Open the doors on closed meetings next Friday.

The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government will hold an Open Public Meetings Act seminar on Friday, June 19, at the Rutgers Center for Law and Justice in Newark. It's only $10, and lunch is included. Some of the brightest luminaries in the business of opening the government will be presenting.

Space is limited, so anyone who wants to attend should register soon. Register here! See you there!

Please join us at the Society of Professional Journalists New Jersey Pro Chapter's New Jersey Excellence in Journalism Awards program, which will Sunday, June 28, at 1 p.m. in the University Inn and Conference Center, Rutgers University, New Brunswick. The cost is $25 per person.

Come join our featured speakers, the founders of www.newjerseynewsroom.com, as they offer a glimpse of what may be the future of journalism. You can read about the website here: www.newjerseynewsroom.com/about-us/

RSVP to newjerseyspjawards@yahoo.com by June 18 to let us know whether you plan to attend, and if so, whether you will be bringing guests. You can pay at the door, or send a check made payable to NJ-SPJ to Jane Primerano, our Treasurer, at PO Box 511, Hope, NJ 07844.

Entries must have been published or broadcast during the calendar year of January 1 to December 31‚ 2008.

WILSON BARTO AWARDS FOR FIRST YEAR REPORTERS

DAILY NEWSPAPERS

• First Place: Heather Appel, Herald News; “Waiting to get a green card.” “Reining in Jersey's drug reps.” “Without tickets, they relied on faith.'”
• Second Place: Joshua Riley, Asbury Park Press; “Diploma Mill” stories.

WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS

• First Place: Timothy J. Carroll of the Hudson Reporter for “What happened to those election investigations.”
• Second Place: Tricia Tirella of the Hudson Reporter for “Hudson County built out.”
• Third Place: John Soltes of The Leader for “The railroad to nowhere.”

MAGAZINE

• First Place: Michele Donohue, The NonProfit Times; “Complaints Filed Against Grant Institute.”

[No second or third place winners.]

STUART AND BEVERLY AWBREY AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE

• Amboy Beacon, Bill George, Editor/Publisher

TIM O’ BRIEN AWARD

For best investigative reporting using the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA)

[To be announced]

DAILY NEWSPAPERS

DEADLINE REPORTING

• First Place: Meghan Van Dyk, Rob Jennings, Matt Manochio, Tehani Schneider and Peggy Wright, The Daily Record; “Knoll guard shot 5 times, killed by Denville officer.”
• Second Place: Brandon Lausch, Jerry Corino, Pamela Sroka-Holzman, Courier-News; “Star runner killed by train.”
• Third Place: Terrence Dopp, Bloomberg News; “New Jersey Farmers Rally To Save Agency From Corzine Budget Ax.”

ENTERPRISE REPORTING

• First Place: Manish Mehta, The Star-Ledger; “Knee Injury Draws Attention to Women.’’
• Second Place: David Porter, Associated Press; “Airport ‘Go-Arounds’ Probed as Possible Safety Hazard.”
• Third Place: Wayne Parry, Associated Press; “Cops Want Prostitutes’ Help In Solving Four Murders.’’

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

• First Place: Alexander MacInnes, Herald News; “Fire captain taking heat.”
• Second Place: Alexander MacInnes, Herald News; “ Who crashed truck into pole?”

BEST STATE/REGIONAL STORY

• First Place: George Anastasia, Philadelphia Inquirer; “Drug kingpins cashing in on the suburbs’ spoils.”
• Second Place: Jacqueline L. Urgo, Philadelphia Inquirer; “Towns feel denied a share of A.C. Jackpot.”
• Third Place: Angela Delli Santi, Associated Press; “Gay governor-divorce.”

PROFILES

• First Place: Michael Deak, Courier-News; “Somerset County’s ‘Judge’ Turns 100,”
• Second Place: Manish Mehta, The Star-Ledger; “History On Her Terms.’’
• Third Place: Paul Brubaker, Herald News; “Political Quarterback.’’

BUSINESS REPORTING

• First Place: Heather Haddon, Herald News; “Home, Bitter Home.’’
• Second Place: Maya Rao, Philadelphia Inquirer; “Sudden Job Loss.”
• Third Place: Suzette Parmley, The Philadelphia Inquirer; “All Bets are Off.’’

