commonwealth University

Radio Feature— National Finalist: “Students’ 9/11 memories,” by Michael Tomsic and Alletta Cooper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Best All-Around Radio Newscast — National Finalist: “Carolina Connection,” by Alletta Cooper; Michael Tomsic; Rheema Khrais; Lydia Wilson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Television Breaking News Reporting— National Finalist: “Tornado Thrashes Shaw,” by David Hodges, Elon University

Television Sports Reporting— National Finalist: “Cost of Bowls,” by Justin Page, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Television Feature Photography— National Finalist: “Outdoor Movie Theater,” by Justin Page, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

For more information, visit http://www.spj.org/a-moe.asp

Virginians win SPJ National Awards

Three Virginians were among the winners of the 2011 Sigma Delta Chi Awards, the Society of Professional Journalists primary awards for professional journalists.

Corinne Reilly from The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk) won in the feature reporting category (Daily Circulation 100,001+) for “A Chance in Hell,” Link 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5; Dan Casey of The Roanoke Times won for general column writing (Daily Circulation 1-100,000/Non-Daily Publication), PDF download; and Sandy Hausman of WVTF and RadioIQ (Roanoke/Charlottesville public radio) won in Documentaries (101+ Market) for “Fear of Fracking.”

Judges chose the winners from more than 1,700 entries in categories covering print, radio, television and online. The awards recognize outstanding work published or broadcast in 2011.

Dating back to 1932, the awards originally honored six individuals for contributions to journalism. The current program began in 1939, when the Society granted the first Distinguished Service Awards. The honors later became the Sigma Delta Chi Awards.