INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists hired Interim Co-Executive Director Joe Skeel as its permanent Executive Director today. Skeel follows Terry Harper, who passed away on June 2 after a two-year battle with brain cancer.

“After an exhaustive search of 180 candidates, we feel we have the best person to lead SPJ into the future,” SPJ President Kevin Smith said. “Joe distinguished himself from the field with his passion for journalism and his intimate understanding of our organization.”

Skeel joined SPJ in December 2004 as editor of Quill magazine, the Society’s magazine that focuses on journalism industry issues and provides how-to content for members. In 2008, he was named Associate Executive Director of SPJ, overseeing SPJ’s communication and membership efforts.

“Joe is passionate about journalism, and passionate about SPJ,” said Steve Geimann, president of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, SPJ’s non-profit educational arm. “His enthusiasm for the journalism principles we cherish and defend, and his eagerness to help the journalists we serve and support will assure SPJ remains the leading voice for our profession in the years to come.”

When Harper was diagnosed with brain cancer, Skeel helped manage the day-to-day operations of SPJ and the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation while fulfilling his responsibilities as Associate Executive Director.

Smith went on to say that Skeel, who will also serve as executive director of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, won’t just be a good leader for the Society, but he will have a much needed stabilizing effect on its national headquarters after several years of difficulties surrounding Harper’s illness.

“It’s been a pleasure to have Joe serving SPJ over the years and I think the membership will come to quickly realize that he has everything this organization needs to be the executive director, not just in name but in his vision for our organization,” Smith said. “I’m very confident, based on what I knew about Joe and what I learned about him in this interviewing process, that he is the right person to help guide us in the coming years.”

After graduating from Ball State University in 1994 with a B.S. in journalism, Skeel worked in community newspapers around central Indiana for nearly a decade. He held many newsroom positions at the Daily Journal in Franklin and the Republic in Columbus before joining SPJ.

“The current challenges facing journalism and our members are unprecedented,” Skeel said. “My focus will be to ensure that SPJ is providing unparalleled services and support so that our members will be prepared to thrive in whatever climate the future brings.

“At the same time, we will work to cement SPJ as the key voice when it comes to journalism advocacy. As one of the few journalism organizations with the power to lobby Capitol Hill, I want all journalists to know we will continue to fight for their rights.”

The search committee, which was assembled in June, consisted of eight people who collectively have a variety of experiences and backgrounds. The committee included SPJ President Kevin Smith; SPJ President-Elect Hagit Limor; Sigma Delta Chi Foundation President Steve Geimann; SPJ Secretary-Treasurer Darcie Lunsford; former SPJ FOI Committee chairman Ian Marquand; Executive Director of the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press Lucy Dalglish; University of Alabama journalism professor George Daniels; and Ball State University journalism instructor Renee Petrina.

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. For more information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.

INDIANAPOLIS ­– The Society of Professional Journalists is saddened to announce the passing of Executive Director Terry Harper, who died today after a two-year struggle with brain cancer.

Harper, who served from February 2002 through May 2009, took the helm of SPJ after a series of short-term executive directors. He helped restore stability to its headquarters operations and pushed the organization to enhance professional development training programs at the local level and train in partnership with other journalism groups.

During his dual tenure as executive director of SPJ and its non-profit educational arm, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, Harper marshaled the Foundation¹s financial support for a wide range of journalism, First Amendment and diversity efforts.

Though trained in association management and development, Harper liked to note that his first paying job was in journalism ­ as a paperboy for the Yukon Review in his hometown of Yukon, Okla.

A 1986 graduate of Oklahoma State University, Harper was a Certified Association Executive, a designation he earned in 1999 from the American Society of Association Executives. He had 19 years of nonprofit association management experience, including 13 years with Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, where he served as executive director from 1990-1999.

From 1999-2001 he was a financial advisor at UBS PaineWebber (now UBS Financial Services) where he worked in a partnership providing investment management consulting to nonprofit organizations and foundations.

Immediately before coming to SPJ and the SDX Foundation, Harper was the director of fundraising for the Kiwanis International Foundation.

During his battle with cancer, Harper kept a blog documenting his trials and tribulations. His humor and upbeat attitude came through in many posts. He composed his final blog message several months ago, which his wife posted today upon his passing. See the blog here.