HEALTH, SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING

• First Place: John Shiffman, John Sullivan and Tom Avril, The Philadelphia Inquirer; “Smoke and Mirrors: The Subversion of the EPA.”
• Second Place:Wayne Parry, The Associated Press; “Government-owned Sand? Not in my Backyard.”
• Third Place: Jan Hefler,” The Philadelphia Inquirer; “Cloud Over Fields of Green.’’

BEST LOCAL NEWS STORY

• First Place: Matt Katz of the Philadelphia Inquirer; “Who wants methadone clinic?”
• Second Place: Meredith Mandell of the Herald News; “It is safe?”
• Third Place: Heather Haddon of the Herald News; ‘We could have saved her.’
• SERIES WRITING AND REPORTING
  
  First Place: Jared Kaltwasser, Courier News; “Central Jersey Wetlands.”
• Second Place: Todd B. Bates, Asbury Park Press; “Out of Gas.”
• Third Place: Abbott Koloff, “Daily Record; “Somebody’s Watching You.’’

FEATURE WRITING

• First Place: Amy S. Rosenberg, Philadelphia Inquirer; “Sand-ho! Grab your spot on the shore.’’
• Second Place: Jeff Trently, Times of Trenton; “Forty years later, riots reverberate.”
• Third Place: George Anastasia,The Philadelphia Inquirer; “He stands by his sons and nation trying them.”

COLUMN WRITING

• First Place: Jay Levin, The Record; “My colleague, my friend.’’
• Second Place: Monica Yant Kinney, Philadelphia Inquirer; “A helping for Lunch Ladies.’’
• Third Place: Phil Anastasia, Philadelphia Inquirer; “Keeping in touch with the past.’’

SPORTS REPORTING

• First Place: Sandy Seegers, Daily Record, “Enjoying Life Inside the Ropes.”
• Second Place: Keith Idec, Herald News; “Jackson on road to recovery.”
• Third Place: Manish Mehta, The Star-Ledger; “Mind-boggling misfire.”

EDITORIAL WRITING

• First Place: Josh Gohlke, The Record; “On New Jersey Corruption.’’
• Second Place: Bruce Lowry, Herald News, “When the county jail gets taken to court.’’
• REVIEW WRITING
  
  First Place: David Corcoran, New York Times; “Restaurant Reviews”

EDITORIAL CARTOONING

• First Place: Jimmy Margulies, The Record; “Wall Street/N.J.”

[No second or third place winners.]

HEADLINE WRITING

• First Place: Mel Hyman, Herald News; “Maybe not scales, but fish can hum.’’
• Second Place: Joe Griffith. Herald News; “Getting all hot and bothered about, well, you know…”
• Third Place: Joel Pisetzner, The Star-Ledger; “Obama reaches the mountaintop”

FRONT PAGE LAYOUT

• First Place: Kevin Davis, Daily Record; A-1 3/9/08.”
• Second Place: Scott Muller, Herald News; “Why?’’

FEATURE PAGE DESIGN

• First Place: Janet Housewerth, Herald News; “GO!”

[No second or third place winners.]

SPORTS PHOTO

• First Place: Dawn Benko, Daily Record; “Tough Tackle.”

[No second or third place winners.]

FEATURE PHOTO

• First Place: Bob Karp, Daily Record; “High Jump”

[No second or third place winners.]

WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS

ENTERPRISE REPORTING

• First Place: John Soltes, The Leader; “On the Horizon.”
• Second Place: Eric Kiefer, Verona-Cedar Grove Times; “Homeowners Fight to Get Off Toxic Property List.”
• Third Place: Megan Burrow, Pascack Valley Community Life; “Hospitals Debate.’’

SERIES WRITING AND REPORTING

• First Place: Dan Prochilo, Tanya Drobness, Terrence T. McDonald, George Wirt, Mark S. Porter, The Montclair Times; “Hitting Home: From Wall Street to Our Streets.’’
• Second Place: Martin Daks, Beth Fitzgerald, NJ BIZ; “Bankscape.”
• Third Place: Susan C. Moeller, Alexis Tarrazi, John Soltes, W.L. Bill Allen Jr., The Leader; “EnCap: Miracle in the Meadowlands?’’

