Student and professional journalists from around the country will come to Athens Friday and Saturday for the Society of Professional Journalists regional conference.
The organization, which has about 45 nationally registered members in its Ohio University chapter, aims to encourage the free practice of journalism and stimulate high standards of ethical behavior, according to its national website.
The weekend conference will include members from both student and professional chapters in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. Approximately 150 journalists are expected to attend, according to an OU SPJ news release.
“The Ohio University chapter is proud and honored to be this year's host of the Region 4 conference,” OU SPJ president Kate Hiller said in the release. “We have been working toward this conference for about a year now, and I am very excited to see everything come together this weekend.”
Wesley Lowery, a reporter for the Washington Post and former editor-in-chief of The Post, will serve as the keynote speaker for the conference. Lowery recently reported from Ferguson, Missouri during the protests that resulted from the death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man who was shot to death Aug. 9, 2014.
The program will also include panels on a variety of topics, including use of the First Amendment in the digital age and a history of The Ridges in Athens.
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