The
Society of Professional Journalists (
SPJ), formerly known as
Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing
journalistA journalist is a person who practises journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that are not biased.Reporters are one type of journalist...
s in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was established in 1909 at
DePauw UniversityDePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University...
.
Its stated mission is to promote and defend the
First AmendmentThe First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion", prohibiting the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech and infringing on the freedom of the...
guarantees of
freedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
and
freedom of the pressFreedom of the press consists ofconstitutional or statutory protections pertaining to the media and published materials.With respect to governmental information, any government distinguishes which materials are public or protected from disclosure to the public based on classification of information...
; encourage high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of
journalismJournalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the mobile phone...
; and promote and support
diversityMulticulturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures, for practical reasons and/or for the sake of diversity and applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations...
in journalism.
SPJ has nearly 300 chapters across the United States that bring educational programming to local areas and offer regular contact with other media professionals.
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The
Society of Professional Journalists (
SPJ), formerly known as
Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing
journalistA journalist is a person who practises journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that are not biased.Reporters are one type of journalist...
s in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was established in 1909 at
DePauw UniversityDePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University...
.
Its stated mission is to promote and defend the
First AmendmentThe First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion", prohibiting the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech and infringing on the freedom of the...
guarantees of
freedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
and
freedom of the pressFreedom of the press consists ofconstitutional or statutory protections pertaining to the media and published materials.With respect to governmental information, any government distinguishes which materials are public or protected from disclosure to the public based on classification of information...
; encourage high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of
journalismJournalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the mobile phone...
; and promote and support
diversityMulticulturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures, for practical reasons and/or for the sake of diversity and applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations...
in journalism.
SPJ has nearly 300 chapters across the United States that bring educational programming to local areas and offer regular contact with other media professionals. Its membership base is more than 9,000 members of the media.
SPJ initiatives include a Legal Defense Fund that wages court battles to secure First Amendment rights; the Project Sunshine campaign, to improve the ability of journalists and the public to obtain
access to government recordsFreedom of information legislation represents the foundational right-to-know legal process by which requesters may ask for government held information and receive it freely or at minimal cost, barring standardized exceptions...
; the magazine
Quill; and the annual
Sigma Delta Chi AwardThe Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists for excellence in journalism.- History :The Awards, according the SPJ, began in 1932 when the society chose six individuals for their contributions to journalism. In 1939 the awards program began as it is...
s, which honour excellence in journalism.
It has also drawn up a Code of Ethics
http://www.spj.org/ethics_code.asp that aims to ensure that journalists perform their work while adhering to high standards of behavior and decision-making.
The organization helped foster the creation of the
American ReporterThe American Reporter is the first online-only newspaper. Started in 1995 by current Editor-in-Chief Joe Shea. It is published seven days per week as an electronic daily newspaper and is owned by the writers whose work it features....
, the first electronic internet-only newspaper.
Deadline Club
The New York chapter of the SPJ, called the
Deadline Club, gives out an annual Deadline Club Award to New York-area journalists. Journalist
Russ BakerFor the satirical writer, see Russell BakerRuss Baker is an American investigative journalist. His themes are politics, secrecy, and abuses of power...
received this award in 2005.
External links