SPJ UK Student Chapter - Society of Professional Journalists

Susan Page, Washington bureau chief of USA Today, spent an hour with UK journalism students in the Kentucky Kernel office Thursday, in a session sponsored by the SPJ Campus Chapter.

Members of the UK Campus Chapter of SPJ are invited to meet and talk with Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief of USA Today, at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the Kentucky Kernel office on the ground floor of Blazer Dining.
Susan Page has covered 11 presidential campaigns and seven White House administrations, and has interviewed the past 10 presidents (three after they left office and one before he moved in). She is the author of two best-selling books, Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power and The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty. She's has completed a biography of television pioneer Barbara Walters, to be published by Simon & Schuster later this year. She is a native of Wichita, Kansas; a graduate of Northwestern University and Columbia University; and the proud mother of two sons. She has been president of the White House Correspondents Association and the Gridiron Club, and has won every journalism award given specifically for coverage of the presidency, including the Gerald R. Ford Award, which she has won twice. In 2020, she moderated the vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, becoming the first print reporter ever to be a solo moderator for the Commission on Presidential Debates. She is a frequent panelist on Sunday-morning talk shows and will be the keynote speaker at the Al Smith Awards Dinner Thursday night.

Here's a report on our excellent evening with Herald-Leader Editor Rick Green.

Our chapter was recognized as a finalist for the national award for chapter programming. Thanks to Rayleigh Deaton, last year’s president, and all students who helped, including current President Abbey Cutrer, as well as the panelists!

The Bluegrass Pro Chapter of SPJ is accepting applications for its Mike Farrell Memorial Scholarships. The deadline to apply for scholarships of up to $1,000 is Oct. 13, and winners will be recognized at the Oct. 26 Al Smith Awards Dinner. The application is online, at this link: https://airtable.com/shrxxvvsaOTgaUh6R

MEET THE NEW EDITOR: RICK GREEN OF THE LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER
UK journalism school, SPJ chapters welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning editor back to Kentucky Oct. 3 with public event

The University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media and the campus and Bluegrass Pro chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists will welcome new Lexington Herald-Leader editor Richard A. “Rick” Green to town with a public conversation Oct. 3, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at UK’s Singletary Center for the Arts.
An Ohio native, Green has returned to his mother's native Kentucky after leading the Sonoma Press Democrat to the Best in California Press award and the Louisville Courier Journal to its 2020 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting, for coverage of Gov. Matt Bevin’s pardons, and two 2021 Pulitzer finalist slots for coverage of the killing of Breonna Taylor and its background and aftermath.
"The role of local journalism is vital to a healthy democracy and informed public. To have a news leader with a high-level of expertise and experience visit us and share his insights regarding the news decision-making process benefits not only our students, but the UK and Lexington communities," said Dr. Erika Engstrom, director of the journalism school.
“We’re excited to welcome Rick Green back to Kentucky,” said Casey Parker-Bell, president of the SPJ Bluegrass Chapter and a KET anchor. “This event will give the community an opportunity to meet their newspaper’s new editor and learn about his vision for the Herald-Leader.”
Abbey Cutrer, president of the UK Campus Chapter of SPJ, said that for students, the event will “open a door to endless opportunities in the world of journalism. It's a chance for budding journalists to not only learn from one of the industry's professionals, but to also realize that the keys to Green's own successes are within reach.”
The new editor will give a brief talk about his journalism background, his approach to the craft and his hopes for the Herald-Leader, then answer questions from students, faculty, staff and other members of the public.
Green is a graduate of Ohio University. He has held leadership positions at the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Des Moines Register and the Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif., all part of the Gannett chain that owns USA Today. He has been a mentor, model and boss for many young (and not so young) journalists in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, California, Iowa and New Jersey. He is married to Laura Lydon Green of Louisville. They have four grown children, Abbey, Elly, Kathleen and Ben, who is a marketing and finance junior in the Gatton School of Business and Economics and a member of Sigma Nu at UK.
The Lexington Herald-Leader has been the winner of three Pulitzer Prizes and a finalist for seven others, and the 1990 Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting. Peter Baniak, who had been editor and general manager of the Herald-Leader, is now a McClatchy Co. vice president, managing its mid-size newspapers, including the Herald-Leader. As Baniak was, Green will be a regional manager for McClatchy, taking responsibility for the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat and the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa.
The Singletary Center is at the corner of Rose Street and Avenue of Champions (Euclid Avenue). Parking will be available in the Gatton Student Center visitor lot, the lot behind Memorial Coliseum or any other employee lot.

For more information about the event, contact School of Journalism and Media Administrative Associate Pamela Edwards at [email protected] or Associate Professor Kakie Urch at [email protected] or (760) 660-0803.

To join Chapter President Abbey Cutrer's GroupMe for chapter activities, use this QR code!

Chapter President Abbey Cutrer and Faculty Adviser Al Cross welcome all students to the School of Journalism and Media’s JAM Fest, on the Singletary Center lawn until 1 p.m.

Thanks to Jamie Lucke, McKenna Horsley and Sarah Ladd of the Kentucky Lantern for coming to the campus chapter's meeting last night to discuss their new, nonprofit newsroom that focuses on state government, and other journalism topics. And congratulations to Abbey Cutrer, who was elected president of the chapter for the next academic year!

Come join us in BLD 315 (the First Amendment Center) at 6 p.m. Thursday to hear from Jamie Lucke, who came out of retirement as Herald-Leader editorial writer to edit Kentucky Lantern, the new States Newsroom effort covering state government and other public affairs in Kentucky.

Jamie Lucke of Kentucky Lantern will be our guest at 6 p.m. Thursday April 6 in the First Amendment Center (BLD 315). Please join us!

Murray State President Bob Jackson chased off the radio station manager (the former news director, Chad Lampe,, whose newsroom won the Al Smith Award for public service through community journalism) but WPSD and News Director Perry Boxx have placed their teeth firmly in his ankle. --Al Cross, chapter adviser

WPSD-TV files lawsuit against Murray State University On Monday, WPSD-TV filed a lawsuit against Murray State University to obtain records Murray State has previously withheld and/or redacted. WPSD-TV is seeking the public documents related to the university's