Bill would ban release of 911 tapes to media

Torres

Moore

The ability of the media to get 911 tapes is under attack again, the LA Times and other media outlets report. Assemblywoman Norma Torres, D-Pomona, says the recent release of a frantic call made by Demi Moore’s friends before the actress was rushed to the hospital shows the need to give callers privacy. Torres says such calls should be kept private the way medical records are. Torres, however, is a former 911 operator. And keeping 911 tapes private would prevent the public from hearing emergency operators who make serious errors in the handling of calls. Earlier attempts to make 911 calls secret have failed in the Legislature.

Suit seeks captioning on website news videos

A federal magistrate has refused to dismiss a suit by deaf Californians who want CNN to add closed captions to its video clips on its website, the Chronicle reported today. The suit accuses CNN and its owner, Time Warner, of violating state disability laws by denying full access to more than 100,000 Californians who are functionally deaf. CNN provides closed captions on television, as required by federal law, but doesn’t caption the brief video segments on its website. Magistrate Laurel Beeler of Oakland, in siding with the plaintiffs, said the lawsuit only alleges discrimination in the way CNN delivers news online and isn’t an attack on free speech.

Hussey out as editor of the Examiner

Hussey

Deirdre Hussey is no longer editor of The Examiner as a new owner makes changes at the free daily.

"Her institutional knowledge will be missed, but I think a fresh start and some fresh ideas in the Editor-in-Chief chair will be good," Examiner President and Publisher Todd Vogt told the SF Weekly. "Everyone is personally sorry to see her go, but professionally, everyone agrees a change is welcomed," he said.

Vogt said that after speaking to Hussey on Wednesday, the two decided to part ways effective immediately and she received “a nice severance,” according to the SF Weekly.

The Examiner hasn’t named Hussey’s replacement. In fact, the staff box in today’s (Feb. 3) edition still lists her as editor-in-chief.

Hussey was promoted to editor-in-chief in July 2010, succeeding Jim Pimentel. Hussey joined the Examiner in 2002 and and was north San Mateo County editor, city editor and assistant managing editor before being appointed managing editor in 2007.

The Bay Citizen in merger talks

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that The Bay Citizen, the two-year-old nonprofit news organization, is in merger talks with the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting. The Journal attributed its report to Bay Citizen staffers and others familiar with the discussions. Those sources said the talks are in the early stages and could fall apart. CIR executive director Robert Rosenthal is quoted as saying that it is unclear where the conversations will lead. In the past few months, Bay Citizen has lost its editor (Jonathan Weber), CEO (Lisa Frazier) and interim editor (Steve Fainaru) to other jobs or projects. And its founder, Warren Helman, died. CIR is headed by Rosenthal, former Chron managing editor, and has as its board chairman ex-Chron editor Phil Bronstein.

Somali pirates kidnap ex-SF Weekly critic

Moore

The SF Weekly’s former theater critic, Michael Scott Moore, was captured by Somali pirates on Saturday, according to the LA Times and KTLA Los Angeles. Moore went to Somalia to do research for a book about the pirates. He was on his way to the airport when 15 men in SUVs kidnapped him, believing that he was a spy, the Times said. The pirates are demanding a ransom and will not negotiate until it is paid, KTLA said.

Former SF Weekly editor John Mecklin said on his blog that he hopes journalists contact their State Department connections to urge them to work for Moore’s release. (The blog posting was mentioned in an SF Weekly story about Moore’s abduction, but it appears to have been taken down from Mecklin’s blog). Photo credit: KTLA.

Guild objects to arrest of reporters

The Guild has sent the letter below to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and Police Chief Howard Jordan to object to the arrests of six journalists during Saturday's Occupy Protests. The Guild is not alone in protesting these arrests. It has been joined by NABET, which represents TV and radio workers, and the Society for Professional Journalists. All parties want a meeting with Mayor Quan. Here is the text of the letter:

Dear Mayor Quan and Chief Jordan: 

We write to object, once again, to unacceptable interference with journalists covering Occupy Oakland protests and resulting law enforcement. 

On Saturday, at least six credentialed journalists were detained and/ or arrested while covering Occupy Oakland protests. They included representatives of the San Francisco Chronicle, KGO radio news, the Guardian (U.K.), East Bay Express, Mother Jones magazine, and the SF Bay Guardian. Despite repeatedly identifying themselves as members of the media, two were jailed.

