26th Annual James Madison Freedom of Information Awards

Please join us on March 16, when we honor champions of the First Amendment at the 26th Annual James Madison Awards.

March 16, 2011

No-host bar: 5:30 p.m.
Dinner/event: 6:30 p.m.

hosted by the

New Delhi Restaurant
160 Ellis Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.397.8470
Click here to buy tickets.

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Journalism in the Age of WikiLeaks

Feb. 24, 2011

The bean counters aren’t the only ones in journalism having to re-examine their game plans. The advent of third-party players like WikiLeaks is forcing editors to rethink traditional editorial practices. Historically, editors had as much time as they needed to study leaked documents. But in an age when anyone can access a (digital) printing press, editors no longer can count on controlling the timetable. While the Washington Post took two years to report “Top Secret America,” the New York Times, the Guardian, and Der Spiegel were given a mere three weeks to decide how to handle over 90,000 confidential documents on Afghanistan. (And only a little more to consider the handling of the subsequent documents on Iraq and the State Department cables.)

Join us as we discuss the challenges journalists face in the current environment, and consider questions like: How should news organizations handle situations like the ones the New York Times et al faced with WikiLeaks? And what’s the role of professional news organizations when anyone can publish the kind of information that previously was only the purview of journalism? And what do you think of how the New York Times handled WikiLeaks? (See Bill Keller’s “Dealing with Assange and the WikiLeaks Secrets”)

Panelists:

• Declan McCullagh, chief political correspondent, CNET
• Lance Williams, award-winning investigative reporter, California Watch
• Steve Proctor, managing editor, San Francisco Chronicle
• Evan Hansen, editor-in-chief, Wired.com
• Burt Herman, Hacks & Hackers

Moderator: E.B. Boyd, FastCompany.com and board member, SPJ-NorCal

Date: Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

Time: 6pm: Registration. 6:30: Panel begins.

Location: The panel will take place in the ground floor meeting room at CNET. Come to the front desk, and they will direct you.

Hosted by: The Society of Professional Journalists-Northern California and CNET, part of CBS Interactive.

Sign up at: http://spj-wikileaks-panel-eorg.eventbrite.com/

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Cyber-Speech and Cyber-Defense – Why They Are Important to You

A discussion with Clothilde Le Coz (Reporters Without Borders- RSF.org) and Jim “Sky” Schuyler (CyberSpark.net)

When: Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 4pm – 6pm

Where: The Hub Soma, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco (near 5th Street — the SF Chronicle building)

How much: Free. Please RSVP to events@cyberspark.net.

http://en.rsf.org/may-18th-2010-reporters-without-12-05-2010,37472.html

118 people are in jail today for offenses related to  blogging and communicating about human rights. Free speech is limited in at least 60 countries, and Internet communications that allow citizens to communicate with each other, like Twitter, Facebook and blogs, are being suppressed, attacked or harrassed every day. As a social entrepreneur here in the US, what does this mean to you and how can you protect Internet access here and around the world?

Clothilde Le Coz, who represents Reporters Without Borders in the US ( http://RSF.ORG/ ) will give us some current news on freedom of expression in Iran and China, as well as assessing the condition of Internet freedom in the US. “Sky” (Jim Schuyler) will describe how cyber-attacks are used to suppress the right to expression, and how many types of attacks are affecting innocent victims here in the US and around the world – including some practical suggestions on what you need to do to protect your own online presence. If you have something to say, we’ll have time for conversation as well. If you have an interest in these topics, or if you are starting your own social enterprise to do good things in the world, you could well come under attack. Sky will help you understand how to protect yourself, how to get early detection, and what to do if attacked.

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Hacks/Hackers Unite: Build the Killer Media App. for the iPad

When: May 21-23, 2010, Friday evening to Sunday evening

Where: KQED, 2601 Mariposa St. San Francisco

How much: $40; $15 for students. Price includes two meals.

20% off for SPJ members! (enter discount code “spjunite”) http://unite.hackshackers.com

The killer media app for the iPad hasn’t been invented yet. This is your chance to build it. Hacks/Hackers, a group of journalists and technologists, is teaming up with KQED and NPR for a hacking/storytelling weekend to build the killer media app for the iPad. Teams of at least one journalist and technologist each will collaborate to build media applications that embrace the multimedia capabilities of the iPad. Advisers and experts will be on hand to discuss iPad and HTML5 development issues. Judges for the final demos include Harjeet Taggar of Y Combinator, Andrew Fitzgerald of Current TV, and David Weekly of Hacker Dojo and PBworks.

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Hacks/Hackers Dialogue: The Future of Context

When: May 13, 7pm

Where: Freshout, 444 Townsend St., San Francisco

How much: Free

http://meetup.hackshackers.com

Hacks/Hackers’ next evening panel will continue a discussion on the future of context that began at the South by Southwest interactive conference in March. Tristan Harris, founder and CEO of Apture and one of the panelists at SXSW, and Todd Lappin, an editorial designer and journalist, will discuss the issue of context amid the increasingly splintered media environment. What is lost on the Web when information is unbundled? How can we provide better experiences that let readers learn and explore without suffering from information overload?

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Journalism Innovations III — the SPJ Region 11 Spring Conference — is around the corner.  See what’s planned for the conference, and register, at www.journalisminnovations.org.

When: April 30-May 2

Where: University of San Francisco campus.

How much: Sliding scale. Register online today!

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Town Hall Forum: Your Views on Local News

25th Annual James Madison Freedom of Information Awards

The Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California Chapter presents the
25th Annual James Madison Freedom of Information Awards
hosted by the
New Delhi Restaurant
160 Ellis Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.397.8470

Meet the Editor of the Bay Area News Project

Jonathan Weber, the newly named editor of the Bay Area News Project, has said he intends to hire at least 15 journalists. Here’s a chance to find out what he may be looking for.

