Searching for the truth is expensive. It takes time, resources and money, things a lot of newsrooms don’t have much of. But where there’s passion, there’s perseverance.
That’s why Arkansas SPJ and the A-Mark Foundation want to recognize investigative reporting and help to fund the continued effort. The A-Mark Prize will provide $15,000 each year for reporters and their newsrooms.
First place: $5,000 for the writer(s), plus $2,500 for the newsroom
Second place: $3,000 for the writer(s), $1,500 for the newsroom
Third place: $2,000 for the writer(s), $1,000 for the newsroom
Arkansas SPJ is one of only a few chapters hosting these investigative awards this year, and we are proud to partner with the A-Mark Foundation to continue the investigative efforts of hard-working reporters.
“The A-Mark Foundation hopes that our grants will lead to increased recognition and support for investigative journalists across the United States,” said A-Mark senior VP Tracey DeFrancesco. “We noticed that most state-level journalism awards did not have a cash prize, and we hope that providing a monetary award to both reporters and their publishing outlets will enable more important articles to be written.”
What you need to know
The A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism in Arkansas is described as an award for remarkable investigative reporting in any medium. *This prize is only open to entries with an Arkansas connection. The entry must include investigative reporting by an individual or team in a single report or a series – up to five items including coverage and other supporting elements. Stories should expose a wrong or promote understanding of a problem, issue or subject in the public interest.
The entry must have an Arkansas connection meaning one or more of the following applies: (1) The winning reporter is based in Arkansas; (2) The newspaper or media outlet is based in Arkansas; or (3) The work covers Arkansas. The entry must include investigative reporting by an individual or team in a single report or a series – up to five items including coverage and other supporting elements. Stories should expose a wrong or promote understanding of a problem, issue or subject in the public interest. A supporting statement (400 words max) is required.
The winners will be recognized, and the prizes will be distributed at the Arkansas Diamond Awards ceremony during Summer 2025. All entrants should plan to attend the ceremony in Little Rock in July if they are named a finalist.
If you have questions, email us anytime. The 2025 Diamond Journalism Awards contest is now open. To learn more, click here.
On Saturday, Sept. 9, Arkansas Pro SPJ, NWA Arkansas Pro SPJ, Arkansas Press Women and Arkansas College Media Association sent a letter to legislative leaders urging them to reject a move by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her legislative enablers to gut the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The General Assembly convenes Monday morning for a special session and is expected to complete its business by Wednesday. It’s urgent that supporters of the FOIA contact lawmakers and tell them keep their hands off the people’s law.
A couple of ways to do that: Go to the list of legislators and email them or click on your legislator’s name and call him or her. Or sign this petition being circulated by For AR People.
A copy of the letter we sent on Saturday is below.
Arkansas Pro Chapter Society of Professional Journalists September 9, 2023
House Speaker Matthew Shepherd House Republican Leader Marcus Richmond House Democratic Leader Tippi McCullough Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester Senate Republican Leader Blake Johnson Senate Democratic Leader Greg Leding CC: Rep. David Ray, HB 1003 sponsor Sen. Scott Flippo, SB 7 sponsor
Honorable leaders of the Arkansas General Assembly:
As citizens of Arkansas and affiliate members of state and national journalism groups, we must express our gravest concerns over House Bill 1003 and Senate Bill 7 that you will be considering in next week’s special legislative session. The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act has stood as a bulwark against overreaching and secrecy-driven officials for 56 years. Despite numerous amendments we believe have weakened it over time, it remains one of the strongest guarantees of government openness and transparency in the nation. Now, you are being asked by some of your colleagues and the governor to create several new exemptions to the law that will shatter citizens’ protection and violate the law’s presumption in favor of disclosure and transparency. If passed and enacted into law as written, the bill will lock critical elements of state government in a black box, away from the people who have a right to know what the government does in their name and how it spends their money. Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act was passed under Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, who broke Democrats’ grip on the statehouse by running as a reformer — when just 11% of the state was Republican. Transparency in government was and still is a Republican mantra. In part, the FOIA’s promise to the public is what made Republican governance possible in Arkansas. Forgoing that pledge breaks a bond with your constituents and destroys that legacy. The proposed legislation also purports to be about protecting the security of the governor, the governor’s family and other state officials, but it goes well beyond security issues. There are legitimate concerns about revealing security planning and protocols, which we believe existing law addresses. Hiding information about executive branch travel and its costs from the public is a bridge too far. Similarly, creating a new exemption for the “deliberative process” would sweep up information vital to citizen self-governance. A working papers exemption already exists for the governor’s office, attorney general, legislators and Supreme Court and Appeals Court justices and judges. That should suffice. Preventing the public from knowing “how the sausage is made” and what executive branch agencies are doing violates the spirit and legal precedent of the FOIA. The overly broad exemptions created by this bill all but guarantee the demise of Arkansas as a beacon of transparency. Democracy dies in darkness, as the saying goes. In an era of declining trust in our institutions and officials, I hope you will agree with us that more, not less, transparency is a good thing and that it is a nonpartisan issue. We ask that you reject this overreach on the part of the governor’s office.