Some wore official Oakland Police Department press credentials; others were carrying credentials from the San Francisco Police Department or from their assigning publications or broadcast outlets, a customary practice among working journalists. 

Although several journalists were released quickly on the scene, others were held for long periods of time, making it impossible for them to do their jobs. Numerous reports from the scene document officers ignoring reporters presenting their press credentials and admonishing them for not following orders to disperse. 

This despite the OPD's own guidelines, which stated, "Even after a dispersal order has been given, clearly identified media shall be permitted to carry out their professional duties in any area where arrests are being made unless their presence would unduly interfere with the enforcement action." 

Earlier this fall, many of us individually and collectively contacted the city to ask for a response to reports that plainly credentialed journalists had been detained and in some cases jailed covering Occupy protests. In another incident, police grabbed at a camera belonging to an Oakland Tribune photojournalist, breaking off the flash and throwing it to the ground.

Freedom of the press is key to our democracy and must be vigorously defended. Arrests of journalists and other police interference with reporters and photographers cannot be tolerated. 

We therefore request a meeting with city and police department leaders to discuss the immediate formation of a training and monitoring program to ensure that police no longer detain, harass, or otherwise block journalists from doing their jobs by reporting breaking news in the city of Oakland. 

If you have questions about this request, please let us know. 

Sincerely, 

Bernie Lunzer President The Newspaper Guild-CWA blunzer@cwa-union.org 202-434-7175 

Jim Joyce President The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET-CWA) 

Liz Enochs President Northern California chapter Society of Professional Journalists 

Kevin Wilson President NABET-CWA Local 51 San Francisco 

Carl Hall Executive officer Pacific Media Workers Guild San Francisco 

Rebecca Rosen Lum Chair, Guild Freelancers unit Pacific Media Workers Guild San Francisco

Singleton inducted into Texas hall of fame

Singleton

Texas has a newspaper Hall of Fame! And ex-MediaNews Group CEO Dean Singleton has been inducted into it. The Associated Press, which Singleton headed for the past five years, has the details.

Helen Gurley Brown aims to boost news technology

Gurley Brown

Longtime Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown, 89, has donated $30 million to Stanford’s engineering school and Columbia’s j-school to start an institute to develop new media technology. Here’s a link to the release. Each school will get $12 million and Columbia will get an extra $6 million to build a high-tech newsroom on its New York City campus. Stanford engineering professor Bernd Girod will be the institute's founding director until Columbia appoints his east coast counterpart.

Six reporters arrested during Oakland protest

Among the 400 or so people arrested by Oakland Police on Saturday during the Occupy protest were six reporters — Vivian Ho of the Chronicle, Kristin Hanes of KGO Radio, John C. Osborn of East Bay Express, Yael Chanoff of the Bay Guardian, Gavin Aronsen of Mother Jones and freelancer Susie Cagle (a previous arrestee).

Aronsen, in his first hand account, points out that the arrests of reporters were a direct violation of the Oakland Police Department’s own media relations policy that states "media shall never be targeted for dispersal or enforcement action because of their status."

Aronsen writes:

As soon as it became clear that I would be kettled with the protesters, I displayed my press credentials to a line of officers and asked where to stand to avoid arrest. In past protests, the technique always proved successful. But this time, no officer said a word. One pointed back in the direction of the protesters, refusing to let me leave. Another issued a notice that everyone in the area was under arrest. 

I wound up in a back corner of the space between the YMCA and a neighboring building, where I met Vivian Ho of the San Francisco Chronicle and Kristin Hanes of KGO Radio. After it became clear that we would probably have to wait for hours there as police arrested hundreds of people packed tightly in front of us, we maneuvered our way to the front of the kettle to display our press credentials once more. 

When Hanes displayed hers, an officer shook his head. "That's not an Oakland pass," he told her. "You're getting arrested." (She had a press pass issued by San Francisco, but not Oakland, police.) Another officer rejected my credentials, and I began interviewing soon-to-be-arrested protesters standing nearby. About five minutes later, an officer grabbed my arm and zip-tied me. Around the same time, Ho — who did have official OPD credentials — was also apprehended.

