And more on prisons SPJ has published here on the Web site a comprehensive guide to state prison policies. The task took several months and is now complete. Restricted access to prisons continues to be among the top requests we receive for assistance from working journalists. Though many media organizations do not have fulltime prison beats, reporters who are assigned to do interviews with death row inmates often find themselves stymied by correction officials. Discretion is often abused.
Policies are unclear.
And, sometimes a little assistance can go a long way. SPJ has been on top of this issue since 1995 and continues to remain the only professional journalism organization pushing for better access to these institutions that are the major part of the budget pie for most states. The Southwest Missouri Chapter co-sponsored a luncheon with Drury University in August addressing the issue of how the media covers itself. Underhill talked about the Tribune Company's initiatives across print, broadcast and interactive business units. Resolutions SPJ Past President G. Kelly Hawes is chairing the resolutions committee at convention.