SPJ Honors J-School Alumna and Instructor with James Madison Freedom of Information Awards

March 4, 2010

The Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists announced this year’s recipients of the James Madsion Freedom of Information Awards. Among the honorees were J-School alumna Melissa Nix (MJ ’05) and Thomas Peele, who helps teach the public records course.

Melissa Nix will be presented with the James Madison Freedom of Information Citizen Award “for her persistence and determination in questioning police handling of the mysterious death of Hugues de la Plaza.”

Nix investigated the death of her ex-boyfriend after the San Francisco Police Department ruled it a suicide. “Acting as a friend, she set out to prove that the SFPD should have been pursing a murderer. She sought information, pressured local government, engaged the media, organized marches and vigils, and filed complaints,” the release states. Nix’s work revealed the police department’s low rate of success for solving homicides and brought about reforms within the department’s homicide division.

Thomas Peele, will be honored with the James Madison Freedom of Information Award for Computer Assisted Reporting. Peele (along with Daniel Willis) of the Bay Area News Group for created an online database of the salaries of 188,000 public employees. The information was gathered through dozens of California Public Records Acts.

The awards will be presented during the 25th Annual James Madison Awards Banquet on March 16th in San Francisco.

The James Madison Freedom of Information Awards is named for the creative force behind the First Amendment and honors local journalists, organizations, public officials and private citizens who have fought for freedom of speech, press, and peaceable assembly, and for public access to government meetings and records and have promoted the public’s right to know.

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