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SPJ members take part in Region VII conference

By David Bulla
Assistant Professor and SPJ Adviser

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – St. Louis Post Dispatch Editor Ellen Soeteber told students and professionals attending the Region VII Society of Professional Journalists Conference on April 2 that they live in ironic times for journalism.

"Newspapers are more ethically conscious now than ever before,” said Soeteber, who took over the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after serving seven years as the managing editor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale.

"In the 1970s, ethics barely mattered. Journalists routinely took handouts from people and corporations trying to influence them. Most of that is gone today. Yet the public doesn’t trust us anymore because of experiences like Jayson Blair and CBS’s story on President Bush’s National Guard service.”

The St. Louis editor also told the attendees, including members of the Iowa State SPJ chapter, to be careful as professionals.

"Today we live in an us-against-them political environment,” she said. "Both the left and the right manipulate public opinion with emotional pulls, especially one-issue voters. We journalists have aided and abetted that institutional lack of trust and civility. We need to be more open about what we do and include our communities more in our discussions about the issues of the day.”

Soeteber, the keynote speaker at the annual conference, said she has invited the public to attend staff budget meetings.

"Openness is better because we are letting the public in to critique us,” she said. “This helps us strengthen our commitment to be the public’s watchdog. They better understand how we operate.

"We have to treat our readers with respect if we are going to turn around public opinion.”

Others speakers at the Region VII conference included SPJ President Irwin Gratz, who is the “Morning Edition” producer for Maine Public Broadcasting; Beth Frerking, director of the Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families; Jon Leiberman, former Washington bureau of chief for Sinclair Broadcasting who was fired after criticizing his company for planning to air an anti-Kerry program labeled as news; Charles Davis, SPJ Freedom of Information chair and professor at the University of Missouri; and L. Kelly and Ron Sylvester, Wichita Eagle reporters who covered the uncovering of suspected BTK serial killer Dennis Rader.

Frerking gave students advice about their upcoming careers.

"I wrote Bill Moyers when I was starting my journalism career about how to get a job,” she said. “He sent me back a handwritten note. It said, ‘Just get a job.’

"It is still good advice. Get a job, work hard and challenge yourself. Cover everything that comes your way. Just work your fanny off, and you will get there. If you make a mistake – and we all do – it will not be a career killer. Learn from your mistakes and get better.”

Those attending from the Greenlee School included Keith DuCharme, Alicia Ebaugh, Alicia McGhee and Chris Mackey.

"The best part of the conference was getting to meet professionals and students who work in the same part of the country you do,” said SPJ Chapter President Ebaugh. “After a session given by two Wichita Eagle reporters about their work on the recent capture of the [suspected] BTK serial killer, I got to speak with them about how they came up with their ideas for coverage and got a connection within the paper to whom I can send my resume and speak with about jobs and internships.

"Also, meeting students at competing newspapers (or at least other college newspapers within my region) gave me more perspective about how other newsrooms handle potential problems and come up with ideas.”

Ebaugh is a senior majoring in journalism and mass communication.

Mackey, a junior majoring in journalism and mass communication, said he picked up several tips from the speakers.

"I gained the most knowledge from the 'Improving Student Newspapers' session," Mackey said. "The panelists mentioned many different things that will help me go on as a student journalist at The Daily to improve both my section–sports–as well as the paper as a whole. I learned how to keep from getting burned out, improve the writing of myself and the journalists around me, and keep my sources interested in talking to me."

Some of the proceeds for the regional conference went to the SPJ’s legal defense fund, which helps reporters in need of legal aid in shield law cases.

SPJ’s 2005 national convention will be held Oct. 23-25 in Las Vegas.

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