April 4th, 2011 • Quill Archives
The Current Code is Inclusive and Flexible
I realized I was becoming an old codger back in the mid-1990s, when SPJ was debating the current version of the Code of Ethics. The new Code was being discussed at a breakout session of the SPJ National Convention, and several speakers warned that the Code was, in its language, failing to take note of the budding age of computers.
February 2nd, 2007 • Quill Archives
Maine media introduced to New England News Forum
Members of the Maine media were introduced in November to the New England News Forum, a new effort to promote accountability and transparency among news media. As envisioned, the forum will use a Web site to create a “virtual public square.”
October 12th, 2005 • Quill Archives
Katrina may have restored balance
Hurricanes, like all storms, are one of nature’s ways to restore balance. Hurricanes draw warm moisture from over-heated ocean water and flail it across thousands of square miles of atmosphere, in a bid to restore thermal balance. But this storm may have begun to restore some balance to journalism.
August 31st, 2005 • Quill Archives
Committees forward SPJ’s missions
A year ago, as I took office as SPJ’s president at our national convention in New York City, I told the audience at our installation banquet: “I won’t run SPJ … but many of you will. You, local officers and members who, through our chapters and national committees, do the work of SPJ.”
August 1st, 2005 • Quill Archives
Youth must get the message about the value of a free press
When did you first become interested in journalism? Was it at your college newspaper? As a newspaper deliverer? Maybe you came to the business in adult life, making the jump from some other profession. It wasn’t until college that I decided on a career in radio news.
June 30th, 2005 • Quill Archives
Don’t just tell the story: tell how the story was done
The New York Times is building a new headquarters in midtown Manhattan. One of its distinctive features: a curtain wall of glass. A media release for the project says, “The screen and glass curtain wall will provide a sense of lightness and transparency.”
May 2nd, 2005 • Quill Archives
SPJ revitalizing role as journalism educator
As I continue my travels around the country (most recently California, Kentucky, Arizona, Missouri and Connecticut), I’ve had a chance to talk with members and nonmembers about what your Society is up to. And I always find myself struggling to cover it all.
April 1st, 2005 • Quill Archives
Ethical questions are often answered by SPJ’s code
Next year we’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of SPJ’s current Code of Ethics. And celebrate we should. The code represents both a comprehensive and concise manifesto of good journalistic practice. It lays down precepts that apply across the wide expanse of media, from print to broadcast to online.
March 8th, 2005 • Quill Archives
A decade of digitizing Pt.1
During the past 10 years in radio and television, tape and bulky equipment have gone the way of the dinosaur. Here is a quick look at some of the most important technological advances in electronic media. In my radio studio in Portland, Maine, just off to my right, are two labels that read “ATR-1” and “ATR-2.”
February 3rd, 2005 • Quill Archives
Economic structure critical to diverse messages in media
Sinclair Broadcasting officials apparently were trying to have an impact on the presidential race in October when they scheduled an anti-John Kerry documentary to air on nearly all the stations in their system. They had an impact, all right, but not the one they intended.
January 10th, 2005 • Quill Archives
News of peace and peril comes with South Korea trip
There’s nothing like distance to help you gain perspective. This November, I joined eight other SPJ members on a trip to South Korea.We attended the Second Annual East Asia Journalists Forum and returned with a sense of how journalists around the world share similar goals, even as they face different challenges.
April 3rd, 2002 • Quill Archives
Does the SPJ code need a wartime update?
A funny thing happened on the way to writing this column. I looked, but could not find much written about my topic – the ethical questions raised in the coverage of military action during a time of war. Now, I confess right up front, I didn’t conduct a very exhaustive search of journalism literature.
