Banquet Speaker

If you're on the fence about the chapter's upcoming Excellence in Journalism awards banquet perhaps this will be of interest.

Marc Steiner, the former WYPR talk show host, will be the event's featured speaker.

Steiner, who is president of the Center for Emerging Media, will talk about "what CEM is doing now and our role as journalists in this society and technologically complicated 21st century."

The event is scheduled for Sunday, May 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn, located at 245 Shawan Road, Hunt Valley, MD 21030.

Tickets are $30. Checks can be mailed to Bryan Sears, 1575 Doxbury Road, Towson, MD 21286-5904.

RSVP by May 13.

Another new free paper

Print is dead, right?

Behold Exhibit A, the new, free publication from The Daily Record.

This from an e-mail announcement forwarded to the chapter:

The first issue of Exhibit A is now available! This quirky legal publication is full of outrageous-but-true crime stories, captivating headlines and practical information to help people understand the legal system.

Published in Baltimore by The Daily Record, Exhibit A is free and available in black boxes on street corners throughout the city and in area retail outlets.

Headlines from the premiere issue include:
•Indentity Theft: Protect your money, your credit, and your family
• A bank's report could put the FBI on your trail
• Don't leave your family with a badly written will
• Take a tip from "The Wire" writers: Jurors should take a stand against 'drug war'

Judicial report kills cameras in Maryland's courtrooms

An 80-page report filed by the Committee to Study Media Coverage of Trial Proceedings in Maryland has unanimously voted to continue to forbid audio and video recordings of criminal trial proceedings.

The report of the six-judge committee wrote:

"The Committee weighed the potential benefits of extended media coverage -
primarily increased public awareness of the criminal trial process - against its potential to
adversely impact trial participants, interfere with the fact-finding process, and impair public
confidence in the criminal justice system. After completing its review, the Committee
determined that the putative benefits of electronic media coverage are illusory, while the
adverse impacts on the criminal justice process are real. The Committee, therefore,
concluded unanimously that the current statutory ban on cameras in criminal trial courts
should remain in effect."

The Society of Professional Journalists Maryland Pro Chapter testified in favor of opening the courtrooms to audio and video recording last November. The chapter also testified in favor of a bill that would open the criminal sentencing portion of criminal trials to such recording.

The continued ban of cameras and audio recording limits the public's access to view court proceedings and monitor the judicial branch of government. Neither the legislative nor the executive branches of government have similar exemptions to such scrutiny.

The chapter is disappointed by the panel's decision but vows to continue to push for more openness in our state's courtrooms.

— Bryan P. Sears
chapter president

Why?

Why?

It's one of the basic questions reporters are trained to ask.

Since becoming chapter president in October, I've been pondering this question and now I ask it of those of you who joined the Society of Professional Journalists.

Why are you a member?

Please understand, this is not meant to be a rhetorical question. I hope to start a dialogue with you and understand why many of you join and remain members and what you need from the chapter or would like to see us do in the future.

I'd like it if you would consider leaving your responses on the blog so others can read them and respond. But if you would prefer, you can e-mail it to me at bpsears@gmail.com.

Over the next few weeks the officers of the chapter will be reaching out in other ways to find out how the chapter can better serve the membership.

I look forward to hearing from you hear and speaking to many of you in the coming weeks.

— Bryan P. Sears
Chapter President

Save the Date

Mark your calendars for the chapter's annual awards banquet on Sunday May 18, 2008 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hunt Valley Marriott.

More details to follow.

New "b"

In the wake of the news that The Sun is moving it's Baltimore County bureau reporters downtown there is word of a new publication and Web site for the paper.

b (lower case intentional) will focus on 20-something readers.

It sounds an awful lot like RedEye in Chicago and is also a Tribune publication.

A story on BaltimoreSun.com can be found here.

— Bryan P. Sears
chapter president

Bureau closing

It's been in the wind all day today in circles around Towson, multiple reliable sources are telling us here at SPJ that The Sun is closing its bureau in Towson. The reporters (at least three) will likely be assigned out of the mother ship on Calvert Street.

Five days ago Tribune, The Sun's parent company, announced a round of buyouts at its various papers including the Baltimore property and Patuxent Publishing Co.

More as this develops.

Again, for those who don't know, I'm an employee at Patuxent Publishing.

— Bryan P. Sears
chapter president