Matthew T. Hall sworn in as 104th president of Society of Professional Journalists

Home > SPJ News > Matthew T. Hall sworn in as 104th president of Society of Professional Journalists

9/13/2020

CONTACT:
Matthew T. Hall, SPJ National President, 619-987-7786, mhall@spj.org
Zoë Berg, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-920-4785, zberg@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS — Matthew T. Hall became the 104th president of the Society of Professional Journalists during the Closing Ceremony of the SPJ2020 Journalism Conference.

Hall is editorial and opinion director at The San Diego Union-Tribune, where he has worked since 2001. He has managed its innovative and award-winning Ideas and Opinion section for nearly five years and previously managed the newsroom’s social media, wrote a metro column and was a reporter at the U-T and other newspapers.

He has served on SPJ’s national board since 2014, first as a regional director for Region 11 and then as secretary-treasurer and president-elect. Hall is a past president of the San Diego Pro Chapter, which was honored as national chapter of the year when he was president. He has served on numerous committees and task forces.

His goals for the Society include strengthening its advocacy and diversity; implementing a new strategic plan to make it more meaningful to more members; and to give journalists support, inspiration and better tools to do their jobs at a difficult time.

“We will champion excellent, ethical work, fight for the First Amendment and move toward a more sustainable, inclusive, innovative future for journalism, society and all of our members,” he said.

“A free press isn’t free. Journalism costs money, and less journalism costs society. Working alongside all the other excellent journalism advocacy organizations, SPJ is here to ensure journalists’ continued success, and this year our focus will be on making sure our newsrooms and freelance writers better reflect, respect and serve our communities, so our ranks and audiences grow in numbers and swell with pride.”

Hall was sworn in by 2019-20 SPJ National President Patricia Gallagher Newberry, who is an associate lecturer of journalism and area coordinator at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Originally set to take the reins during the President’s Installation Banquet at the Excellence in Journalism conference in Washington, D.C., Hall was sworn in tonight during SPJ2020, held virtually this weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hall is a husband, a father, a University of New Hampshire graduate and a former New Englander who dreams of a Red Sox-Padres World Series.

SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to informing citizens; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and fights to protect First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. Support excellent journalism and fight for your right to know. Become a member, give to the Legal Defense Fund or give to the SPJ Foundation.

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