7 p.m. EDT, Monday April 24
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_th1d3iJ1QK-8prrrQFJrcQ
This event will begin with a brief discussion of the history and purpose of this year’s edition of Ethics Week, led by Fred Brown, who proposed the idea 25 years ago when he was SPJ’s immediate past president, and Rod Hicks, SPJ director of ethics and diversity. That will be followed by a presentation led by Don Colacino, a documentarian who has partnered with SPJ to produce his “Trusted Sources” film. Then Brown, Hicks and Meredith Jordan, who is leading a self-certification.
Panelists:
Don Colacino is an independent filmmaker based in Colorado. He is currently in production on a feature-length documentary titled, Trusted Sources, about people working to reverse the decline of trust in news. Trusted Sources, produced in partnership with the Society of Professional Journalists, is targeted for nation-wide release in the spring of 2024.
Meredith Jordan is executive director of the Public Alliance of Professional Journalists, an organization working toward the credentialing of journalists. She spent 25 years working for East Coast news organizations before moving to the West Coast to cover the movie industry. Her most recent book is Top Gun Memos: The Making and Legacy of an Iconic Movie, (Citation Press, 2022).
Fred Brown is a former SPJ national president and Wells Memorial Key winner who currently heads SPJ’s Professional Standards and Ethics Committee. For most of his career, he was a political reporter, editor and columnist for The Denver Post. He also taught media ethics at the University of Denver and is the editor/author of SPJ’s media ethics textbook.
Rod Hicks is Director of Ethics and Diversity at the Society of Professional Journalists. Previously at SPJ, Rod was in a position created to address the issue of dwindling trust in the news media. As Journalist on Call, he conducted a six-month project in Casper, Wyoming, where he met regularly with a group of people skeptical about the news, they receive to better understand the root of their distrust. He wrote a report on the project that included recommendations for news organizations to address news consumers’ concerns.