RSVP for a panel discussion on media coverage of immigrant communities and the future of immigration reform.

What
SPJ/LA’s panel discussion on the future of immigration reform and media coverage of immigrant communities

Who

• Paloma Esquivel, reporter, Los Angeles Times
• Pilar Marrero, reporter, La Opinion
• Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center

Adolfo Flores, reporter for the Pasadena Sun, will moderate.

 
When
Thursday, May 17
7 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
(Door open at 6:30 p.m.)

Where
KPCC-89.3 FM, Crawford Family Forum, 474 South Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105

Cost
The event is free and open to the public.

Parking
http://www.scpr.org/forum/directions/

RSVP
Due to limited space, please RSVP at http://www.scpr.org/events/2012/05/17/real-immigration-report/

Contact
Navid Nonahal, SPJ/LA
(818) 317-2234
spjlosangeles@gmail.com

Photo: SEIU International/Flickr/Creative Commons License

The Madeleine Brand Show, which launched in September 2010 on Southern California Public Radio, 89.3 KPCC, is described as having an original sound that is thought-provoking and intimate. Brand describes it as “a new form of public radio journalism that combines a Morning Edition sensibility—the news and current events—with the sensibilities of Fresh Air and This American Life—the best in story-telling.”

Five local journalists and an attorney will be honored at the event, which will be held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The Distinguished Journalist honorees are Bob Pool, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times; Howard Fine, a 10-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal; Bob Moon, senior business correspondent, Marketplace; and Lisa Bartley, investigative producer at ABC7, Eyewitness News. Jesus Sanchez, editor and publisher of The Eastsider LA, is the  recipient of the chapter’s Distinguished Work in New Media Award. Don Zachary, attorney and counsel for RTNA, will receive the chapter’s Freedom of Information Award.

Date/Time
6 p.m. silent auction, 7 p.m. dinner, Tuesday, May 8.

Tickets
Tickets are $80 for members, $90 for non-members; tables of 10 are $800. To make a reservation, contact Roberta Wax at (818) 718-8184 or spjbanquet@gmail.com. The reservation deadline is  May 1.

Contact
Navid Nonahal, SPJ/LA, (818) 317-2234
Roberta Wax, SPJ/LA, (818) 718-8184
spjbanquet@gmail.com

About Madeleine Brand
Brand, a native Angeleno and an award-winning journalist, has reported from Washington D.C., New York and London. She has covered the White House, Pentagon, 2000 presidential campaign and nearly every topic from politics and business to technology and the arts.  She spent the last 13 years with NPR, previously hosting the popular national news magazine, Day to Day.  Brand graduated with honors in English Literature at UC Berkeley and received a master’s degree from Columbia University ’s Graduate School of Journalism where she also taught radio documentary.

Photo via The Madeleine Brand Show Facebook Page

The latest speakers confirmed to appear will participate in the “Freak Out!” session, which will be focused on how journalists cover traumatic stories and deal with their own feelings about witnessing such events. KNX 1070 business news anchor and immediate past president of the Greater Los Angeles chapter, Frank Mottek, will moderate the discussion. The panelists will be:

• Dr. Leslie Seppinni, doctor of Clinical Psychology
• David Singer, Psychotherapist, trauma therapist, news producer
• Diane Thompson, News Anchor, KNX 1070 Newsradio

KCBS reporter Bob Butler and Rich Goldner, the news director for KSWB-TV FOX5 San Diego, are also confirmed to participate in Saturday’s panel on Jobs in the Newsrooms of the Future.

Conference registration includes access to all of the day’s sessions and networking opportunities, a Friday night cocktail party and a continental breakfast on Saturday. Visit the conference website at http://spjla-bestofthewest.org/ to register for the conference and Mark of Excellence luncheon.

To reserve a hotel room at the Hilton Universal City, please visit http://bit.ly/GBX2KR.

This year’s keynote speaker for the Mark of Excellenceluncheon will be Tom Goldstein of The Bay Citizen. Goldstein is interim dean, professor of Journalism, and director of the Media Studies Program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. He has been a journalism educator for more than 25 years, first at the University of Florida, then at and at Columbia. Goldstein worked as a reporter at AP, Newsday, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

The annual conference will bring together professional journalists and students from throughout the region – California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii.

The sessions on March 31 will be:

One Man Band: Beyond Broadcast

• Reporter Joe Little shoots, writes, edits, and reports as a one-man-band for 10 News in San Diego. Little will share his experience and tips on being a reporter who does it all in a never-ending news cycle.

