The Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism conference took place in early September in Nashville. Colorado Pro was represented by board member Amy Maestas. The Colorado chapter had three delegates vote to cast. Here are highlights of the conference, and how our chapter voted on issues:

SPJ Code of Ethics revision

Among the most hotly debated issues at the conference was the revision of the organization’s Code of Ethics. An 18-member committee began working on revising the code after the 2013 Excellence in Journalism conference. Society members and leaders felt the code needed to be updated to recognize and incorporate the changes journalism has undergone since the code was written in 1996. As the committee said, “Language was changed to make sure it reflected that we weren’t tied to traditional forms of journalism.” The committee also wanted to address transparency in reporting, put tougher standards in place for “checkbook journalism,” advocacy journalism and anonymous sources. Of course, the ever-changing world of technology also mandated that the code include changes that reflected how our industry is being affected.

The committee worked on the code revision for more than a year, and it received extensive feedback from SPJ members during this time. At times, feedback challenged the proposed changes; at other times, the proposed revisions were welcomed happily.

A couple of sessions and forums were held at EIJ before delegates voted on the revision on Saturday night. As expected, delegates representing their various chapters had strong opinions about the changes. Some thought the revision was incomplete and lacked substantive meaning. Others thought it was high time to revise the code and wanted it done immediately.

With spirited discussion, the final proposal was approved. Colorado SPJ voted in favor of the change.

To read the new Code of Ethics, go here: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

SPJ name change

Second to the much-debated revision to the code of ethics was the proposal to change the name of Society of Professional Journalists to Society for Professional Journalism. This year was the fourth time a proposal to change the name came before the society. SPJ Region 3 Director Michael Koretzky led the drive to change the name. Koretzky’s goal was to include a broader range of people who support journalism, and he hoped that would help increase SPJ membership, which has declined 22 percent since 2008. (SPJ wasn’t always called that; in 1988, it was changed from Delta Sigma Chi.) Among the criticism of the name change was that it “rings more like an advocacy group and should be exclusive to practicing journalists.”

“Part of the way we change our name is changing the way we do our membership,” Koretzky said. Ultimately, the proposal to change the name was voted down — 498 to 232 — at the EIJ closing business session. Colorado SPJ voted against the name change.

Read more about the name change here http://www.eijnews.org/2014/09/06/whats-in-a-name-the-debate-behind-the-spj-name-change/

New president

During the conference, the organization installed a new president, Dana Neuts, who is freelance journalist. She replaces Dave Cuillier, assistant professor of journalism at University of Arizona. Among the many areas Neuts says she wants to work on while leading SPJ is diversity – not only among those who participate in SPJ, but also in the media. “Admittedly, SPJ has a long way to go, but the organization recognizes it needs to improve diversity across the board,” Neuts wrote in her blog a couple of weeks ago. To keep up to date on Neuts’ leadership, follow her blog “Freedom of the Prez” here: http://blogs.spjnetwork.org/president/.

Forever Fund

Cuillier is now chairman of the Freedom of Information committee. At the conference, the board approved this endowed fund to support SPJ’s advocacy work. At first, the Forever Fund will be funded through the Legal Defense Fund. Meanwhile, Cuillier will lead the effort to raise money and create an individual endowed fund.

Breakout sessions

As usual, the conference included a variety of excellent breakout sessions that drew dozens of participants. The range of topics included international opportunities to practice journalism, filing FOIA requests, how to be a good manager, how to think about digital when writing or producing stories, ethics, new technology, editing, writing, women in media leadership, accuracy and much, much more.

Among the highlights was a Super Session with Kara Swisher, co-CEO of Revere Digital and co-founder of technology news and analysis site Re/Code. Swisher was a conference favorite, imparting not only her digital wisdom but her business acumen as well. SPJ taped Swisher’s Super Session and has made it available to watch or listen to on its EIJ recap website. It’s worth every minute to watch or listen. You can find it, along with other recordings from EIJ, here: http://www.spj.org/c-recap14.asp#c1.

The 2015 Excellence in Journalism Conference will be held in Orlando, Florida. Follow news of EIJ here: http://www.eijnews.org.