Deadline Club

Charges dropped against photojournalist arrested while covering Occupy Wall Street

alex — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:44:10 +0000

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Charges have been dropped against Douglas Higginbotham, a New York City freelance photojournalist who challenged his arrest during the Occupy Wall Street protests with help from The Deadline Club and the Society of Professional Journalists. On Friday, the court dismissed the disorderly conduct charge, which was the only one against him, “in the interest of justice,” says Mickey H. Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, who filed a motion to dismiss the case. Higginbotham was arrested after he stood on top of a phone booth to get a better vantage point while covering the clearing of protesters from Zuccotti Park. When police ordered him down, Higginbotham tried to comply. Before he could do so, NYPD officers pulled him from his perch and arrested him on a disorderly conduct charge. That has been hanging over his head for months, in no small part, because his original court date was delayed. “We’re proud to have helped Doug through this ordeal,” says J. Alex Tarquinio, president of The Deadline Club, which is the New York City Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Higginbotham contacted the club after his arrest in November because he did not [...]

Hurry! Final days to enter The Deadline Club Awards Contest

alex — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:14:27 +0000

Did you know that the bronze statuette bestowed on the Deadline Club’s annual awards winners is a unique piece of art history? Designed by the “dean of American cartoonists” Rube Goldberg in 1968, when he was 80 years old, the sculpture depicts a “dead line.” It is affectionately known as a “Rube.” Time is running out to enter the contest for your chance to win a Rube. All entries must be received by 11:59pm on Friday, February 24. Entries in all 32 categories must be submitted electronically this year. Click HERE for free registration to the contest entry site.

Calling journalism students! The Deadline Club is now accepting applications for scholarships

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:13:57 +0000

The Deadline Club has a long tradition of supporting local journalism students. This year, the club will award at least two scholarships of $2,000 each to worthy undergraduate and graduate students in New York. Winners will be honored at the club’s Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, student performance in journalism, career potential, and service to SPJ or commitment to its mission. Journalism and communications professionals will judge the entries. Who’s eligible? Any undergraduate and graduate students majoring in print or broadcast journalism, new media or communications at six schools in the New York area with SPJ campus chapters (CUNY, Columbia University, Fordham University, Long Island University, New York University and St. John’s University), as well as current student members of The Deadline Club majoring in one of these fields. Students must have completed one year of journalism study to qualify. Click HERE for more information and to download an application form.

Sponsorship opportunities for our Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:12:35 +0000

The Deadline Club is pleased to announce the opportunity to sponsor our Annual Awards Dinner, which will take place this year at the historic Waldorf-Astoria on June 4. The club’s distinctive Rube statuette—designed by the late American artist Rube Goldberg—will be awarded to leading reporters working in television, radio, newspapers, magazines, digital and social media. The audience will include over two hundred journalists, newsmakers and personalities who gather each year to honor excellence in journalism. Four levels of sponsorship are available at this time: Lead Sponsor, Benefactors, Supporters and Friends. For information on how you can be an integral part of this event, please send an email to president@deadlineclub.org. A complete package of information will be provided. Please note, the Deadline Club is a nonprofit organization.

Spring SPJ Regional Conference on Long Island (March 23-24)

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:11:42 +0000

Come mingle with fellow journalists and journalism students at Stony Brook at the Society of Professional Journalists’ spring conference, which will tackle issues ranging from media suppression at scenes of breaking news to how to keep up with the industry’s fast-changing demands. Speakers will be coming from The New York Times, The Daily News, Newsday, FOX CT, The Boston Globe, Time, News 12 Networks, FiOs1, Patch.com, The Bergen Record and Sheapsheadbites.com, among others. The conference will also include sessions on mobile journalism, social media, covering crime scenes, hyper local news and similar topics. There will be practical workshops writing for TV, narrative writing and job-hunting. Hurry, early-bird pricing expires on March 1. Discounts for SPJ members and students apply. For more information, and to register for the conference, visit http://www.spjr1c.org/.

Back by popular demand: The Deadline Club’s annual FOIL workshop (March 6)

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:11:35 +0000

On March 6, learn how to pursue government secrets from the preeminent authority on New York State’s Freedom of Information Law, better known as FOIL. Robert Freeman, Executive Director of the New York State Committee on Open Government, will make his annual pilgrimage to the New York Newspaper Guild office in Times Square to give a workshop about how to pursue government records in the Empire State. This event is free for members of The Deadline Club. Non-members may purchase tickets for $10. Refreshments will be served at a reception, beginning at 6:30pm. Freeman will begin the workshop at 7pm, followed by a lively question-and-answer session. This is always one of the club’s most popular events of the year, so RSVP soon here.

Whodunit? Mystery writers reveal their secrets to The Deadline Club

rebecca — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:30:27 +0000

More than 60 Deadline Club members and their guests packed the main art gallery of the Salmagundi Club on January 11 to hear our distinguished panel of journalists who have made the leap to published mystery novelists. The event was co-hosted by the Mystery Writers of America and the Salmagundi Club.

Deadline Club and SPJ Support Arrested Photojournalist Douglas Higginbotham

alex — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:11:52 +0000

NEW YORK, N.Y. — The Society of Professional Journalists’ Legal Defense Fund has granted New York photojournalist Douglas Higginbotham $1,000 to challenge his arrest by the New York Police Department while covering the Occupy Wall Street protest in Manhattan. Higgingbotham reached out for help from The Deadline Club, which is the New York Chapter of The Society of Professional Journalists, after he was arrested while covering the police raid of the protesters’ encampment in Zuccotti Park on November 15, 2011. The club immediately put him in touch with SPJ’s Legal Defense Fund, which provides aid to journalists facing litigation stemming from their work while reporting the news and defending the public’s right to know. During the November raid, Higginbotham, a freelance cameraman working for TV New Zealand, climbed atop a telephone booth to get a better shot of events. Video of the incident shows that riot police told him to climb down. As he was doing so, police pulled him to the sidewalk, forcefully took his camera, handcuffed him and held him in jail for several hours. In the process, his cell phone and camera, which he describes as his “livelihood,” were broken. Higginbotham, who has been charged with disorderly [...]

NYPD commissioner orders cops to let media do their jobs

rebecca — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:27:42 +0000

Ray Kelly, after meeting with representatives of the city's leading media organizations, has ordered officers not to "unreasonably interfere" with journalists at breaking news events, according to the Associated Press.

Deadline Club joins coalition to monitor media treatment by NYPD

rebecca — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:19:11 +0000

The Deadline Club and the Deadline Club Foundation has joined the New York Press Club and other journalism organizations in sending a message to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly that future police conduct will be monitored.