Technology and Social Media

• Participants are encouraged to log onto SPJLA-bestofthewest.org to submit their questions about Twitter, Facebook, WordPress and anything tech-related. The top questions will be selected and answered, during this interactive session, by Julie Spira, social media strategist and the CEO of Social Media and More, and Ellen Olivier, society columnist and creator of Society News LA.

Freak Out!

• Learn how to cover and react to emotional and traumatic stories with panelists Dr. Leslie Seppinni, doctor of Clinical Psychology, David J. Singer, Psychotherapist, crisis response expert, news editor, and Diane Thompson, a news anchor for KNX 1070 Newsradio. The moderator will be the immediate past president of the Greater Los Angeles chapter, Frank Mottek.

Ethics Scenarios

• The editor of the Glendale News Press, Dan Evans, will present common ethical dilemmas that reporters and editors face. Participants will be divided into groups to work through each dilemma. Their answers will then be presented to the group for discussion.

Jobs in the Newsrooms of the Future

• Former KTLA News Director and Partner at Real News Collective LLC,Jeff Wald, will moderate a discussion about hiring reporters, producers, writers and managers of the future.Bob Butler, a reporter with KCBS Radio, Rich Goldner, the news director for KSWB-TV FOX5 San Diego, Marcia Brandwynne, talent coach and correspondent for America News Now and Barbara Lopez-Nash, Regional Human Resources Director atTribune Broadcasting, will talk about the specific skills and experiences they look for. This is a great opportunity to meet face-to-face with the people directly in charge of hiring at some of the city’s most important newsrooms.     

Mentoring and Networking  

• Students will be paired with professional journalists for one-on-one mentoring. Use this session to ask questions, seek advice and make a connection with a reporter who knows the ups and downs of the business.

Concurrent with the sessions, we will host a Networking Room. Stocked with coffee and cookies, this place will be available to meet other reporters and continue Q&As with panelists once their sessions are over.

Registration prices are:

• $125 standard registration for professional members
• $150 standard registration for professional non-members
• $50 for students

The Mark of Excellence Awards luncheon is a separate ticket at $40.

When:  Friday evening, March 30 to Saturday, March 31, 2012

Where:  Hilton Universal City, 555 Universal Hollywood Drive in Universal City, CA

Cost:   $125 for professional members, $150 for professional non-members, $50 for students. Registration includes all programs, continental breakfast and Opening Night Reception. Mark of Excellence Awards Luncheon tickets are sold separately for $40 per person.

Register online: http://spjla-bestofthewest.org/

Questions:  SPJLosAngeles@gmail.com

The following letter was sent to fire Chief Brian Cummings today on behalf of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles regarding the Los Angeles Fire Department’s policy to restrict the free flow of information:

Dear Chief Cummings:

This law office represents the Society of Professional Journalists – Greater Los Angeles Chapter (“SPJ/LA”) and the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles (“PPAGLA”). I write on behalf of SPJ/LA and PPAGLA to express their shared concern with recent policy changes announced by the Los Angeles Fire Department (“LAFD”) that seriously threaten the newsgathering rights of journalists and photojournalists, and endanger the public’s right to know about the functioning of its government.

The LAFD’s new policy of refusing to disclose information to the media about basic response details – including times and locations of incidents and the nature of emergencies as well as the age and gender of victims – is a sharp departure from the previous practice of the LAFD. It contravenes a directive from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that the LAFD “immediately resume releasing information that provides LAFD incident specifics[.]” Letter, Hon. A. Villaraigosa to Chief Cummings, Mar. 21, 2012. The timing of the policy shift is highly suspicious in light of recent revelations about inaccuracies in the LAFD’s reported response times to emergency situations.

More light must be shed on the LAFD’s practices, not less. SPJ/LA and PPAGLA condemn in the strongest terms this unlawful change in LAFD policy.

Among other things, the new LAFD policy violates: the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution; Article 1, Section 3(b) of the California Constitution; the California Public Records Act, Government Code §§ 6250, et seq.; and Penal Code § 409.5(d) (requiring media access to disaster scenes and emergencies). The LAFD is subject to the California Public Records Act (“CPRA”). Gov’t C. § 6252(d). The CPRA requires immediate access to all communications related to the LAFD’s functions while it is conducting business, which is around-the-clock. Gov’t C. §§ 6252(e), 6253(a),

6253.9(a). The CPRA also provides that an agency shall disclose basic information such as “the time, substance and location of all complaints or requests for assistance received by the agency and the time and nature of the response thereto … the time and date of the report, the name and age of the victim, the factual circumstances surrounding the … incident, and a general description of any injuries, [or] property … involved.” Gov’t C. § 6254(f)(2).