Channel 2 unveils new set, graphics

In the past few months, three Bay Area TV stations have introduced new sets and/or new graphic packages — CBS5, Univision 14 and NBC Bay Area. Tonight, KTVU Channel 2 unveiled its new set and graphics package that aims to modernize the station’s look while maintaining the top-rated station’s legacy.

“The set design features woods, brushed metals, Plexiglass and laminates that translate into a modern presentation that is warm and sophisticated,” said a news release from KTVU’s Jeff Holub. “The graphic package will use the same color palette and element package that KTVU viewers are familiar with but with more of a modern day look and feel.”

Here's a link to KTVU's story about the set.

The set will include three different staging areas – the main desk, weather center and a multipurpose area. The main anchor desk will feature a large Duratran mural and keeping with the tradition of the station will include the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather center is large enough for multiple meteorologists and features 60-inch flat screen monitors.

KTVU worked with Broadcast Design International (BDI) on the set and Hothaus Creative on the graphics.

Steve Fainaru to leave Bay Citizen

Steve Fainaru

Steve Fainaru, interim editor-in-chief of The Bay Citizen, announced Friday that he will be leaving the nonprofit news organization next month to pursue a book project with his brother, ESPN sportswriter Mark Fainaru-Wada. His departure follows the resignations of editor-in-chief Jonathan Weber in September and CEO Lisa Frazier in October. Last month, financeer Warren Helman, who launched Bay Citizen, died at age 77 of leukemia. The Bay Citizen, in its story about Fainaru’s departure, said it is currently hiring reporters and editors. Frazier, whose last day is Feb. 6, said Bay Citizen has raised $17.5 million since its inception including $6 million from Hellman. Replacements for Fainaru, Weber and Frazier have not been named. (Photo credit: Bay Citizen)

Enter the Greater Bay Area Journalism contest

The San Francisco Peninsula Press Club is now accepting entries for its annual Greater Bay Area Journalism Contest. Here's a link to the Call for Entries that has all the contest categories and rules.

All entries are to be submitted online, and the Call for Entries explains how that is done. The deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 29.

The contest is open to all print, broadcast and electronic media and public relations professionals working or residing in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano or
Sonoma counties.

Entries must have been originally published, broadcast or released on broadband between Jan. 1 and December 31, 2011, inclusive.

Entries will be judged by a press club or Society of Professional Journalists chapters outside the San Francisco Bay Area. No San Francisco Peninsula Press Club member will be involved in the judging.

The Press Club is trying to get more entries from public relations professionals. For the PR folks there are two new categories this year — annual reports and best use of Twitter.

The early days of KSFO 560

Before it was “Hot Talk” with Brian Sussman and Melanie Morgan, and before Don Sherwood was cracking people up in the 1960s, here’s what the staff of KSFO 560 looked like. This 1942 photo is from the current edition of Radio World and radio researcher John Schneider.

In 1942, radio was king (no TV yet) and KSFO was a big player even though it had lost its CBS affiliation a year earlier to San Jose’s KQW, which would later become KCBS. This group is gathered at the transmitter site near 3rd Street and Cesar Chavez Street in San Francisco.

What about the calls KWID? Those belonged to a shortwave station that KSFO’s owner, Wesley Dumm, had built at the request of President Franklin Roosevelt as part of the war effort. KWID blanketed the Pacific with its signal, which was important in the war against the Japanese.

Cable news show to originate from SF

If you watch cable news, you know that most of the shows originate from New York, Washington or Atlanta. But former two-term Michigan Democratic governor Jennifer Granholm, who moved to the Bay Area when she became a professor of law and public policy at UC-Berkeley, is launching a cable news show from San Francisco on Monday. The show will air on the Current channel, whose major shareholders include Al Gore. The Detroit News says Current has built a studio for her in San Francisco, and she will serve as both a moderator and interviewer.

Singleton out as AP chairman

Dean Singleton of Denver, who was replaced as head of MediaNews Group by John Paton earlier this year, is now leaving the chairmanship of the Associated Press board of directors. His five-year term has expired. The AP board has picked Mary Junck, chairman and CEO of Lee Enterprises, as the wire service’s new chairman. One of her first tasks will be to find a replacement for AP president and CEO Tom Curley, who announced earlier this week that he will step down once the board finds a replacement.

