SPJ Colorado Pro partners with other Colorado organizations on journalism awareness curriculum – and we need your help

/ Colorado SPJ

To the Colorado journalism community,

We are members of the Society of Professional Journalists Colorado Pro Chapter, the Colorado Press Association, the Colorado Broadcasters Association and other organizations collaborating on an SPJ-approved project.

The goal is to train Colorado journalists to deliver presentations to non-journalists about what we do and how we operate.

Essentially, we hope to increase trust and understanding of the news media by enabling journalists to speak to groups in their community — professional associations, schools, faith communities, elected officials and webinar audiences — about what ethical journalism looks like.

To support this effort, we are developing a curriculum to assist journalists.

But we need your help.

If you were speaking to a gathering of your local Chamber of Commerce — or, for that matter, a high school civics class or maybe a church group — what would you want them to know about journalism?

The results of our early brainstorming are listed below. We would appreciate any feedback.

Proposed topics so far:

  • News vs. opinion
  • Sources: How journalists use them, what on vs. off the record mean, and what you can expect if a journalist reaches out to you.
  • Social media stories vs. real news stories: What to know when consuming journalism via social media.
  • A day in the life of a journalist: Lots of people think news has an agenda, so let’s walk them through a day in the life.
  • First Amendment and a journalist’s rights
  • National news vs. local news 
  • What is “newsworthy”? Those trusty “news values” we all learned and how they inform the decisions we make.
  • Codes of ethics: SPJ, National Association of Broadcasters, etc.

We have carved out 60 days in which to complete the development of this journalism awareness curriculum.

We hope that, in spite of the busy holiday season, you might take a few moments to share your thoughts through February 1.

Just follow this link to our brief online form, where you can share your best ideas and any feedback with us. (https://forms.gle/zk4bMFQyJw4w8LGV8)

Regards,

  • Shannah Bober, Colorado Broadcasters Association (KKTV 11 News in Colorado Springs)
  • Mark Craddock, Colorado Press Association (World Journal)
  • Kevin Dale, Colorado Broadcasters Association (Colorado Public Radio)
  • Thelma Grimes, Society of Professional Journalists Colorado Pro Chapter (Colorado Politics)
  • Michael Karlik, Society of Professional Journalists Colorado Pro Chapter (Colorado Politics/The Gazette)
  • Linda Shapley, Colorado Press Association (Colorado News Collaborative)

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