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Yahoo!Take that, News-Press: Nine journalists who quit the paper are being honored with an Ethics in Journalism Award.
SPJ honors Santa Barbara journalists with Ethics Awards
INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists is presenting an Ethics in Journalism Award to nine California journalists who resigned rather than accept and enforce a series of top-management decisions at the Santa Barbara News-Press that they believed violated provisions of the SPJ Code of Ethics.
When they left the News-Press in July, all nine journalists, including five top editors and a veteran columnist, cited improper ownership and management meddling in the editorial content of the privately owned newspaper. They pointed specifically to sections of the SPJ Code of Ethics that call upon journalists to “distinguish between advocacy and news reporting” and to be “accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other.”
SPJ traditionally steers clear of management-employee disputes, and understands the prerogatives that come with newspaper ownership. It does not take a position either way on formal workplace grievances or union activity resulting from internal disputes.
Nevertheless, the Society has concluded that the tumultuous events that led to collective resignations at the Santa Barbara News-Press were precipitated by breaches in the newspaper’s foremost ethical obligation – to its readers – and is proud to support those who have put ethical convictions above professional security.
Selected for the national journalism organization’s highest ethics award are:
· Jerry Roberts, former executive editor of the Santa Barbara News-Press.
· George Foulsham, former managing editor.
· Don Murphy, former deputy managing editor.
· Gerry Spratt, former sports editor.
· Michael Todd, former business editor.
· Jane Hulse, former city editor.
· Colin Powers, former presentation editor.
· Former columnist Barney Brantingham, a fixture at the newspaper for 46 years.
· Scott Hadly, former reporter.
The Ethics in Journalism Award honors reporters, editors or news organizations that distinguish themselves by performing in an outstanding ethical manner as defined by the SPJ Code of Ethics. News organizations around the world have long regarded the Society’s Code of Ethics as the defining standard of ethical conduct among professional journalists.
“We pay tribute to the courage and principled sacrifice of these nine journalists, who opted to risk their livelihoods rather than remain in a position where they felt their journalistic ethics and professional credibility were being violated,” said David Carlson, president of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Carlson said the Society decided to present the awards after initiating a comprehensive inquiry into the issue. The investigating team, which included several national board and committee members, solicited the views of many of the honorees as well as News-Press owner and Co-Publisher Wendy McCaw before deciding to recognize the nine journalists.
Roberts will accept the award on behalf of the nine Santa Barbara journalists on Saturday, Aug. 26, during the President’s Installation Banquet at the 2006 SPJ Convention and National Journalism Conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive.
Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.
Coincidence? Right after News-Press journalists petitioned the feds Thursday to hold an election on unionization of the newsroom, management staged a major shakeup, according to sources. Many of the same people who signed cards asking for an election found that their beats had been switched, in some cases far distant from their specialties and experience.
Double-clicking on any word or phrase in this story will open a reference window with definitions and links to other reference material.
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Wow. Very, very cool.
Teresa
August 11, 2006 at 5:46 p.m.
Courage comes in many forms, and each of us has our own bar of bravery to crawl, claw or stumble over. One of hardest choices of life (and they make movies about this dilemma) is to be faced with the horrifying alternative of ethics vs. livelihood--it is an oppression that workers in the United States in 2006 should not have to face. SPJ has now spotlighted our NP "Dearly Departed" for their courageous actions and they now stand as brave role models for journalists throughout the world. In some horrific way we are getting some lemonade out of a very sour local lemon!
Monty
August 12, 2006 at 10:47 a.m.
McCaw spuriously slammed Jerry Roberts for "resisting more local news."
On Monday, August 14, she fired the 5 community columnists Roberts hired (Santa Ynez Valley columnist William Etling, Santa Maria columnist Helen Ann Thomas, Carpinteria Columnist Amy Orozco, Montecito columnist Stephen Murdoch, Goleta columnist Rochelle Rose.)
Maybe it was Murdoch's comparison of McCaw to Leona Helmsley. Altogther, they had written over 1,000 local articles.
average joe
August 15, 2006 at 7:25 p.m.
Another salvo today, Aug. 15th.
Teamsters file grievances:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/...
Huff & Puff, the spin flak, denies it all, and this time obviously wrote up their excuses instead of repeating the paranoid rant of the Editorialist like last time.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site...
This most detailed part in the N-P explanation obviously is about Camie Cohee charged with refusing to work when she really just did not want to insert the political allegations that Travisty wanted in the never-published article. The more these Huff missives rant about stuff, naturally the more suspect they are for truthiness.
First District Streetfighter
August 15, 2006 at 9:39 p.m.
Check out Ed I. Torial and the Travisties' hit song about the NP situation:
http://www.esnips.com/web/guildedtruthsO...
I hear more songs are to come.
McCaw and Travis should refill the columnist ranks with more hypocritical right wing bigots like Dr. Laura. Then we can look forward to more letters to the "editor" proclaiming their enjoyment of the woman's absolutely repugnancy. How can anybody enjoy the bile double speak that woman spews onto a broadcast microphone (and now the Newspress)? Who are you people? What is wrong with you? Open your ears! Think!
Dr. Laura fans (none will read this here, but it makes me feel better): First, for fun, Google "Dr. Laura" nude. She is her kid's slutty mom, I guess. Now, go do the right thing!
Ok, now, tell me why I should care to read what a bigot has to think? Why should I care what a woman who proclaims an entire group of people as having a "biological error" thinks about sailing her big dumb boat? If Hitler wrote about gardening for fun, would I want to read it? (She's not in the same universe of bad as Hitler, I know, I know. I'm just making a point.)
Jimmy
August 16, 2006 at 10:21 a.m.
Facts und figgers which may help us all to put things NP into better perspective ---
Wendy's buddies include:
The Nipper - who left a less wealthy wife in Fres-berg with three young children so he could keep company with a filthy-rich divorcee (get ready for the Vanity Fair expose coming to a newsstand near you);
The Robb-meister - who was caught on videotape for all the world to see in copulo flagrante with a minor (and 1-2 other intimes), sentenced to (gasp!) a punishment of 20 hours community service, and now serves as the poster boy-model citizen for a rich group of Montecitan NIMBY's who don't care if their pool boys and gardeners have to commute from Oxnard calling themselves the "Homeowners Defense Fund" (give me a break);
the Gary groupie-mon - retired "Earle" from some form of land speculation gig to live the good Goleta life on the most recently developed farm land called "Sun Gate Ranch" and to suck up to the real richies at the Homeowners Defense Fund, the big G began his public career as a show-all center fold for Playgirl in 1974 -- just love the mustache, "Gare";
the "Dr." War-wa -- mistress of judgmental psycho-babble whose chief claim to fame are the 12 "Ballanced" full frontal nudity snapshots of her in her 20's (while still married) now spread all over the internet by her now geriatric former boyfriend who snapped 'em. Her wide-open approach to the camera has apparently just dwindled to a wide contempt for the average folk who can't afford to own 3 sailboats at one time;
And, of course, the Travis-ty, whose late-night, early morning, alcohol-fueled searches for the meaning of life on the streets of eastern SB were inconveniently interrupted by the local constabulary -- what, oh what is he doing for company now?
How blessed is Mrs. McC. to have friends like these, upstanding pillars of the community, all...
A. Nonny Mouse
August 16, 2006 at 11:19 a.m.
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