Cumulus to air 49ers game on 6 stations

In an unusual move, Cumulus Media announced today that it will air Sunday’s NFC Championship game between the 49ers and New York Giants on all six of its San Francisco stations.

On the AM dial, the game will be heard on KSFO 560, KNBR 680, KGO 810 and KTCT 1050. On the FM dial, Cumulus is putting the game on KFOG 104.5/97.7 and KSAN “The Bone” 107.7.

“This is the biggest 49ers game in 10 years, and to ensure that the broadcast will be heard by as many fans as possible, the Cumulus program directors got together and decided to air the game on all of our Bay Area stations,” KNBR’s operations director Lee Hammer said in a statement.

“We are unaware of any NFL team that has had this kind of support from its radio partner,” said 49ers Director of Broadcasting Bob Sargent.

All of the stations will begin SF 49ers presume coverage at 2:30 p.m. followed by the kickoff from Candlestick at 3:30.

Press Club to use Twitter and Facebook

It will now be easier than ever to follow or interact with the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club. The Press Club has begun posting its news items on Facebook. And we now have a Twitter account to keep you informed of our activities and items of interest. We invite your suggestions about how we can use social media in the future.

Oakland Tribune lands grant for news reporting

The California Endowment, a private health foundation that was created in 1996 after Blue Cross of California became a for-profit company, has given The Oakland Tribune and the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education a $340,000 grant.

According to the Trib, part of the grant will be used to renew a fellowship for reporter Scott Johnson.

Projects planned for the grant money include helping the Tribune “delve deeper into the impact of violence and trauma on Oakland residents.”

The newspaper and the Maynard Institute also plan to use some of the money to develop a website that helps news organizations in their reporting, as well as serving as a "clearing house" for therapists, counselors, activists, concerned citizens and elders to discuss issues and find services.

In addition, four community forums will be held in Oakland. The first, scheduled for April 2012, will focus on gun violence in Oakland.

"This grant will enable us to lead the way in developing a new, community-oriented strategy for the future on an international level," Bay Area News Group President Mac Tully said in the Trib story.

Here’s a link to more about the California Endowment. The Maynard Foundation is named after the former owner of the Tribune, the late Robert Maynard. The foundation and newspaper have collaborated on several projects in the past.

January 2012 Press Club board minutes

Jan. 11, 2012, San Mateo Daily Journal offices

PRESENT: Ed Remitz, Kristy Blackburn, Melissa McRobbie, Marshall Wilson, Antonia Ehlers, Laura Dudnick, Darryl Compton, Jon Mays, Dave Price. Absent: Peter Cleaveland.

The meeting was called to order at 6:40 p.m. by Marshall.

MINUTES: December minutes approved as submitted.

FINANCE AND MEMBERSHIPS: Darryl reported that we were in good shape for 2011. After paying our bills, we were still $1,600 in the black, compared to $13,000 in the red in 2010.

CONTEST CALL FOR ENTRIES: The deadline has been extended to Feb. 29, 2012. The board discussed reaching out to magazines, trade publications and radio stations to increase participation in those categories. Board members also discussed the how to handle the press release category. It was suggested that public relations officials will be asked to submit three entries. In addition, an annual report category might be added. After a lengthy discussion about the social media category, the board decided to add a new category, the best use of Twitter.

CONTEST BANQUET SPEAKERS: Antonia proposed two ideas – the husband/wife team of Manny and Michelle Fernandez, both of whom are reporters for The New York Times. Manny recently became The Times bureau chief of Texas and Oklahoma. Michelle did extensive coverage of the 911 aftermath.

Another idea was to invite Greg Vistica, author and former investigative journalist. He was a correspondent for Newsweek, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, a staff writer for The Washington Post, a staff producer for "60 Minutes II" and a military affairs writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for exposing Senator Bob Kerrey’s role in a Vietnam massacre. In addition, he won a George Polk award for breaking the Tailhook scandal, which led to historic reforms in the military.

POSSIBLE SEMINAR ON PUBLIC SAFETY REALIGNMENT: Board members discussed upcoming seminiars, including public safety realignment, an investigative reporting workshop and a workshop specifically designed for public information officers working with the press.

