Hurry! Sign up now: Only 11 seats left! A free workshop for journalists providing an overview of the Google tools journalists can use in newsgathering, 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, at Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. SPJ Trainer Mike Reilley comes to Phoenix for this training thanks to a grant from the Google News Initiative. The grant enables SPJ to pay the travel expense for the trainer. Sign up today — seating is limited to 40 participants. Mike will cover:
–5 p.m. to 5:55 p.m.: Google basics, Google Trends, Google Reverse Image Search and verification tools, Google Scholar. Fun with Google AutoDraw.com and what else is coming in AI with Google Lens.
–6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.: Deep Dive Google MyMaps. Data scraping with Google Sheets, scraping .PDFs with Tabula. Google Public Data Explorer.
–7:15 p.m. to 8 p.m. (optional): Google Earth Pro, Earth Engine Timelapse tool, Google Street View.
Click here for more info and to register.
Tag Archives: SPJ
Valley of the Sun SPJ extends awards contest
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the spring awards event originally planned by the Valley of the Sun Chapter of SPJ had to be postponed. The chapter now will be partnering with the Arizona Newspapers Association (ANA) to co-present its awards at ANA’s fall awards event, set for 12 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Chaparral Suites Resort, 5001 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale.
The Valley of the Sun SPJ’s annual Arizona Freedom of Information Awards honor excellence in journalism and in open government in Arizona during the previous calendar year. The nomination period has been extended, with entries needing to be postmarked no later than Friday, July 11. Self-nominations are welcome. Entries that were received earlier this year (for the original spring event) are still eligible and do not need to be re-submitted.
There is NO COST to enter the awards contest. The First Amendment Award nomination form, as well as the Phil Alvidrez Award for Excellence in Journalism, and the Order of the Silver Key Society award forms, can be found on this website under “Awards & Scholarships.”
For more information, contact Teri Carnicelli at 602-410-1267 or teri@phoenixspj.org.
Talton speaks at Tempe Library
Journalist and mystery author Jon Talton comes to the Tempe Public Library 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, to discuss his books, the economy, the state of journalism and everything Arizona.
The Tempe Public Library and Society of Professional Journalists will lead a Q&A session with the Arizona writer who worked for The Arizona Republic as a business and op-ed columnist for many years before moving to Seattle to not only pen 10 novels but also an economics column for the Seattle Times. His blog, the Rogue Columnist, regularly discusses Arizona’s environment, economy, political nature and history.
Talton is a fourth-generation Arizonan. His David Mapstone mystery series features many of the Phoenix area’s favorite restaurants, neighborhoods, destinations and celebrities. Some of the more notorious news the state has seen finds its way into the pages of the books. His thriller, “Deadline Man,” was named Best Mystery of 2010 by the Arizona Book Publishing Association.
Mark Scarp, who serves nationally and with the Valley of the Sun chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, will lead the discussion. Scarp is a regular columnist for the East Valley Tribune as well as a communicator for the Heard Museum.
The Tempe Public Library is located at 3500 S. Rural Road. Admission to the program is free. No registration is required.
Books will be available for sale after the presentation, with Talton generously donating proceeds to the Friends of the Tempe Public Library.
Help Phoenix SPJ congratulate Robert Leger on the Wells Memorial Key
For his devotion to its principles and mission, Robert Leger was honored by the Society of Professional Journalists with its highest honor: the Wells Memorial Key!
The Valley of the Sun chapter of SPJ invites members to quaff a few cold brews in Robert’s honor at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9 (that’s tonight!), at Angels Trumpet Ale House, 810 N. Second St. in downtown Phoenix’s Roosevelt Row Art District.
The place, completely remodeled inside with a nice patio, just opened Sept. 15 and already is becoming a downtown “in” spot. It serves beer from 31 different taps! It has a cool, different, tasty menu. I’ve been there already and loved it. Check it out at http://www.angelstrumpetalehouse.com or call 602-252-2630.
See you there!
Home to Arizona’s first newspaper named Historic Site in Journalism
The Society of Professional Journalists has named the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park in Tubac, Ariz., a National Historic Site in Journalism.
Since 1942, the Society has honored the people and places that have played important roles in the history of journalism through the Historic Sites program. Some honorees include: The Associated Press offices in Washington and New York City; Freedom’s Journal, the first Black newspaper published in the United States; and, most recently, the Silverton Standard & the Miner.
SPJ’s Valley of the Sun Chapter nominated the park, which is the home of Arizona’s first newspaper, The Weekly Arizonian. The Washington hand press on which the paper was printed remains in the park, operated by volunteers who print copies of that first paper for visitors.
According to Marshall Trimble, Arizona’s official state historian, Tubac was founded in 1752 by Spanish soldiers and is the oldest non-Native American community in the state. Americans arrived in 1854, and The Weekly Arizonian was published five years later, on March 3, 1859, by Edward E. Cross. Trimble wrote in support of the site’s nomination, including details of the paper’s history and its final printing in Tubac on Aug. 11 of its founding year.
“In his farewell editorial Cross wrote, ‘Conducting a newspaper in a frontier country is always a perilous, precarious and thankless task,’” Trimble noted.
Phoenix SPJ Seeks Volunteers for Annual Publicity Summit
Shed light on how you and your media organizations want to be pitched — and how you
don’t want to be — by participating in the 8th annual Valley Publicity Summit. Once again, the Valley of the Sun SPJ chapter seeks local journalists to volunteer a bit of their time to pay big dividends in building better relationships with public relations professionals. Information on how you can volunteer as one of the journalists giving advice — and get a FREE LUNCH — is below.
