Please join us at these events:

November 17 - Board Meeting 9 a.m. Long’s Drug Store, Bearden

November 20 Freelancing for fun and profit 7 p.m. Knox Room, Knoxville News Sentinel headquarters (see below)

December 4 - Holiday Party at Cherokee Bluffs Condo Clubhouse 6 p.m. (see below)


December 31, 2008 - Deadline for 2008 Golden Press Card Award entries to be published/broadcast

2009

January 2009 Legislative Preview Luncheon

February 10, 2009 - Deadline for Golden Press Card entries to be received for judgng (See Golden Press Card pages at right)

February program on diversity issues

March 27, 2009 - Daylong mini-conference on environmental issues with panels on air, water, energy and soil/land in East Tennessee plus sessions on environmental laws and policy; advocacy groups and industry; and lots more. DETAILS will be added to the “Environmental Journalism Conference” page to the right as panels are confirmed, and you will be able to register there also. If you would like to be involved in the planning or execution of this event, please contact Amanda Womac.

April Fool’s! Bloopers night! We’re gathering blooper reels from area media to show while enjoying our favorite beverages — stay tuned for details!

April 3-5 - Region 12 Conference in Little Rock, AR

May 2009 - Golden Press Card Award Banquet

July 2009 - Front Page Follies

Program Details

November 20 - Freelancing for Fun and Profit 7 p.m, Knoxville News Sentinel Knox Room (Please be prompt; we will have someone at the door to let you in 6:45-7:15) Fee: $5 for non-ETSPJ members. Members and students free.

In an economy where “mainstream media” are shrinking staff and where salaries aren’t rising as fast as inflation, journalists need to find other ways of translating their skills into cash.  Our panel on freelancing will include veteran freelancer and editor Katy Koontz who specializes in women’s health, travel and lifestyle topics and who has edited several books and much more.  Another great addition to the panel is Christina Southern, editor of the News Sentinel’s Community section. All her contributors are freelancers, so she will be an expert on how to and how NOT to deal with an editor, what the editor is looking for, and so much more.

We’ll also meet two photographers: Colby McLemore works with Katy to tie images to stories, making the entire package more marketable.  Colby will share how this partnership works and how a writer might inexpensively gain skills to shoot the pictures and art for his/her stories. Also, Patrick Murphy-Racey was an accomplished photographer for the News Sentinel plus Sports Illustrated before he went out on his own. Recently, Patrick has been getting into video. He will counsel freelancers to look to the Web, Web, Web for opportunities rather than traditional media.We’ll cover successful queries, establishing relationships with publications, plus the business aspects of managing money and living off your writing.  Miss this nuts and bolts program at your peril!

December 4 Holiday Party! 6 p.m. at Cherokee Bluff Condo Clubhouse

Bring a covered dish and enjoy sandwiches and beverages provided by ETSPJ.  Also, bring a wrapped gift worth about $10 for our Crazy Gift Exchange!  It can be a gag gift, recycled present or something that the recipient would actually want to keep!  Bring a spouse/partner/friend to start getting into the holiday spirit! Program Chair Michael Grider is coordinating covered dishes, so please contact him with your preferred donation: radiomanmic@gmail.com.

A new feature this year will be Texas Hold’Em Ethics Poker! Must be seen to be believed, so brush up now on which hand beats which.

Directions: From Alcoa Highway immediately south of the river, take UT Hospital/Cherokee Trail exit. turn east on Cherokee Trail and just past the UT Hospital parking lots, turn left on Cherokee Bluff Dr. and follow winding lane up the mountain.  At guard house, tell them you are a guest of Georgiana Vines at the clubhouse and turn left to the clubhouse. There is parking in a lot to the left.

Previous Events

October 23 Covering Tragedy: A Town Hall Meeting

Here is a story about our program that past president John Huotari wrote for The Oak Ridger

Overall, the media did a good job covering recent fatal high-profile shootings in Knoxville, a reverend, county schools superintendent and police chief said last week.
One of the shootings was at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in July, and the other was at Central High School in August.
Although there were some “bumps in the road,” the media reporting and analysis following the high school shooting, which left one student dead, was “pretty good,” said Jim McIntyre, Knox County Schools Superintendent.
Meanwhile, coverage of the church shooting, which killed two people, was handled well also, although not perfectly, the Rev. Chris Buice said.
Buice and McIntrye, along with Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV, were at a town hall discussion last week where panelists discussed the media’s role in covering tragedies, like the two shootings already mentioned as well as another fatal one at Knoxville Center mall.
The discussion was sponsored by the East Tennessee chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and was held in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium on Gay Street.
The public officials and panelists from the press talked about the role the media can play in quickly answering important questions, such as: Is the shooter still at large? Are any of my friends or relatives affected?