MEETING DATES AND TIMES: It was decided that Press Club Board meetings will remain as they are, at 6:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month.

OTHER BUSINESS:

• Marshall asked for support (reporters needed!) for a San Mateo County leadership forum on March 9. 

• Ed also asked for reporters and editors to speak to his journalism class at CSM. 

• The deadline for the High School Journalism Contest is March 31. 

• Ideas for the newsletter were discussed with Laura. This issue will include the holiday party, the wake for The Times and a profile on Micki Carter. 

• Kristi spoke about the JEA NSPA joint convention on Feb. 4. 

• A seat is vacant on the board. Board members discussed possible candidates. 

• They also brainstormed about possibly donating the old San Mateo Times sign to the San Mateo County Historical Museum.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Antonia Ehlers, Secretary

December 2011 Press Club board minutes

Dec. 14, 2011, Janet Parker Beck Press Room, County of San Mateo Hall of Justice

PRESENT: Marshall Wilson, Melissa McRobbie, Micki Carter, Kristy Blackburn, Peter Cleaveland, Dave Price and Darryl Compton. Absent: Jon Mays, Laura Dudnick, Antonia Ehlers, Ed Remitz and Jack Russell

Marshall Wilson called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.

Marshall offered the board’s special thanks to retiring board member Micki Carter for her service as secretary, past president, awards contests, high school liaison, party host and much much more.

FINANCE REPORT: Darryl offered the following report:

Income: $26,607.23 

Expenses: $22,774.32 

Net: $3,832.91 

Assets 

Checking: $16,075.89 

Savings: $11,121.90 

Total: $27,197.79 

Scholarship Fund 501(c)(3) Total: $7,019.97 (Scholarships have been paid out of the General Fund for several years.)

MEMBERSHIP REPORT: Current 2011: 139, up seven from last year. Renewal notices were in the last newsletter. Several publications entered the contest at the flat rate, so entrants did not join the club.

ACTIVITIES OF THE YEAR: Marshall reviewed the club’s programs in the past year:
Active Board of Directors, meeting 2nd Wednesday of each month

34th Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards Entries Feb. 28, 2011

523 Entries, up 32 percent from 394, previous year. We traded judging with several other Press Clubs.

High School Journalism Awards May 2, 2011

221 students, 15 High Schools, 459 entries, 12 categories up 40 percent from 329, previous year.

34th Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards dinner May 29, 2011

Herb Caen Scholarships $3,000 Keynote: Mike Sugerman, KPIX CBS 5/KCBC Radio

Summer Picnic Sept. 17, 2011 – Micki & Mike’s home

High School Journalism Boot Camp Oct. 21, 2011

Keynote: R.B. Brenner, Stanford University 21 workshops, newspaper critiques, student editors’ panel

Holiday Party Dec. 14, 2011, with the County of San Mateo
On The Record (Newsletter) four issues
Web Site – Thanks to Dave Price
FeedBlitz – news e-mails

PLANS FOR 2012:
35th Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards — entry deadline Feb. 29, 2012
Online Entry – forms and submissions PDF, Links
High School Journalism Contest — entry deadline March 31, 2012. Will be online this year.
$1,500 Herb Caen Journalism Scholarship — entry deadline April 16, 2012
34th Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards dinner May 19, 2012, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Foster City
Aid to High School Newspapers project
Bench Bar Media
Professional Development Workshops
Town Hall Meeting

BOARD ELECTION:

President, Marshall Wilson; 

Vice president, Kristy Blackburn; 

Treasurer, Ed Remitz; 

Secretary, Antonia Ehlers 

Directors 

2013 (two-year term) Peter Cleaveland, Dave Price 

2012 (one-year term) Laura Dudnick (Jamie White's seat); Melissa McRobbie (Blackburn seat); one open position (Ehlers seat) 

Ex-officio: Past President Jon Mays 

Director Emeritus Jack Russell 

Executive Director Darryl Compton 

MEMBERSHIPS: The board approved $100 donations to CFAC, CA Aware, Student Press Law Center.