He is survived by his wife Lee Ann and two teenage sons, Dale and Jace.

For more information, visit this page of the SPJ national website: Remembering Terry Harper.

The awards are open to journalists working in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia. Categories cover print, online, television, and radio. Entry fees are $50 for SPJ members and $75 for nonmembers.

For more information about the awards, including entry forms, check out this page of SPJ’s national website: Green Eyeshade.

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Blogging for Storytellers and Journalists, sponsored by Naples Press Club
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Leadership for New Managers, sponsored by Poynter Institute
Spring Publishers’ Conference, sponsored by Suburban Newspapers of America

Check out these journalism blogs from organizations such as News University and Society for News Design for training tips and story ideas. Visit the Reading Room to find topics such as “Write brightly, not tritely!” and “Going Live: Tips for Better Reporting.” Or bring customized training provided by names you trust to your newsroom.

Whatever the training need, let JournalismTraining.org help you find the training that meets your needs, when you need it, and where you need it. You will find hundreds of classes and seminars from scores of recognized organizations.

Managed by the Society of Professional Journalists, JournalismTraining.org represents collaboration among the Council of National Journalism Organizations, press and broadcast associations, and schools of journalism. It is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

For more information or to suggest a resource for JournalismTraining.org, write to training@spj.org or call SPJ today at (317) 927-8000.

SPJ leaders also expressed outrage at what an April 20 New York Times story revealed to be the federal government’s willingness to use these analysts as a “media Trojan horse” to spread the administration’s perspective on the Iraq war.
According to the Times story, the Pentagon through controlling access and disseminating selective information about the war effort have co-opted some military analysts to generate favorable news coverage during the Iraq war.
In addition, the Times story showed that few national television networks understood their own analysts’ financial ties to defense industry contractors doing business with the U.S. military. The story further illustrated how the media also does not understand the analysts working relationship with the military that helps shape their views.
“The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized,” wrote Times reporter David Barstow. “Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.”
The practice has continued at least through the publication of the Times piece with analysts representing more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants.
Internal Pentagon documents obtained by the Times called the analysts “surrogates” and “message force multipliers” that could deliver the administration’s “themes and messages” via the American media.
“The Pentagon’s practices to co-opt military analysts should end and be replaced by an honest, open dialogue with representatives of the media about the facts of the war,” SPJ President Clint Brewer said. “In addition, the country’s news organizations should disclose the ties of their analysts both past and present. Moving forward, America’s news media should hold these analysts to the same ethical tests they would any journalist.”
SPJ leaders believe that the nation’s news networks have an ethical responsibility to conduct ethical autopsies on their own coverage, explaining and analyzing how sources were selected, what perspectives they conveyed and to whom they were beholden. When doing these types of exercises, leaders hope reporters will turn to the SPJ Code of Ethics, which states that journalists should:
The SPJ Code of Ethics states that journalists should:

• Recognize a special obligation to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in the open and that government records are open to inspection.
• Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
• Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.
• Disclose unavoidable conflicts.
• Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable.
• Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.
• Clarify and explain news coverage and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct.
• Encourage the public to voice grievances against the news media.
• Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
• Expose unethical practices of journalists and the news media.
• Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

“The Times should be commended for bringing this practice to light,” said Andy Schotz, SPJ’s National Ethics Committee Chairman. “It’s now up to members of the media who use these sources to fully disclose their affiliations.”

SPJ embraces ethics as a core mission to advocate the highest level of professional standards for journalists. To further this mission and to help journalists make sound ethical decisions, SPJ provides a host of resources and programs to ensure that ethics remains central to the industry and practice. In addition to encouraging members to adopt the Society’s voluntary Code of Ethics that is translated into nine languages, other ethics resources include:

• Ethics Case Studies: By examining real-world decisions and how journalists handled them, best practices are shared and ethical practice is encouraged, in and out of the newsroom. View the list of case studies at www.spj.org/ethicscasestudies.asp<http://www.spj.org/ethicscasestudies.asp>.
• Ethics Teaching Tools: To educate journalists about the fine lines between reporting the news and observing ethics during wartime, members of the Society’s Ethics Committee developed a module to help journalists resolve conflicts. Read the module at www.spj.org/ethicswartime.asp<http://www.spj.org/ethicswartime.asp>.
• Ethics Hotline: For journalists and members of the public who are struggling with an ethical dilemma, the Society offers counsel via an Ethics Hotline. Calls are answered by professional journalists who are eager to lend insight and provide direction. To reach the hotline, dial (317) 927-8000, ext. 208.
• Ethics Reading Room: To further encourage everyday ethics, the Society hosts an online reading room with relevant materials and current news from Society members. Check out the growing list of articles at http://www.spj.org/rr.asp?t=ethics.
• Code Words: To engage SPJ members and the general public in discussions concerning journalism ethics, SPJ’s National Ethics Committee launched “Code Words,” a Web log hosted on spj.org. Take part in the latest discussion at http://spj.org/blog/blogs/ethics/.

Speaking at the Associated Press Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., McCain said he had some reservations about supporting a media shield bill, but would pledge his commitment despite them.

“I’m willing to invest in the press a very solemn trust that in the use of confidential sources, you will not do more harm than good, whether it comes to the security of the nation or the reputation of good people,” McCain said. “And I would hope that when you do something controversial or something that many people find wrong and harmful you would explain fully and honestly how and why you did it, and confess your mistakes, if you made them, in a more noticeable way than afforded by the small print on a corrections page.”

Known as the media shield bill, S. 2035 calls for a qualified, rather than absolute, privilege that would make it easier for journalists to protect the identities of their confidential sources. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 2035 on Oct. 4. The House passed its version of the bill, H.R. 2102, on Oct. 16.. With bi-partisan support, the bill has progressed further than any shield bill to date. As drafted, the shield may apply not only to traditional print, television and radio journalists, but also may include coverage for freelancers and bloggers.

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have various statutes that protect journalists from being forced to testify or disclose sources and information. No statutory protection currently exists for federal cases.

“Sen. McCain’s support for a federal shield law is welcomed news,” SPJ President Clint Brewer said. “At a time when overzealous prosecutors are attempting to use national security as an excuse to force journalists into acting as an arm of the law, it’s good to know that a presidential hopeful understands that the responsibility of the press is to keep a watchful eye on government.”

On Thursday, the Department of Justice released additional information regarding the Administration’s concerns with the proposed media shield legislation. The department also launched a new Web page to serve as the central location for information from the Justice Department and other federal agencies on media shield proposals. Citing concerns over national security as well as an inability to investigate other crimes, the Web site includes joint letters from Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell, additional letters from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that were sent to Senate leadership, the chairs and ranking members of the respective oversight committees for the departments as well as other publicly released materials related to the shield bill.

“The administration’s concerns with this bill are absolutely unfounded,” SPJ President Clint Brewer said. “We’ve been working with key Senate staff on compromises to ensure that the bill contains all necessary safeguards to protect national security. This is the administration’s transparent attempt to use national security as an excuse to continue to use journalists as an additional arm of law enforcement. Rarely are there times when a journalist is the last resort for the government to get information that could not be tracked down elsewhere. The job of a journalist is to keep a check on government and to hold the administration accountable.”

Known as the media shield bill, S. 2035 would protect the public’s right to speak out and promote the people’s right to know. It calls for a qualified, rather than absolute privilege that would make it easier for journalists to protect the identities of their confidential sources. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 2035 on Oct. 4. By a vote of 398-21 on Oct. 16, the House passed its version of the bill, H.R. 2102 that was introduced by Reps. Rick Boucher, (D-Va.) and Mike Pence, (R-Ind.). With bi-partisan support from 71 co-sponsors, the bill has progressed further than any shield bill to date. As drafted, the shield may apply not only to traditional print, television and radio journalists, but also may include coverage for freelancers and bloggers. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have various statues that protect journalists from being forced to testify or disclose sources and information. No statutory protection currently exists for federal cases.

A Senate vote has not been scheduled. However, to show support for a federal shield law, SPJ leaders are encouraging journalists and public citizens to contact members of the U.S. Senate. To locate a list of U.S. Senate members, visit Senate.gov.

Since 2006, SPJ has raised more than $30,000 to support a campaign for the passage of a federal shield law. The work to ensure passage of such a law is ongoing.