FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lauren Fuhrmann, SPJ Madison Pro chapter vice president
[email protected]
MADISON, July 30, 2014 — SPJ Madison Pro chapter president Mark Pitsch has received the 2014 Howard S. Dubin Outstanding Pro Member Award from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) for his outstanding contributions to the local chapter. Pitsch has served as chapter president since 2011. His programming skills and work in reactivating the Madison chapter contributed to his winning the award.
“Mark has been instrumental in bringing young and experienced journalists together in the Madison area. His leadership in training journalists has helped build the Madison Pro chapter into one of the finest in the country,” says Joe Radske, SPJ Region 6 director and a member of the SPJ Madison Pro chapter.
Each year, the Howard Dubin Award is awarded to no more than two members — one from a chapter of 75 or more members and one from less than 75 members. The award is in honor of longtime SPJ member of the Chicago Headline Club Howard Dubin, who not only contributes time and money to the society but also remains dedicated to service at the chapter level.
Pitsch and J. Alex Tarquinio of the New York Deadline Club — winner of the award from a chapter of 75 or more members — will be recognized at the Excellence in Journalism annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, Sept. 4-6.
Based in Indianapolis, SPJ is a national membership organization that promotes high professional and ethical standards among journalists, First Amendment principles, and the belief that a free and vigorous press is vital in a representative democracy. The SPJ Madison Pro chapter was formed around 1990. Membership costs $75 annually, and it is open to journalists who spend at least half of their professional life writing or editing work for publication.
