Today the chapter sent a letter to the Santa Cruz DA stating we are “deeply concerned by your office’s decision to prosecute Bradley Stuart Allen, a longtime San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center (Indybay) contributor, as well as by assertions from your office that: (1) a reporter may be prosecuted for conspiracy simply by providing coverage of a newsworthy event and (2) Indybay is not a bona fide news organization.”  Mr. Allen was charged with conspiracy on the grounds that by covering the demonstration late last year, he was acting in concert with the protesters. He was also charged with vandalism and trespassing.

“The conspiracy charge  sets a dangerous precedent and would severely hamper the public’s right to obtain information about highly newsworthy public events in which criminal activity may be occurring,” the SPJ letter states.

Last week, a judge dismissed the felony vandalism charge,  but did not  dismiss  the felony conspiracy and two misdemeanor trespassing charges against Allen.

Additionally, the letter states that, “it is wholly inappropriate, and indeed unconstitutional, for a public prosecutor to single out representatives of a disfavored news organization for prosecution. That a photojournalist from The Santa Cruz Sentinel was able to enter the occupied building and report from it without also being subjected to charges brings this abuse into even sharper relief” and strongly urged the DA ”to reconsider whether to proceed with this aggressive and dangerous targeting of the independent press.”

Allen’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 29.

Read the letter.

The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter, honors champions of the First Amendment at the 27th Annual James Madison Awards banquet on Thursday, March 15, at the City Club of San Francisco. The evening will begin with a no-host reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner and awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m.

Click here to RSVP and purchase tickets. Please note that all tickets must be purchased by March 12, 2012 at 11 p.m. Contact spjnorcalfoi@gmail.com for additional information.

The Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Newspaper Guild, the Pacific Media Workers Guild, and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians condemn the Oakland Police Department’s arrests of journalists covering a public event this weekend.

On Saturday, Jan. 28, at least six journalists covering Occupy Oakland protests were arrested. Despite identifying themselves as reporters and displaying their press credentials, two were jailed.

In a letter to the Oakland mayor and police chief, SPJ NorCal and partner organizations call on the OPD to follow its own guidelines, which instruct police to permit media to carry out their professional duties even after police have issued a dispersal order, as long as ” their presence would unduly interfere with the enforcement action.”

Why is this important?

Freedom of the press is key to our democracy and must be vigorously defended. Arrests of journalists and other police interference with reporters and photographers cannot be tolerated.

This is the second time SPJ NorCal has protested the OPD’s failure to follow its own guidelines on non-interference with journalists doing their jobs.

We once again invite Mayor Quan and Police Chief Jordan to the table to discuss ways to ensure that Oakland police no longer detain, harass, or otherwise block journalists from doing their jobs reporting breaking news.

SPJ NorCal on Monday issued a letter to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and Police Chief Howard Jordan condemning the arrest of independent journalist Susie Cagle during Occupy Oakland protests on Nov. 3. Cagle was arrested and held in custody for 15 hours despite displaying a press badge and  identifying herself as a journalist and despite the fact that an officer at the scene acknowledged his familiarity with her published work.

The action is part of a disturbing trend of police officers at Occupy protests nationwide arresting journalists covering the events.

SPJ President John Ensslin last week issued a statement urging mayors across the country to drop charges against these journalists and calling on police to exercise greater care to avoid arresting journalists who are simply doing their jobs.

“We know that as protests escalate it may be difficult for police to distinguish bystanders from participants, but it is clear now that many journalists have been erroneously arrested without cause,” Ensslin said. “These errors must be rectified immediately.”

Attendees at our annual Excellence in Journalism awards dinner will have a chance to bid on some fabulous items. Check out this preview of our two live auction items — a Mexican dinner party for 6 with chef Simona Padilla and framed original editorial cartoon of “The Vanishing Newsroom” by Peaco Todd — as well as many great silent-auction items, such as Tahoe ski trips, lunch with a literary agent, tango lessons, an adult fencing class, and a variety of wines from the San Francisco Chronicle’s cellar. Here’s the full list: Read the rest of this entry »

The new deadline for submitting entries to the 2011 Excellence in Journalism Awards is: August 30. Submissions must be complete and paid for by the end of that day to be considered for awards.

The online system for submitting your work is: Awards.SPJNorCal.org

Complete details about the awards are at: 26th ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS: CALL FOR NOMINATIONS