8/7/2019 Media Advisory: National SPJ will give first-ever Black
Hole Award on March 16
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PRESS ADVISORY
Contacts:David Cuillier, SPJ FOI Committee Chairman, (520)
626-9694,[email protected]
Tom Haraldsen, SPJ Utah Chapter President, (801) 671-5595,
[email protected]
National Black Hole Award, Sunshine Week event set for March
16
For the first time in its 101-year history, the Society of
Professional Journalists has created a national Black Hole Award to
highlight government agencies or officials that flagrantly violate
the letter or spirit of public record or meeting
laws. The award recipient, handed out during national Sunshine
Week (March 13-19), is selected by the SPJ Freedom of Information
Committee based on nominations
received from journalists, citizens and public-interest
groups.
This first-ever national award will be presented on Wednesday,
March 16, to the
Utah Legislature and Governor Gary Herbert for plunging their
state into an abyssof secrecy never before seen in modern times, an
SPJ release said. It is the result of the passage by lawmakers and
the signing into law of HB477 during the final week of the
Legislature.
SPJ Freedom of Information Committee Chairman David Cuillier
will be in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 16, to present the
Black Hole Award.
Award presentation: Cuillier will present a black wreath on the
front steps of the state Capitol building, south side, at 2 p.m.
Lawmakers are invited to show up to accept the award, and media are
invited. In case of inclement weather, thepresentation will be held
in the multi-purpose room, 1st floor, suite 130 at the
Capitol.Sunshine Week event: Cuillier will speak at a Sunshine
Week event at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Salt Lake City Main Library,
conference room, 4th floor, 210 E. 400
South, hosted by the Utah Society of Professional Journalists
and League of Women Voters. This event will discuss what HB477
means to citizens and efforts planned to make changes to the law
before it takes effect on July 1, 2011.
This is by far the most anti-democratic secrecy legislation we
have ever seen inrecent history, Cuillier said in a release. This
isn't about protecting privacy o
f citizens or saving tax dollars. This is about hiding shady
dealings to protectthe privacy of officials so they can fool the
public without recourse.
For more details about the award and its recipients, see
www.spj.org/blackhole.asp.
Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow
of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire
and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First
Amendment guarantees of freedom of speechand press. For more
information about SPJ, visit www.spj.org.
