SPJ
awarded highest honor
By
Gerry Wachovsky
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Cal State Long Beach chapter of the Society
of Professional Journalists was named "Regional
Chapter of the Year" at the national
convention held Sept. 11 through 13 in Tampa,
Fla. Out of the 12 regions in the United
States, CSULB is a member of region 11,
which includes Arizona, California and Hawaii.
The
SPJ, founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi
fraternity, is, "dedicated to the perpetuation
of a free press as the cornerstone of our
nation and our liberty," according
to its Web site, www.spj.org.
Chris
Burnett, co-adviser of region 11 of the
chapter, said, "I give credit to the
president and other officers, as well as
students active over the past year for revitalizing
the chapter and making it the center of
student journalism at CSULB." Regarding
the honor received by the SPJ, Burnett commented,
"It is the student's reward for a year
of hard work."
The
society incorporates all areas of journalism,
including public relations, on-line, print,
and broadcast, and is an essential organization
for any student pursuing a career in the
field. In addition, the SPJ "works
to inspire and educate the next generation
of journalists" and "protects
First Amendment guarantees of freedom of
speech and press."
The
president of the CSULB SPJ chapter, Sonya
Smith, said "This award was given based
upon the rebuilding process last year, as
we took our chapter from practically nothing
to a full-on functioning student chapter."
She also believes that "After winning
this award, the opportunities are endless
for our chapter this year, and we can now
offer students interested in the field of
journalism a chance to become professional
journalists."
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