We are aware of your March 20, 2012 posting asserting that the LAFD is a “hybrid entity” under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). Nothing in HIPAA or the HIPAA Privacy Rule mandates or supports the LAFD’s new media blackout policy. Most importantly, the information that the LAFD used to disclose routinely – but now refuses to disclose – is simply not private. A fire is not private. A car crash on a public street is not private. The California Supreme Court held, for example, that a car accident victim does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the existence of an accident and what could be viewed from a public roadway. Shulman v. Group W Productions, Inc., 18 Cal. 4th 200, 232-233 (1998). Nothing in HIPAA restricts the dissemination of information about the times and locations of incidents, the nature of emergencies or the age and gender of victims. HIPAA plainly only applies to “individually identifiable health information” – i.e., not the kind of information at issue here. See, e.g., 45 C.F.R. § 164.500 (2000). Moreover, HIPAA only applies to the “covered functions” – i.e., the “health care components” – of “hybrid entities.” 45 C.F.R. §§ 164.501, 164.504(b) (2000). Even if “individually identifiable health information” obtained during a call could conceivably be covered by HIPAA – which SPJ/LA and PPAGLA do not concede is the case – merely receiving and responding to a emergency call is not a “covered function.” Disclosing the location, time, nature and de-identified information about the call does not implicate HIPAA in any sense, and may not serve as a justification for the LAFD’s new policy.

The public interest is served by understanding what the LAFD does and how it does it. The public disclosure also is served by learning, through the media, about emergency situations. The law requires that the LAFD abandon its ill-conceived effort to keep the public in the dark.

Very truly yours,

Jean-Paul Jassy
BOSTWICK & JASSY LLP

(Copies of this letter were also sent to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and Councilman Mitch Englander, chair of the Public Safety Committee.)

Photo: An LAFD training session at Station 88 | Photo by Zach Behrens

Closed-door meetings and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s recent proposal to reduce the time allocated to public comments during the regular Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors sessions were covered by two separate L.A. Times pieces.

Join the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and KPCC for a moderated panel discussion of the Brown Act, its role in these proceedings, and its public impact.

WHO & WHAT:  Open and Closed Doors – Access to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors

• Joel Bellman, press deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
•  Jeff Glasser, lawyer, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
• Christina Villacorte, reporter, Los Angeles Daily News
• Moderator: John Schwada, SPJ/LA board member and a veteran print and broadcast reporter

Check back frequently for updates on programming, events and attendees. Prices below:

• Early Bird – SPJ Members   $100.00
• Early Bird – Non-SPJ Members   $125.00
• Early Bird – Student   Mar 1, 2012$50.00
• Regular Price – SPJ Members   $125.00
• Regular Price – Non-SPJ Members   $150.00
• Regular Price – Student   $75.00
• Mark of Excellence Luncheon   $40.00

RSVP now to join your friends, SPJ/LA members, print, online, and broadcast journalists on November 30th in Beverly Hills.

WHAT: SPJ/LA Holiday Networking Party

WHEN: 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

WHERE: McCormick & Schmick’s Pacific Seafood Grill

206 N. Rodeo Drive

On the Via Rodeo

Beverly Hills, CA  90210

Phone: (310) 859-0434

COST:        $25 for SPJ/LA members

$40 for non-members

Check or cash accepted

Non-members who join the night of the event will enjoy the member price.

Give yourself the gift of SPJ/LA membership at www.spjla.org.

Cash bar

PARKING: $5 after 6pm in the Via Rodeo parking structure with elevator to party. Metered parking also available.

RSVP: Email SPJLosAngeles@gmail.com or call the SPJ/LA hotline at (323) 259-3350.

For more details or questions, please contact Frank Mottek, SPJ/LA President at spjlosangeles@gmail.com.

RSVP now to join your friends, SPJ/LA members, print, online, and broadcast journalists on November 30th in Beverly Hills.

WHAT: SPJ/LA Holiday Party

WHEN: 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

WHERE: McCormick & Schmick’s Pacific Seafood Grille
206 N. Rodeo Drive
On the Via Rodeo
Beverly Hills, CA  90210
Phone: (310) 859-0434

COST: $25 for SPJ/LA members
$40 for non-members

Non-members who join the night of the event will enjoy the member price.

Give yourself the gift of SPJ/LA membership at www.spjla.org.

Cash bar

PARKING: $5 after 6pm in the Via Rodeo parking structure with elevator to party. Metered parking also available.

RSVP: Email SPJLosAngeles@gmail.com or call the SPJ/LA hotline at (323) 259-3350.

For more details or questions, please contact Frank Mottek, SPJ/LA President at spjlosangeles@gmail.com.