News
Latest Updates about Indiana Pro SPJ
Managing deadlines? We’ve got that.
Managing our money? Well, we may need some help with that.
Join us at noon, Nov. 11 on a Zoom as Zina Kumok, financial advisor and marketing manager for C.H. Douglas & Gray, provides insights and answers your questions. Please RSVP via the form below and join us for what’s sure to be a great conversation. This program is free and open to SPJ members and non-members.
Two candidates vying for the vice president role with the national SPJ board are hosting listening sessions for members.
Hear from Nicole DeCriscio, SPJ’s Region 5 coordinator and a national at-large director. Her sessions are as follows, complete with meeting links:
Hear from Adam Sennott, president of the New England SPJ chapter. His session is as follows:
SPJ New England is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Adam Sennott Meet and Greet
Time: Sep 25, 2025 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83983237871
Meeting ID: 839 8323 7871
Join the Indiana Pro Chapter of SPJ on Sept. 10 for a free discussion offering tips and ideas about how best to access local, state and federal records. Sign up for free here:
https://tinyurl.com/mt3kmzc9
Learn from the winners of the first ever Best in Indiana Journalism A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism.
Indiana SPJ partnered with the A-Mark Foundation to offer cash prizes totaling $15,000 for journalists and news outlets to reward and promote topnotch journalists and encourage more to dig deeper into the stories impacting Indiana communities.
Indiana SPJ hosted this discussion with The A-Mark Foundation's Tracey DeFrancesco, Mirror Indy’s Emily Hopkins, Tyler Fenwick, and Jenna Watson, and IndyStar’s Hayleigh Colombo and James Briggs.
You can watch that discussion on the Indiana Pro SPJ Chapter Facebook page.
A-Mark Foundation website: https://amarkfoundation.org/
A-Mark Prizes: https://amarkfoundation.org/a-mark-prizes/
Out of Options series: https://mirrorindy.org/out-of-options/
Sexual Harassment in Indiana Politics series: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2024/12/17/3-more-women-accuse-senate-minority-leader-greg-taylor-of-sexual-misconduct/77026311007/
Broken Housing series: https://mirrorindy.org/broken-housing/
On May 2, 2025 the Indiana Pro SPJ chapter honored the best Indiana journalists from across the state at its annual awards banquet. Top honors went to journalists of Mirror Indy, Indiana Capital Chronicle, and the Purdue Exponent.
This was the first year the chapter awarded the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism. A panel of retired Indiana journalists with investigative experience selected journalists from Mirror Indy for the first and third place prizes. IndyStar journalists were recognized with the second place prize.
The Delphi Trial coverage was the focus of two special honors for the night. Journalists who covered the trial and worked together through the pool restrictions were recognized with the First Amendment Award. Then, WTHR Assistant News Director Cyndee Hebert received the Slaymaker Service to Journalism Award for her role in coordinating all the pool efforts across the state.
Students from Indiana University, Purdue University, and Saint Mary’s College received the chapter’s 2025-26 scholarships.
You can read more about the awards and see a full list of winners in the awards winners section.
The Indiana Pro Chapter of SPJ recognizes the critical work done by the state’s public media journalists. In Indiana, 95% of Hoosiers are served by public media. They rely on this essential services that provides weather emergencies, helps young children develop new skills, keeps Hoosiers connected to their communities, and shares important updates from the state such as the governor’s annual address. The Indiana Pro SPJ Chapter sent this letter to lawmakers ahead of the budget vote on April 25, 2025.
Attorney Kris Cundiff with The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Chief Executive Officer at Amani Family Services Ewelina Connolly, and Reporter Josh Flynn of the Pharos-Tribune provided valuable information and insight.
You can watch the panel on the Indiana Pro SPJ Chapter Facebook page.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press created a legal guide to support journalists here: https://www.rcfp.org/.../immigration-reporting-legal-guide/
RCFP offers a tipsheet here: https://www.rcfp.org/immigration-records-access-tipsheet/
Poynter also offers resources here: https://www.poynter.org/tag/immigration-matters/
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a coalition of plaintiffs that includes the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, secured a preliminary injunction in the state’s so-called “Buffer Law.”
U.S. Southern District Court Judge James R. Sweeney II found the 25-foot Buffer Law is unconstitutionally vague.
“Simply being within twenty-five feet of a police officer is not a crime, and indeed, important First Amendment rights are regularly exercised within twenty-five feet of law enforcement every single day,” Sweeney said.
The Buffer Law went into effect in 2023 despite strong objection from private citizens, members of the media and organizations including the ACLU.
In his decision, Sweeney wrote “Plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to succeed on their claim that the Buffer Law is void for vagueness and therefore unconstitutional.”
Sweeney granted the injunction September 27.
The Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists applauds this action.
Click here to read the judge’s decision.
The Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce the Best in Indiana Journalism A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism. Winners will be awarded prizes totaling $15,000.
The Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has partnered with the A-Mark Foundation to honor the state’s best investigative journalism. The goal of this new award is to reward and promote topnotch journalists and encourage more to dig deeper into the stories impacting Indiana communities. Awards will be presented at the yearly Best in Indiana banquet. You can read more about how to enter and the prizes on our awards site here.
On September 17, a panel of journalists gave their expert advice on covering politics, politicians, and elections in the current landscape. If you missed, you can watch the event here.
SPJ board member Lisa Green, managing editor at the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, put together a best practices list for journalists when it comes to covering the election. You can download that document here.
Below are some key takeaways from the conversation with Dan Spehler, Dave McKinney, Niki Kelly, and Oseye Boyd.