In a news release issued when his hiring was announced, Weber said: “Over the next few months my plan is to start building a stellar newsroom to cover Bay Area government and politics, the arts, business, entertainment, community news and other topics. We’ll also be working to develop a wide range of partnerships with other media organizations and individuals. Successful collaborations will be one of the keys to our success.”

This event is co-sponsored by the Norcal SPJ chapter.

Wednesday Feb. 24, 6:30-8 p.m.
World Affairs Council
312 Sutter St., Suite 200, Downtown S.F.

The World Affairs Council is on Sutter between Stockton and Kearny in downtown San Francisco. Park at the Sutter-Stockton Garage or take BART.

The event is free, but space is somewhat limited. Please RSVP to freelance@mediaworkers.org.

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THE ECONOMICS OF NEWS

With HAL VARIAN, Chief Economist, Google

When: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 6:00 PM

Where: North Gate Hall Library

Hal Varian,
Chief Economist of Google, visits to discuss the business of the news
industry in an age of dramatic transformation. Varian is a former dean
of Berkeley’s School of Information, and author of the widely
influential book, Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy.

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NEWS AND INCLUSION: JOURNALISM AND THE POLITICS OF DIVERSITY

A symposium at Stanford University

March 4, 2010

Featuring scholars from Australia, Finland, Singapore, Canada, The Netherlands, England, and the United States.

The symposium is free and open to the public, but registration is required. http://comm.stanford.edu/newsandinclusion

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Childhood Obesity: Strategies and Solutions from Bay Area Experts

SF Bay Area Association of Healthcare Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter.

Join us for our November panel:

Thurs., Nov. 12
6 pm – 8 pm

Bloomberg/San Francisco bureau office

Pier 3, Suite 101

RSVPs by 3 pm Wed., Nov 11. This is mandatory, as we must have ALL attendee names and company info (or freelance) on a list for Bloomberg by end of day 11/11. If you do not RSVP by 3 pm, 11/11, you will not be allowed to attend the event!

Please RSVP to BayAreaAHCJ@gmail.com.

(Light refreshments will be served; this event is FREE this time; no charge to attend.)

EVENT

Childhood Obesity: Strategies and Solutions from Bay Area Experts

Stories about food, nutrition, and the health impacts of eating are all over the media lately. The topic is especially significant for kids, who continue to tip the scales more than their peers even a decade ago and risk heading into adulthood with medical conditions that used to be for adults only. What can be done? Bay Area experts are doing some good work to solve this problem; our speakers are among this group, and share some insights and recent work that will inspire story ideas that will resonate with your readers and listeners:

Cam-Tu Tran, MD, is a pediatrician and director of San Francisco General Hospital’s Healthy Lifestyles Clinic, which treats overweight children and adolescents. Under her leadership, her staff has developed innovative ways to help their largely low-income patient population eat healthier and exercise.

Elaine Herscher is senior managing editor at Consumer Health Interactive, and coauthor of Generation Extra Large: Rescuing Our Children from the Epidemic of Obesity (Basic Books, 2005). Her multimedia project “Fat City, Fit City?” was a finalist in the 2009 International Medical and Media Awards

Daphne Miller, MD, has a family medical practice in San Francisco. She is the author of the best-selling nutrition travelogue, The Jungle Effect, (HarperCollins, 2008) for which she traveled the world in search of culinary traditions and recipes that would most benefit her patients.

Remember to RSVP at Bay.Area.AHCJ@gmail.com. See you on Nov. 12^th.

Colleen Paretty
Chair,

SF Bay Area Association of Healthcare Journalists

Laurie Udesky

board member, Sociey of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter, member of AHCJ

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Re-making the news

Across the Border

Discussing International news coverage with Franc Contreras and Laura Villafuerte

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Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009

6:30 pm-8:30 pm

Harney Science Center, Room 127

University of San Francisco

Hosted by Professor Dorothy Kidd, University of San Francisco Department of Media Studies. With an Introduction by Ricardo Sandoval, President, Society for Professional Journalism (Northern California Chapter.)

Sponsored by:

* The Society for Professional Journalists

(Northern California Chapter)

* University of San Francisco:

Department of Media Studies, the Journalism Minor

The Center for Latino Studies in the Americas (CELASA)

Latin American Studies

International Student and Scholar Services.

Franc Contreras: “Drug Violence in Mexico:  One foreign correspondent’s perspective.”

For nearly 15 years, journalist Franc Contreras has been reporting on Mexico for major international news media organizations, covering virtually every major political and economic story that has taken place since 1996 –including two presidential elections, investigations on human rights abuses, immigration to and from Mexico, and Mexico’s so-called war on drugs. Franc’s reporting often delves deep into the social causes behind these important stories. He also has reported from most countries in Central America, Argentina, Colombia, Haiti and Venezuela.  Franc is currently a Mexico correspondent for Al Jazeera English Television.

Laura Villafuerte: “News coverage of Mexico’s drug war: a Mexican perspective.”

Laura Villafuerte began her journalism career in 1992 anchoring a daily cultural and social affairs program for the Mexican Radio Institute (IMER), a non-profit network heard across Mexico. She worked for several years as a news reporter and editor, and studied how the national news media helped the Institutional Revolutionary Party

(PRI) win the 1994 presidential elections. In 2000, she began editing online content for Televisa (esmas.com) and El Universal, two of Mexico’s best-known Web sites. She is currently the top content and design editor for cronica.com.mx, which the University of Monterrey recently named the user-friendliest Web site among several large-circulation Mexican newspapers.

All Davies Forum events are free and open to the public. For more information call: (415) 422-6147, email: daviesforum@usfca.edu, or visit www.usfca.edu/artsci/ug/davies_forum

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