Adjourned at 8 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Micki Carter, secretary

Merc’s Sean Webby jumps to DA’s office

Webby

When Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen was running for office in 2010, one of his criticisms of incumbent Delores Carr was that she had two full-time public information officers. It wasn’t the major issue in the DA’s race, Rosen but often pointed out that having two PIOs was a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Now, according to the Gilroy Dispatch, Rosen has hired Mercury News crime reporter Sean Webby as his new media coordinator, who will serve as the spokesman for the DA’s office to the news media.

Rosen broke the news to the Dispatch’s editorial board Tuesday morning. According to the Dispatch, Webby is expected to start in his new job in the next several weeks following a background check, said Lisa McCrary, the District Attorney's ombudsman who has handled press requests since former media coordinator Amy Cornell left for the Santa Clara County Public Health Department in July.

McCrary says she'll likely return focus to her regular duties, while Webby will take a "lead role" in responding to needs and questions from local media. Actual job duties, however, won't be delegated until Webby officially joins the office, she said.
"And then we'll get down to distributing the work load," McCrary told the Dispatch.

KGO-TV’s ND Keeshan quits, to join NBC

Media blogger Rich Lieberman reports that longtime KGO-TV ABC7 News Director Kevin Keeshan will become the ombudsman for NBC News. Keeshan, the nephew of "Captain Kangaroo" Bob Keeshan, will be joining former KGO-TV president and general manager Valari Dobson Staab at 30 Rock. She heads NBC's owned and operated stations. Lieberman says he was told by a Channel 7 insider that Keeshan literally had a bag packed when he gathered his staff and told them he was leaving.

Paton says comment about print was misinterpreted

John Paton

James Rainey, who covers the news media for the LA Times, has profiled John Paton, who replaced Dean Singleton as the head of the MediaNews Group chain. Paton is pushing digital media hard. Rainey says Paton’s goal is to have one-third of MNG’s content produced by staff members, one-third by the community and another third aggregated from other sources. Paton tells Rainey that the formula isn’t intended to reduce the need for paid staffers but instead will increase the net flow of information.

Paton also told Rainey that his remark that traditional print journalism has a value of “about zero” has been misinterpreted. He said he meant only that the ability to present stories immediately online "makes it very difficult to say that stories in the morning paper about, say, what the mayor said last night, have any real value." (Photo credit: Tim Thompson, The Oakland Press)

KGO-AM overnight slot goes conservative

With the exception of Bill Wattenburg, the KGO-AM’s hosts fired Dec. 1 could be described as “left of center” or liberal. And that included Ray Taliferro, who held down the overnight shift for decades. Now in the overnight slot is a national program, “Red Eye Radio,” hosted by Gary McNamara and Eric Harley out of Dallas. They’re unabashed conservatives. Their show is carried on other Cumulus stations including WABC New York. When KGO was owned by ABC, Disney and Citadel, the conservative hosts were carried by sister station KSFO 560. But in the overnight slot, KSFO airs George Noory’s popular “Coast to Coast,” which delves into topics such as UFOs, mind-readers, psychics and calls about chemtrails (airline exhausts laced with mind-controlling drugs). KSFO veered away from its “hot talk” conservative format last year when it added syndicated talker John Bachelor in the 6-8 p.m. time slot. While Bachelor might be a conservative, his show features phone interviews with journalists of all political persuasions discussing international events.

Contest details just days away

This year’s Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards will include new categories for online media and public relations professionals.

The “Call for Entries” will be posted on this page in the next couple of days, and those who wish to compete in the contest will have until Feb. 29 to submit entires for work done in the 2011 calendar year.

As always, the contest will have categories for entries by those in the TV, radio, newspaper, magazine and online industries.

But the Press Club’s board, at its meeting Wednesday, decided to create a new category for journalists who use Twitter.

The board has also added a new category for public relations professionals. PR professionals have been apart of the Press Club since it was founded in 1974, but the board wants more entries from them. Businesses, nonprofits and government agencies have spokespeople who provide information to the news media, and the new category of “best press release or press kit” is intended to increase their participation in the annual contest.

The entry fees will not change — $15 for members, $55 for non-members, and $30 for a company with 25 or more entries. Those who cannot afford the fees can apply for a scholarship with a letter stating need.

All entries can be submitted online.

Check back to this page for the “Call for Entries.”