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

• First Place: Tanya Drobness and Dan Prochilo, Montclair Times; “Show us the money: churchgoers sue pastor regarding donations.”
• Second Place: Susan C. Moeller, The Leader; “Lyndhurst Ed Fund Fails to File Taxes, register properly”
• Third Place: Timothy J. Carroll, Hudson Reporter; “What happened to those election investigations?”

FEATURE WRITING

• First Place: Warren Boroson, The Jewish Standard; “Desperate Journey.”
• Second Place: Lois Goldrich. The Jewish Standard; “Identical Strangers to speak in Tenafly.”
• Third Place: Elizabeth Oguss, The Montclair Times; “To infinity…and beyarn.’’

PROFILE WRITING

• First Place: Joe Olivieri, Verona-Cedar Grove Times; “A life after tragedy.’’

[No second or third place winners.]

HEALTH, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING

• First Place: TaRessa Stovall, The Montclair Times; “Taking the Guesswork out of Mammary Makeovers.’’
• Second Place: Philip DeVencentis, Suburban News; “Exit Strategy”

BEST LOCAL NEWS

• First Place: Matt Jackson, Town Journal; “Can Your Town Stay Clear of the Financial Crisis?”
• Second Place: Brian Smith, Tanya Drobness, Terrence T. McDonald, Steve Tober and George Wirt, The Montclair Times; “Remembering Ryne”

EDITORIAL WRITING

• First Place: Seth Mandel, Eliyahu Publications; “Mumbai tragedy will not stop Chabad.’’
• Second Place: Kevin Glynn, Pascack Valley Community Life; “Council protects residents’ freedom.’’
• Third Place: Rita Annan-Brady, The Progress; “Stopping illegal rentals.’’

DEADLINE REPORTING

• First Place: Josh Lipowsky, Jewish Standard; “Community Musters a Minyan - Survivor Can Have Jewish Funeral.”
• Second Place: Shankar P., Martin C. Daks, João-Pierre S. Ruth, Joe St. Arney, Meghan Shapiro, NJ BIZ; “Locked Out - Lenders Making Flight to Quality.”
• Third Place: Josh Lipowsky, Jewish Standard; “Families of Terror Victims Welcome New Law.’’

BUSINESS REPORTING

• First Place: Martin Daks, NJ BIZ; “Amount of Delinquent Taxes is Mystery to State.”
• Second Place: Scott Goldstein, NJ BIZ; “Balancing Business, Legislative Roles.”
• Third Place: Evelyn Lee, NJ BIZ; “A Tale of Two Cities.”

BEST REGIONAL/STATE NEWS

• First Place: Marsha Stoltz, Suburban News, “Hitting the Roof.”

[No second or third place winners.]

COLUMN WRITING

• First Place: Christine Sablynski, West Essex Times; “Disobeying Your Parents.’’
• Second Place: Mike Daly, The Ridgewood News; “Life Lessons Learned While Walking in the Woods.’’

REVIEW WRITING

• First Place: Miriam Rinn, Jewish Standard; “Survive or Resist?”

[No second or third place winners.]

EDITORIAL CARTOONING

• First Place: Harry Trumbore, The Item of Millburn and Short Hills, “Super Exhausted.’’
• Second Place: David Byrne, The Courier; “Corzine Twists Arm.’’
• Third Place: David Byrne, The Courier; “The Statue of Liberty Cleans Sandy Hook Beach.’’

FEATURE PAGE DESIGN

• First Place: John Soltes, Winie Varillas, The Leader; “Avenue Q.’’
• Second Place: Jerry Szubin, The Jewish Standard; “What to do About Gaza.’’

HEADLINE WRITING

• First Place: Mark S. Porter, The Montclair Times; “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Coltrane.’’
• Second Place: Trudy Walz, Suburban News; “Swarming Trend: Youngsters are drawn to bug-themed summer reading programs like bees to honey.’’
• Third Place: Bill Slossar, Twin-Boro News; “Current Problem.’’

INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC

• First Place: Lillian M. Aleman, Barbara Manning, The Montclair Times; “Township Council Elections.’’
• Second Place: Cliff Losak, The Montclair Times; “Teen Drinking in Montclair.’’