Every year since 2005, the Phoenix chapters of SPJ and PRSA have partnered to host the
annual Valley Publicity Summit, offering PR professionals the opportunity to network with peers, meet key Phoenix media and learn the best ways to pitch media for story placements. Both chapters collaborate with PRSSA and campus SPJ students to engage student professionals in assisting and attending the event. The half-day event is structured with guest speaker, breakout panel sessions, lunch, and speed pitching.
This year, for the first time, the summit will be held at the Walter Cronkite School of
Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University’s downtown campus,
555 N. Central Ave., in the First Amendment Forum on the school’s second floor. Here
are the basics:
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012 from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Parking: Free parking for the event can be found at the nearby garage structure, an ASU visitor lot to the immediate north of the Cronkite School building, and street parking.
Attendance: The event typically draws 25-30 media members and 75-100 PR professionals.
Food: Water and coffee will be available all day. A boxed lunch or buffet is served at noon.
Keynote: Former ABC 15 anchor Jodie Heisner is confirmed as the keynote speaker,
offering a 45-minute session on “Hit ‘em with your best shot” coaching on
elevator pitching.
The deal: You’d be seated on one of our media panels, arranged by type of medium, to tell of your deadlines and preferences in getting PR pitches. Then you get to critique
PR professionals who will toss you authentic, live, “speed pitches” (maximum
two minutes, OK, maybe three). If you like the pitch, take it, it’s yours to use to
develop a story! If you don’t, you get to tell the PR person why it wouldn’t work,
or wouldn’t work for you. They learn something and you get story ideas.
Panels: TV News, Community News, Business News, Magazines, TV/Radio Morning Shows, Radio News, Blogs/Online.
Get involved: Sign up today, or ask questions, by writing to Mark Scarp at phoenixspj@cox.net. You’ll be able to say you did something to improve the relationship between media and PR people. And after all, a rising tide raises all boats!
Happy hour with J groups
Come and join area journalists from several of the local media organizations, including AAJA, ALMA, NABJ, NAHJ, NAJA, NLGJA and SPJ, during a happy hour set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 12, inside The District Bar at the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix, 320 N. 3rd St. There will be limited free appetizers and happy hour food and drink specials for purchase. The annual gathering is a kick-off to the upcoming g UNITY 2012 national convention in August (www.unityconvention.org), however, you don’t need to be registered for the UNITY conference in order to attend the happy hour event! To RSVP, visit the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/430822840271723/.
Cool brew, hot networking at SPJ’s annual meeting/election
Our SPJ chapter bylaws require us to hold an election for 2012-13 officers, but as has been our tradition, we take that five-minute duty and wrap a couple of hours of socializing, food and beer around it.
So once again, the Valley of the Sun SPJ chapter holds its annual meeting and mostly social event at the SunUp Brewing Co., 322 E. Camelback, just a short walk from the Central Avenue/Camelback Road light rail line, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 27. Here’s the map: http://sunupbrewing.com/location.html
Members and nonmembers are welcome. The chapter will pick up the first round of appetizers. Come and cool off with a variety of on-the-premises-brewed beers and meet fellow journalists from around the Valley. Somewhere among the fun, our members will be asked to cast a voice vote for next year’s president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. The official slate of candidates will be announced soon.
See you there! For more information, email info@phoenixspj.org.
Registration for SPJ-ONA JournCamp Ends May 14
Don’t forget to register for the SPJ-ONA JournCamp in Phoenix! Here are a few workshops you’ll get to enjoy:
- Entrepreneurial Journalism: Where does every journalist, from the up-and-coming student to the seasoned newsroom manager, fit in this new field? Hear from one journalist turned innovator and entrepreneur who’s been leading the charge in this expanding space. Trainer: Retha Hill, Arizona State University
- Visual Storytelling: Visual storytelling is no longer reserved for those who just work in television. Working on the Web means journalists in all media need to find creative ways to provide information to their audiences. We’ll show you how you can use pictures to tell your story, even if none are (obviously) available. Trainer: Victoria Lim, freelancer
- Social Media as a Reporting Tool: Social networks sprout by the minute, but which ones should you focus on, and how can you use them to find news, crowdsource information and generate leads? We’ll give you ideas for how to curate information, what you should consider in the verification process and how to publish it all, with specific case studies. Trainer: Daniel Petty, Denver Post
When: Friday, May 18. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: $20 for SPJ or ONA members / $40 for non-members. (Registration fee includes breakfast and lunch.)
See more programs and speaker bios at www.spj.org/spjona.asp. To register, visit www.spj.org/spjona-register.asp. Hurry, registration closes May 14!
‘Friend Raiser’ at Hooters supports student SPJ chapter
The student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) housed at the Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication invites you to enjoy wings and basketball while helping out the chapter financially during a fundraiser on Tuesday, March 27 (that’s tonight).
As part of Hooters’ “Friend Rising” program, for every diner at the Arizona Center eatery who brings in this flier today, Hooters will donate $2 to the Cronkite SPJ student chapter. The flier is good all day, but several chapter members will be heading over around 7 p.m. to watch the Phoenix Suns take on the San Antonio Spurs. So stop by and show your support!
Society of Professional Journalists - Valley of the Sun chapter - Phoenix, Arizona 