Society of Professional Journalists Sets Public Meeting on Media Ethics

22 Apr 2009 01:00 Africa/Lagos


Society of Professional Journalists Sets Public Meeting on Media Ethics

CLEVELAND, April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Do you want to voice criticisms or questions about the ethics of the news media? The Society of Professional Journalists, the nation's largest journalism group by membership, will give you a chance to do just that -- and near home, too.

Vent your views and learn about the ethics of journalists at a Town Hall meeting for the public and journalists at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown Cleveland, 1111 Lakeside Ave.

A panel of journalists from broadcast, online and print media will respond to questions about media ethics or lapses from the public. They will also shed light on how journalists weigh ethical concerns in the minute-by-minute rush to produce the news.

Sponsors of the event are the Society of Professional Journalists and the Cleveland Chapter of SPJ. The Sigma Delta Chi Foundation of SPJ is providing funding for the program. The program is one of 12 Town Hall sessions SPJ is producing as part of an effort by its national ethics committee to create greater dialogue between the media and the public and broaden the public's understanding of journalism ethics.

The program is free. RSVP by 5 p.m. April 24 to ensure adequate seating. To register, contact Tom Moore, SPJ Cleveland secretary-treasurer, at 440-454-3282 or tmoore56@msn.com,

Moderating the program will be Tom Merriman, an attorney, broadcast investigative journalist and an ethics fellow at The Poynter Institute, a news media training and research center.

Panelists include Ted Diadiun, reader representative, The Plain Dealer; Rita Andolsen, news director, WKYC-TV3; Steve FitzGerald, online journalist, founder of LakewoodBuzz.com and content manager for the ChannelFuse online forum network, and M.L. Schultze, news director for WKSU, 89.7 FM. An additional panelist is invited.

SPJ Cleveland's website is http://www.spj.org/cleveland/.

PR Newswire is the official news distribution source for the Cleveland Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Source: Cleveland Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists

CONTACT: Tom Moore of Society of Professional Journalists,
+1-440-454-3282, tmoore56@msn.com