Sincerely, Sonny Albarado Vice President, Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and past national president of SPJ (2012-13)
Gina Holland Shelton President, NWA SPJ Pro Chapter
Kristin Netterstrom Higgins President, Arkansas Press Women
Jennifer Ellis Region 12 Coordinator, Society of Professional Journalists
David Keith President, Arkansas College Media Association
Ron Sitton Director, Arkansas College Media Association
Bret Schulte Freelancer, board member, NWA SPJ Pro Chapter
Other Co-signers: Arkansas SPJ Pro: President Brenda Lepenski, Secretary Wendy Miller Jordan, Treasurer Rob Moritz, Past President Steve Listopad, board members Karen Steward, Terrance Armstard, Jack Webb Arkansas Press Women: Treasurer Richard Plotkin, Secretary Debbie Miller, Northwest District Director Catherine Nolte and Central District Board member Tammy Keith University of Arkansas Student SPJ Chapter
Arkansas Pro Chapter
Society of Professional Journalists
For immediate release:
The Little Rock Civil Service Commission raised First Amendment concerns Tuesday by approving a new rule that allows its chairman to ban any means of recording during public hearings, and during a hearing for a fired police officer Thursday, officials ejected at least two people from the room for recording the proceedings.
As an organization that supports and protects the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists condemns the commission’s decision.
The new rule is bad news for news media and the local community. It also runs afoul of the Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act, which guarantees citizens access to public meetings and public records. Several attorneys general have opined that citizens have the right to record public meetings.
The timing of the adoption of the new rule is also suspicious, coming as it did two days before the hearing of fired police officer Charles Starks, who ignited public outrage after fatally shooting Bradley Blackshire of Little Rock. Commissioners maintain the timing is coincidental.
While the new rule states that the chairman “may” allow broadcasting that does not distract participants or impair courtroom proceedings, it still goes too far.
Since most Little Rock residents will not be able to attend the Starks hearing, community members will turn to the media for updates about the case. The broadcasting ban will hinder news outlets’ ability to disseminate information about this and other public hearings, thus restricting both media and public access.
While restrictions on court proceedings are sometimes necessary, effectively prohibiting taping of these public hearings places an undue burden on news gathering and inappropriately restricts access to public information.
It is worth noting that the new state law, which took effect Wednesday, July 24, requires public bodies to record their public sessions and to make those records available to citizens. While the law doesn’t address citizen recording of meetings, it shows lawmakers’ intent that public meetings be accessible to all.
We urge the Little Rock Civil Service Commission to reconsider and rescind its rule allowing its chairman to ban recording and broadcast of public hearings.
Signed on behalf of the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists,
Jennifer Ellis, president
Sarah DeClerk, vice president
The publisher of Stephens Media newspapers in central Arkansas has filed a criminal complaint against the superintendant of the Pulaski County Special School District over an alleged FOI violation.
Dennis Byrd (who has served as the state’s Sunshine Chair in the past) says that Charles Hopson didn’t turn over copies of text messages to and from his cell phone in response to a May 2 request.
The district says the messages are on Hopson’s personal phone, and it doesn’t have access to them.
Update: The prosecutor says he won’t take action on the request, because of a doubt over whether the FOI applies to the employee’s personal phone in this case.
The Arkansas FOI Coalition met Tuesday morning to review the status of the FOIA after the recent legislative session and to hear from Attorney General Dustin McDaniel about his activities to publicize the law.
McDaniel is conducting several “FOIA roadshows” around the state this summer to education citizens and officials about open records and open meetings.
The office particularly wants to reach newly-elected officials who may not be familiar with their obligations under the act.
The coalition also discussed the recent legislative session, which saw few significant changes to the FOIA, with the exception of SB345 by Sen. Percy Malone: “To Establish a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.”
That measure created the 19th exemption to the FOIA by closing the records of a prescription drug database. The coalition argued unsuccessfully that personal health information is already exempt under HIPPA, and other aggregate data should be public. The bill was signed by Governor Beebe on March 17th.
The coalition supported three bills favorable to open government that also become law, including the Open Checkbook Act and a proposal to add improvement districts to entities covered by the FOIA.
Society of Professional Journalists | Arkansas Pro Chapter 
