SFJ Conference

From its founding in 1947 through 2019, SFJ held annual gatherings at various host cities across the United States and Canada. SFJ’s national conferences offered sessions on storytelling techniques, innovation ideas, Show & Steal sessions, digital tools guidance and more.

The atmosphere was like a reunion for scattered friends — it was a time for comfort, commiseration and connection. We found support in ways we often did not in our own organizations.

We are hopeful that a version of our annual conference can return in the future. Please stay tuned for updates!

  • 1947: API seminar for Sunday and features editors, New York. J. Montgomery Curtis, seminar director

    1948: American Press Institute, New York. President: Garrett D. Byrnes, The Providence Journal

    1949: Miami. President: John Griffin, The Boston Post

    1950: American Press Institute, New York. President: George Beebe, Miami Herald

    1951: Denver. President: Edwin J. Strong, Los Angeles Times

    1952: Associated Press, New York. President: Max Kohnop, Dayton Daily News

    1953: Louisville, Kentucky. President: Daniel J. O’Brien, The Boston Globe

    1954: Miami. President: Arch C. Luther, The Philadelphia Inquirer

    1955: Associated Press, New York. President: William E. L. Lush, New Haven Register

    1956: Portland, Oregon. President: Bill Hosokawa, The Denver Post

    1957: Providence, Rhode Island. President: Stanley Horstman, This Week

    1958: Montreal, Quebec. President: Edward P. Kasun, The Pittsburgh Press

    1959: Boston. President: Craig Ballantyne, Weekend Magazine

    1960: San Francisco. President: Harold A. Williams, The Baltimore Sun

    1961: Cleveland. President: Stanleigh Arnold, San Francisco Chronicle

    1962: Seattle. President: Philip Porter, Cleveland Plain Dealer

    1963: Philadelphia. President: Fred L. Rushton, Worcester Sunday Telegram

    1964: Chicago. President: Russell A. Gideon, Tulsa World

    1965: New York. President: Cary Robertson, The Louisville Courier-Journal

    1966: Scottsdale, Arizona. President: Howard DeWald, The Arizona Republic

    1967: Baltimore. President: Walter Simmons, Chicago Tribune

    1968: San Diego. President: David Rimmel, Cleveland Plain Dealer

    1969: Cincinnati. President: John G. Harris, The Boston Globe

    1970: New York. President: Paul Murphy, Philadelphia Bulletin

    1971: Portland, Oregon. President: Geoffrey Vincent, The Louisville Courier-Journal

    1972: Newport, Rhode Island. President: Joseph Bianco, The Oregonian

    1973: Oklahoma City. President: James Auer, The Milwaukee Journal

    1974: Québec, Canada. President: Michael Hanlon, Canadian Magazine

    1975: San Jose, California. President: Eugene Wyatt, The Nashville Tennessean

    1976: Nashville, Tennessee. President: Donald Brazier, The Seattle Times

    1977: Houston. President: Robert Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune

    1978: Lancaster, Pennsylvania. President: Lou Schwartz, Newsday

    1979: Seattle. President: Sheena Paterson, Toronto Star

    1980: St. Petersburg, Florida. President: Timothy Leland, The Boston Globe

    1981: Toronto, Ontario. President: Jack D. Loftis, Houston Chronicle

    1982: Los Angeles. President: Paul Neely, St. Petersburg Times

    1983: New York. President: Ron Patel, The Philadelphia Inquirer

    1984: Chicago. President: Judith McCluskey, The Cleveland Plain Dealer

    1985: San Francisco. President: Tony Bembridge, London Free Press in Ontario, Canada

    1986: Calgary, Alberta, Canada. President: Jack Rickman, Houston Chronicle

    1987: Denver. President: Rosalie Muller Wright, San Francisco Chronicle

    1988: Nashville, Tennessee. President: Gil Watson, Baltimore Sun

    1989: Dallas. President: Mary Hadar, The Washington Post

    1990: Montreal. President: Clifford A. Ridley, The Philadelphia Inquirer

    1991: Charleston, South Carolina. President: Reg Vickers, Calgary Herald

    1992: Phoenix. President: Barbara Schuler, Newsday

    1993: Philadelphia. President: Sue Smith, The Dallas Morning News

    1994: Seattle. President: Susan Bischoff, Houston Chronicle

    1995: Atlanta. President: Dan Norman, Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel

    1996: San Antonio. President: Michael P. Smith, Knight-Ridder Newspapers

    1997: Washington, D.C. President: Janet Grimley, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

    1998: Kansas City, Missouri. President: Marcia Judson, Lakeland Ledger

    1999: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. President: Betsy Cantler, The Post and Courier

    2000: New York. President: Jane Marshall, Houston Chronicle

    2001: Chicago. President: Steve Doyle, Orlando Sentinel

    2002: Las Vegas. President: Sharon Wilmore, Detroit Free Press

    2003: St. Petersburg, Florida. President: Ann Maloney, New York Times Regional Newspaper Group

    2004: New Orleans. President: Chris Beringer, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