SPORTS REPORTING

• First Place: Bill Alden, Town Topics; “Former PHS Boys’ Lacrosse Star Murphy Perseveres to Become Captain at Providence.”
• Second Place: Brian Smith, Montclair Times; “A Win for Ryne.’’
• Third Place: Warren Boroson, Jewish Standard; “The Home Team.”

FRONT PAGE LAYOUT

• First Place: Jaimie Winters, South Bergenite; “Sept. 3, 2008.”
• Second Place: Summer R. Olstad, Meghan Shapiro, NJ BIZ; “A Tale of Two Cities, 12/29/08.”
• Third Place: Ed Virgin, Town News; “Paramus Lands Closest to the Pin.’’

FEATURE PHOTO

• First Place: Al Sullivan, Bayonne Community News; “Rose for a Memory.”
• Second Place: Joe Camporeale, Northern Valley Suburbanite; “Robbie Osder Watches Firetrucks in Parade.”

SPOT NEWS PHOTO

• First Place: Al Sullivan, .” Bayonne Community News; “A Real Nightmare.’’
• Second Place: Alexis Tarrazi, The Leader; “Fire in the Meadowlands.’’

SPORTS PHOTO

• First Place: Joe Camporeale, Northern Valley Suburbanite; “Tenafly Girls.”

[No second or third place winners.]

MAGAZINES

REPORTING

• First Place: Mark Hrywna, The Nonprofit Times; “Limited ‘Face’ Time.’’

[No second or third place winners].

BUSINESS REPORTING

• First Place: Karl Vilacoba, In Transition Magazine; “The Devils in the Details.”
• Second Place: Mark Hrywna and Craig Causer, The Non Profit Times; “2008 NPT 100.”
• Third Place: Ron Panko, A.M. Best Co.; “Sportsmanlike Conduct.”

OPINION WRITING

• First Place: Paul Clolery, The Nonprofit Times; “Heck of a job.”

[No second or third place winners.]

PROFILE WRITING

• First Place: Lori Chambers, Drew Magazine; “The Fabulous Wendels.”
• Second Place: Nick Dilulio “The Primal Sanity of Paul Stankard;” South Jersey Magazine

FEATURE WRITING

• First Place: Kate Rounds, The Hudson Reporter; “Terry & the Pirates: The saga of the Golden Cicada.”
• Second Place: Roger Gros, Casino Connection Magazine; “Thirty Years of Gaming: the Lights Still Shine.”
• Third Place (tie) - Theta Pavis, The Hudson Reporter; “The Portal of the Future.’’
  Third Place (tie) Paul Drexel, Edible Jersey; “Homemade Hoboken.’’

SPORTS REPORTING

• First Place: Dave Bontempo, Casino Connection; “Thirty years of champs and chumps.’’

[No second or third place winners.]

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

PUBLICATION

• First Place: Greg Trevor, Carla Cantor, Ashanti Alvarez, Rutgers Focus.
• Second Place: Big Apple Soccer.com

FEATURE PHOTO

• First Place: Sandy Stucki, Suburbanite Trends; “Our Lady of Guadalupe.”

[No second or third place winners]

WEB PAGE DESIGN

• First Place: Jewish Standard; “www.jstandard.com.”
• Second Place: Charlie Cuttone, Michael Lewis; “Big Apple Soccer.com.”
  

ESSAY WRITING

• First Place: Mike Lewis, Big Apple Soccer.com; “Am I A Journalist or Paparazzi – Or Both?”
• Second Place: Sally Friedman, Burlington County Times; “On Sundays- Recalling mom and wishing things were different.”

MEDIA-SPONSORED BLOG

• First Place: Philadelphia Inquirer; “Downashore.”

INDEPENDENT BLOG

• First Place: Joyce Blay; “NJ News & Views.”
• Second Place: Emily Kostic; “Journalism 3.0.”
• Third Place: Melissa L. Gaffney; “Sableminded.”

NEWSLETTERS

• First Place: Caroline Saucer, A.M. Best Company.

[No second or third winners.]

BROADCAST

ENTERPRISE REPORTING, RADIO

• First Place: Paul Perrello, Rowan Radio; “Studio 89.7”.
• Second Place: Linda Toborowsky, Kathryn Glaser, 1450 WCTC-AM; “Broadcast Interviews on the Arts.”