Even in the rush to get information out, though, journalists have to continue to strive to be accurate, the panelists said.
“I would rather be third on the air and get it correct than be first on the air and get it wrong,” said Jamie Foster, WATE-TV news director.
The primary concern for journalists covering the shootings was to determine whether the shooters were in custody and to inform and protect the public, said Steve Crabtree, WVLT-TV news director.
The journalists described a range of initial reactions to news of the shootings, including their personal concern for family and friends and, in particular, disbelief that there could have been a shooting at a church in Knoxville.
But the media representatives said they also reacted to the shootings as journalists, scurrying to get out vital information.
“You’re going to have a human reaction, but we’re going to respond as journalists,” said John North, News Sentinel continuous news editor. “If you don’t react that way, you shouldn’t be in this profession.”
Reporters and their bosses had to quickly determine how to cover the stories, judging credibility of sources and sifting through lots of information, including some bad information.
“We know that it has a large effect on people, and we want to get it right,” Foster said.
While journalists might request information more urgently on major news stories, the police have to continue to follow certain protocols, Owen said.
When in doubt, “We have to err on the side of being conservative” when deciding what information to release, Owen said.
Besides North, Foster and Crabtree, media panelists included Bill Shory, WBIR-TV news director, and Catherine Howell, news director for WNOX-FM and WIVK-FM.
John Huotari can be contacted at (865) 220-5533. Huotari is the immediate past president of the East Tennessee chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Golden Press Card Award Banquet  May 9, 2008

More than 80 journalists and guests attended our annual banquet at The Foundry Friday night to congratulate winners of this year’s competition.  The top two awards overall are the Horace V. Wells, Jr. Community Service Award and The Golden Press Card Award given to the top entrant among all the Award of Excellence winners in all categories.  This year we had unprecedented ties in both categories.

The Wells Award went to Scott Barker, Rebecca Ferrar, Ansley Haman, Hayes Hickman of the Knoxville News Sentinel for ”Knox County Turmoil;” and the Channel 10 News Team, WBIR-TV won for ”Knox County Files.”  The Judges said, “this is an ultimate public service with continuing commitment to follow through.”

The Golden Press Club Award was also shared by the two media on the same subject.  For this award, the Knoxville News Sentinel’s entry was “Knox County Chaos” by Rebecca Ferrar and Ansley Haman.

For the first time, ETSPJ held a High School Essay Contest in which the chapter winner will go on to the National SPJ level to compete with contemporaries from across the country for scholarships worth up to $1,000.  The ETSPJ winner was Christopher Bernard of Knoxville, who was presented with a certificate and a check for $50 during the GPC banquet.

The other awards in dozens of categories, may be viewed to the right under “WINNERS.”

Open Records/Meetings Seminar March 6, 2007

About 60 citizens, reporters and students attended our lively session on Tennessee’s evolving Open Records and Open Meetings law, how to ensure officials comply with it and what to do if they don’t.  It was co-sponsored by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy and the UT School of Journalism and Electronic Media, and was funded by a grant from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Legislative Luncheon Informative

The latest word on proposed amendments to Tennessee’s Sunshine Law plus a look into the legislature’s crystal ball were offered at a luncheon January 26, 2008, at Calhoun’s.

Holiday Party A Great Success!

The Maplehurst Inn’s lovely decorations were a festive backdrop to our party December 11, 2007, that brought together longtime ETSPJ members with some new faces, making for a lively evening.  Organizers Amanda Greever and Christine Jessel introduced a new wrinkle into the Crazy Gift Exchange.  Recognizing that those who draw higher numbers allow a better chance to “steal” previously opened gifts, they divided the assemblage into two groups.  We had to vie against each other at Pictionary, where categories were along journalism and Christmas themes.  One team quickly proved itself the frontrunner, so the “losers” had to choose the first half of the gifts and risk “theft” – which became rampant at the end, with several coveted gifts changing hands several times. Watch for some photos in Spot News and here soon!

Professional Development Workshop: “Shooting Video for the Web”

About 40 East Tennessee journalists attended this lively and informative session November 29, 2007, that told how anyone can economically acquire hardware and software to add good quality videos to a Web site. TV, newspaper, and academic expertise was shared with tips for shooting effective material with a camera costing as little as $150 and using freeware to edit and post to the Web. Thanks to all the presenters and attendees!

UT CAMPUS PARKING

Many of our events are held at the University Center on the UT campus.  To get there from Cumberland Avenue, turn south onto Philip Fulmer Way, a block east of 16th Street.  The UC is on the corner and the garage is just beyond the UC.  A little farther south is parking lot S-9 at the corner of Andy Holt Ave. and Philip Fulmer Way.  This is generally available in the evenings at no cost unless there’s a sporting event or concert.  To see a UT map, click UT campus map.

(Updated 10/31/08)