    2005: Denver. President: Gina Seay, Hartford Courant

    2006: Fort Worth, Texas. President: Denise Joyce, Chicago Tribune

    2007: Savannah, Georgia. President: Kim Marcum, Orlando Sentinel

    2008: Houston. President: Mary Lou Nolan, The Kansas City Star

    2009: Portland, Oregon. President: Diane Cowen, Houston Chronicle

    2010: Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida. President: Tom Huang, The Dallas Morning News

    2011: Tucson, Arizona. President: Gretchen Day-Bryant, South Florida Sun Sentinel

    2012: University of Maryland-College Park. President: Alice Short, Los Angeles Times

    2013: Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida. President: Alec Harvey, Alabama Media Group and AL.com

    2014: Nashville, Tennessee. President: Betsey Guzior, The State Media Group

    2015: University of Maryland-College Park. President: Terry Scott Bertling, San Antonio Express-News

    2016: University of Texas-Austin. President: Lisa Glowinski. More Content Now (GateHouse News Service)

    2017: Kansas City, Missouri. President: Kathy Lu, The Kansas City Star

    2018: New Orleans. President: Jim Haag, retired, The Virginian-Pilot

    2019: Detroit. President: Margaret Myers, Atlantic 57

    2020-21: Conference planned for 2020 at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. President: Sharon Chapman, Austin American-Statesman

    2022-23: No in-person conferences because of ongoing pandemic impacts. President: Emily Spicer, San Antonio Express-News

Penny Bender Fuchs Diversity Fellowship

Since the early 1990s, the Society for Features Journalism has named Diversity Fellows as a way to support journalists of color. Fellows attended our annual conferences for free.

The fellowship was renamed for Penny Bender Fuchs, a veteran journalist who taught at the University of Maryland and who was an executive director of SFJ. Penny is remembered as a loving leader who was instrumental in organizing SFJ.

Since the Diversity Fellowship program began, SFJ has welcomed more than 100 journalists of color.

Past AASFE/SFJ Diversity Fellows

2019
Wei-Huan Chen, The Houston Chronicle

2019
Craig Newmark Fellows: Nicole Clark, writer in Los Angeles; Mesfin Fekadu, The Associated Press; Chris Ip, Engadget; Prince Shakur, freelancer in Columbus, Ohio; Vanessa Taylor, Afrotech

2018
Brittany Britto, The Baltimore Sun; Janelle Harris, freelance writer and editor in Washington, D.C.; Anum Siddiqui, Loyola University New Orleans student

2017
Rashod Ollison,The Virginian-Pilot; Michelle Zenarosa, Everyday Feminism and Woke

2016
Jennifer “Jenny” Abella, The Washington Post; Amaris Castillo, Bradenton Herald; Emily Gibson, University of Texas-Austin

2015
Sofiya Ballin, Philadelphia Inquirer; Ada Tseng, writer and editor based in Southern California

2014
Mariecar Mendoza, Los Angeles News Group; Denise Watson, The Virginian-Pilot

2013
Carlos Frias, Palm Beach Post; Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times

2012
Christina Rosales, The Dallas Morning News; Helaine Williams, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

2011
Lauren Harrison, Newsday; Arienne Thompson, USA Today

2010
Jessica DeVault, The Fayetteville Observer; Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times

2009
Elizabeth Wellington, The Philadelphia Inquirer; Faith Dawson, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; My-Thuan Tran, Los Angeles Times

2008
Justin Ellis, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram; Nicole Tsong, The Seattle Times; Pamela Spencer, Kansas City Star; Margaret Myers, Amarillo Globe News; Zeina Makky, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

2007
Gina Kim, Sacramento Bee; Megan Scott, Associated Press; Ardua Harris, Contra Costa Times; Marques Harper, Austin American-Statesman; Jennifer Sangalang, Florida Today

2006
Erin Chan, Detroit Free Press; Josefina Loza, Omaha World-Herald; Chris Macias, Sacramento Bee; Lisa Matsumoto Ogle, Austin American-Statesman; Melissa Renteria, San Antonio Express-News; Philip A. Stephenson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Malcolm Venable, The Virginian-Pilot

2005
Joy Oglesby, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; Marian Liu, San Jose Mercury News; Rodney Thrash, St. Petersburg Times; Leslie Tellez, San Antonio Express-News; Lori Price, Dallas Morning News

2004
Mark de la Vina, San Jose Mercury News; Jose Franco, Spartanburg Herald-Journal; Tracy Jan, The Oregonian; Candace Johnson, The Virginian-Pilot; Andrea Otanez, The Seattle Times; Joshunda Sanders, San Francisco Chronicle; Monica Williams, The Boston Globe

2000
Sherhonda Allen, TimesDaily; Richard Chin, St. Paul Pioneer Press; Hsiao-Ching Chou, Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Lillian Guevara-Castro, The Gainesville Sun; Neal Justin, Minneapolis Star Tribune; Deirdre M. McGruder, Contra Costa Times; L.A. Johnson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Maria Douglas Reeve; Elda Silva, San Antonio Express-News; Gracie Bonds Staples, Atlanta Journal-Constitution