No newsletter included in this year's SPJ Sigma Delta Chi Award winners.The Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ, formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi recently announced the winners of its annual (since 1932) Sigma Delta Chi Awards The 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. for excellence in journalism. After years of lobbying by newsletter publishers to include at least one newsletter category in the competition, SPJ SPJ Society of Professional Journalists SPJ Self-Protection Jamming SPJ Small Project Job SPJ Steel Pile Jacket SPJ Spool File by Job Agent now has just that--one category, Public Service in Newsletter Journalism, out of a total of 49. And this year no award was presented. That is lamentable la·men·ta·ble adj. Inspiring or deserving of lament or regret; deplorable or pitiable. See Synonyms at pathetic. lam  en·ta·bly adv. . One NEPA member told us on condition of anonymity, "I think this is regretable--and frankly does not reflect well on NEPA. You will recall that Tom Hagy, the very same guy who thinks a horse trainer In horse racing, a trainer is responsible for preparing a horse for races. As such, he takes responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter. should be addressing the NEPA convention (at a fee of $10,000) was head of the NEPA Editorial Special Working Group" (NL/NL 3/31/05). His opinion of NEPA aside, NL/NL does join him in his stated efforts "to see if there's a way to expand the SPJ newsletter categories to include spot news, investigative, medical/health, financial, and Washington reporting." Longtime NL/NL publisher Howard Penn Hudson regularly encouraged newsletter journalists to join SPJ and make their presence felt. At one point, the head of the SPJ Washington chapter was a newsletter editor. NL/NL is a member and will be lobbying SPJ for an increase in newsletter categories for the awards program. We urge those newsletter editors and publishers who are members to do the same. Contact Heather Porter, assistant director of programs, 317-927-8000, ext. 204. And for those who are not SPJ members, please consider joining. The dues are very reasonable and bring lots of information (including the excellent Quill quill: see pen. magazine) and services. Plus, to echo Leonard Eiserer's sentiments elsewhere in this issue, we must work "to enhance the prestige" of newsletter journalism in the wider world of all types of journalism. SPJ, The Eugene S. Pulliam Eugene Smith Pulliam (September 7 1914 - January 20 1999) was the publisher of the "Indianapolis Star" and the "Indianapolis News" from 1975 until his death. Pulliam began his journalism career as a child, delivering "The Lebanon Reporter" and "The Indianapolis News. National Journalism Center, 3909 N. Meridian St., Indianpolis, IN 46028, 317-927-8000, www.spj.org |
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