A history of the SPJ / EIJ sponsorship conflicts

April 21, 2020 Robert Elder 0

A few chapter leaders asked for a history of the friction over sponsors accepted by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and its partners at the Excellence in Journalism (EIJ) conference, so here goes: I was asked to be on a sponsorship policy task force was formed, in part, to […]

Journalists should not take funding from sources that attack them

April 21, 2020 admin 0

The Chicago Headline Club has long asked the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) to reject money from questionable sources—not along political lines, but because, as a professional organization, SPJ should not be taking money from sources that have attacked journalism and journalists.  This is a central issue, tied to our […]

The 2020 Lisagor Awards banquet has been cancelled

March 18, 2020 Robert Elder 0

Dear Headline Club members and Chicagoland journalists: Due to concerns over the coronavirus and COVID-19, we are cancelling the Lisagor Awards banquet this year, which was scheduled for May 15. We will still announce the winners and we’re working on a virtual event to honor our Lifetime Achievement Award-winners and […]

New board members of the Chicago Headline Club

May 22, 2019 admin 0

Please help us welcome the new board, which was just voted in at the Lisagor Awards this month. The new officers will begin their term in July. Officers Robert K. Elder, Blockchain News, President Alex Hernandez, President-elect and VP of membership Maria Zamudio, WBEZ, VP of FOIA Mike Ewing, WGN-TV, […]

SPJ ignores calls for transparency

December 11, 2018 admin 0

Dear members, The Society of Professional Journalists has disappointed us. Earlier this year, we asked SPJ to reject dollars from entities whose actions are at odds with SPJ’s journalistic mission and to use the SPJ Code of Ethics as a guide to vet donations. On Dec. 1, SPJ ignored that […]

Tell SPJ to be more ethical, transparent

November 13, 2018 Alejandra Cancino 0

Dear members, Please tell SPJ to be more ethical and transparent. On Nov. 8, SPJ asked members to take a survey about the kinds of sponsorships it would accept for its Excellence in Journalism conference. The survey questions lack the background needed for members to understand what’s at stake. Let […]

SPJ forms task force to address concerns about EIJ sponsors

October 18, 2018 admin 0

Dear Headline Club members, We flew to Baltimore last month, armed with your responses to our letter raising concerns about SPJ’s acceptance of funds from the Koch Institute for the 2018 Excellence in Journalism conference — a donation we think goes against the SPJ Code of Ethics because it is […]

A letter to our members

August 24, 2018 Alejandra Cancino 0

To our members, We are writing to share our concerns about some of the sponsors at the Excellence in Journalism Conference in September. We, the Chicago Headline Club board, believe accepting donations from groups trying to advance a political agenda is a breach of the SPJ Code of Ethics, which […]