JOPLIN - Journalists, instructors, students and others wanting to learn about accessing public records (or needing a refresher course) are invited to attend the Access Across America II Project, presented by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

The training session will take place from 2-4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in the fourth-floor conference room, Room 413, of the Spiva Library at Missouri Southern State University, 3950 E. Newman Rd., Joplin.

Topics will include accessing public records, creating ideas for record-based stories, making effective requests and developing tactical strategies to overcome denials and exorbitant copy fees. Light refreshments will be served.

Joey Senat, Ph.D., associate professor of mass communications at Oklahoma State University, will conduct the training session. He received the 2007 Opala First Amendment Award and the 2005 Oklahoma SPJ Award for Distinguished Service to the First Amendment for his work to advance government transparency. He has been published in Quill and the IRE Journal. He received a B.A. in journalism from Louisiana State University in 1984; an M.A. in journalism from Memphis State University in 1993 and a Ph.D. in mass communication law from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2000.

The training session co-sponsored by the Missouri Southern Department of Communication and SPJs Southwest Missouri Pro Chapter is free and open to the public but reservations are advised, as seating is limited. To receive more information or to RSVP, contact Rhonda Clark, assistant professor of communication at Missouri Southern, by sending an e-mail here or by calling (417) 625-9596.

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