NEWS REPORTING, RADIO

• First Place: Bradley Nolan, WSOU FM; “N.J. National Guard Deployment.’’

[No second or third place winners.]

ENTERPRISE REPORTING, TELEVISION

• First Place: Walt Kane, Anthony Cocco, Jacquelyn Messina, News 12 New Jersey; "Double Dipping Mayor."
• Second Place: Barbara Nevins Taylor, Roy Isen, Paul Tsakos, Jonathan Weaver, Brian Kartagener, WWOR-TV; "Medicaid Fraud."
• Third Place: Janet Gardner and Dr. Peter Kahn, American Public Television; "The Last Ghost of War."

NEWS REPORTING, TV

• First Place:Barbara Nevins Taylor, Roy Isen, Barron Gulette, Paul Tsakos, Brian Kartagener, Horatio
  Jennings WWOR-TV; "Probation Officer.''
• Second Place: Walt Kane, Anthony Cocco, News 12 New Jersey; "Union City Audit.''
• Third Place: Barbara Nevins Taylor, Paul Tsakos, Brian Kartagener, Jonathan Weaver. WWOR-TV; "Powerline Problems."

DO YOU HAVE ANY? AND IF YOU DO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THEM?

This year‚ 2009‚ marks the 50^th anniversary of the New Jersey Chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists (NJSPJ).

To celebrate‚ we’re creating a new section for this webpage to look back at the last 50 years of New Jersey media.

So‚ if you

• Worked for the old Newark Evening News‚ the Elizabeth Daily Journal‚ the Paterson News‚ or the Perth Amboy Evening News;
• Remember when The Home News and The News Tribune were two separate newspapers;
• Have seen journalism in New Jersey go from hot type to hot links‚

we’d like to hear from you!

Send your reminiscences‚ anecdotes‚ funny stories‚ photographs — anything you might like to share with your fellow journalists — to awnsik@yahoo.com.

Any queries or comments may also be address to C.W. Walker at the same email address.

We need volunteers to help run our yearly journalism contest‚ as well as plan our 50^th anniversary. Both are extremely exciting events that we’ve already started organizing‚ but your expertise can make it even better. Whether you have a lot of time or just a little‚ we will find an important role for you.

Interested? Got ideas?

Contact Michelle Maskaly at michellemaskaly@yahoo.com

After hearing that media employees in Cedar Rapids‚ Iowa City‚ Vinton and Waterloo‚ Iowa‚ were facing significant damage to their own homes while continuing to provide top-level reporting of the devastating floods in that state‚ members of the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix) pro chapter board voted to donate $500 to a fund created to assist these journalists.

"We’re inviting other SPJ chapters and individual SPJ members to also contribute to the Iowa Media Employees Disaster Relief
Fund‚" said Valley of the Sun Chapter Immediate Past President Mark Scarp. "These journalists are out there doing a tough job‚ many knowing that they themselves have no home to go home to."

Want to help out? Donate online or send tax-deductible checks to: Iowa Media Employees Disaster Relief Fund‚ c/o Iowa Newspaper Foundation‚ 319 E. Fifth St.‚ Des Moines‚ IA 50309.

Need some guidance? Not sure if you should stay or if you should go? Want to help aspiring journalists get their start?

The Society of Professional Journalists’ Mentor Match-Up program is here to help.

SPJ’s Mentor Match-up aims to promote great journalism by introducing journalists of different experience levels and similar interests. Participating journalists are encouraged to communicate by e-mail‚ phone and occasional personal visits. SPJ helps make a match but leaves it to program participants to decide the nature and frequency of their communications.

The program is open only to SPJ members. Journalists wanting to serve as mentors must have more than five years of professional experience. Journalists who want mentoring must have less than five years of experience.

Sounds like something you’re interested in?

Log on to www.spj.org/mentor.asp for more information

PLEASE PASS ON AND POST IN NEWSROOMS!

As part of its long support for freedom of information in New Jersey‚ the New Jersey Chapter of SPJ has since 2002 distributed more than 1‚000 wallet cards providing useful summaries of the main provisions of the state’s two main laws concerning open records and open meetings.

The cards – one covering the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) and one covering the Open Public Meetings Act (“The Sunshine Law’) – are provided free as a handy reference for journalists‚ public officials and the public.