One hundred and thirty people from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming attended the Society of Professional Journalists Region 9 “Scaling New(s) Heights” Conference April 24-25 on the Auraria campus in Denver.

Most of the attendees were college journalism students and faculty. The April 25 Mark of Excellence Awards luncheon recognized the outstanding work by students in newspapers, magazines, online, radio and television. The list of winners is at http://www.spj.org.

The SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter thanks the following people who volunteered their time to serve on session panels:

Freedom of Information and Your Right to Know panel: Tom Johnson, managing director of the Institute for Analytic Journalism in Santa Fe, NM, is the SPJ Region 9 director; Jeff Roberts, formerly of The Denver Post, is executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition; Peg Perl, who is adjunct faculty at the University of Denver, is senior counsel at Colorado Ethics Watch, a nonprofit organization promoting ethics and accountability in government.

Ethics in Newsgathering and Reporting panel: Fred Brown, former Denver Post capitol bureau chief and former SPJ national president, is co-vice chair of the SPJ Ethics Committee; John Ensslin, former SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter and SPJ national president, is a reporter at The (Bergen, NJ) Record; Gabrielle Porter is a reporter at the Evergreen Newspapers.

Diversity in the Newsroom and in News Coverage panel: Tak Landrock, a member of the SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter board, is a reporter at Denver Fox31; Gil Asakawa, a former SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter board member, is student media manager at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Multimedia Journalism – The Present and the Future panel: Phil Tenser, a member of the Rocky Mountain Online News Association, is digital executive producer at Denver 7News; Nicki Jhabvala is The Denver Post sports digital editor; Sandra Fish, secretary of the SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter, is a data journalist with New Mexico In Depth.

Non-profit News Has a Growing Audience panel: Brian Calvert is associate editor of High Country News, an environmental news organization in Paonia; Neil Best is president and CEO of KUNC public radio in Greeley; Cara DeGette, former SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter president, is editor of the Greater Park Hill News.

Investigative Journalism – Story Ideas and Resources panel: Natasha Gardner, senior editor at 5280 Magazine; Bob Burdick, SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter treasurer, is the former editor of the Rocky Mountain News and publisher of the Colorado Springs Gazette; Burt Hubbard, a former Rocky Mountain News reporter, is editorial director at Rocky Mountain PBS I-News.

What is the Future of the News Industry? panel: Lauren Gustus is executive editor of the Fort Collins Coloradoan; Jim Anderson is news editior of The Associated Press Colorado bureau; Neil Best.

Challenges Facing Collegiate Journalism panel: Steve Musal and Steve Haigh of Metropolitan State University of Denver; Kate Winkle and Neill Woelk of Colorado State University-Fort Collins; Jordyn Siemens and Gil Asakawa of University of Colorado-Boulder; Aaron Graff of Community College of Denver.

How to Get an Internship and an Entry-level Job panel: Doug Bell, a member of the SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter board, is editor of the Evergreen Newspapers; Kara Mason, a member of the SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter board, is a student at Colorado State University-Pueblo; Noelle Leavitt Riley, former president of the SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter, is editor of the Craig Daily Press.

The SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter thanks the following for their conference sponsorships:

Richard G. Ballantine, chair of the Ballantine Family Foundation and former Durango Herald publisher
Colorado Press Association
Fox31 Denver/Colorado’s Own The CW2
Society of Professional Journalists
Colorado Mesa University
Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Colorado State University-Pueblo
Community College of Denver
Metropolitan State University of Denver
SPJ Rio Grande Pro Chapter
SPJ Utah Headliners Chapter

SPJ Colorado Pro also thanks the SPJ Auraria Chapter officers and advisers for their work on the conference:

Aaron D. Graff, president
Alex Olsen, vice president
Brian Erickson, treasurer
Yolanda Valencia, program director
Melanie Rice, secretary
Kristi Stother, CCD adviser
Shaun Schafer, MSU-Denver adviser

SPJ Utah Headliners Chapter president McKenzie Romero, right, reviews the resume of Michaela Funtanilla of Weber State University April 25
during the Region 9 Conference in Denver.

Colorado State University-Fort Collins SPJ chapter adviser Kris Kodrich in the buffet line April 25 prior to the Region 9 Conference Mark of Excellence awards program.

SPJ Region 9 director Tom Johnson presents the Mark of Excellence awards program April 25 on the final day of the conference in Denver.

SPJ Auraria Chapter officer Yolanda Valencia conducts a podcast interview with Denver Fox31 reporter Tak Landrock, left, and CU-Boulder student media manager Gil Asakawa April 24 during the Region 9 Conference in Denver. Landrock and Asakawa led the conference diversity session discussion.

SPJ Colorado Pro board secretary Sandra Fish and SPJ Auraria Chapter president Aaron Graff man the registration table April 24 at the Region 9 Conference on the Auraria campus in Denver.