Auctions raise more than $7,500 for SPJ Legal Defense Fund

September 27, 2011 | Filed under 2011: New Orleans

Auctions raise more than $7,500 for SPJ Legal Defense Fund

By Mary Barczak and Gregan Wingert
The Working Press

Everything from a wooden chair signed by the journalists who broke the Watergate story to a two-night stay at next year’s national convention headquarters hotel were sold during the Society of Professional Journalists Legal Defense Fund live auction.

Proceeds from two auctions, one live and one silent, benefit the fund that assists with litigation fees for public access cases and help protect freedom of press rights for journalists.

The live auction was held just after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, before the president’s installation banquet, to raise money for the fund.

Dave E. Carlson, of the University of Florida, places a bid a chair bearing the signatures of a number of journalists who reported on the Watergate scandal. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press

The silent auction raised $3,000 while the live auction raised more than $4,600. The most sought-after items during the live bidding were Sigma Delta Chi silver spoons and the Watergate chair.

Clint Brewer, chair of the LDF Committee, said one of the recent cases to which the LDF granted money helped support San Francisco blogger Josh Wolf.

In 2006, the SPJ national board gave the largest LDF grant ever, donating $30,000 toward Wolf’s legal fees. The blogger was held in contempt of court for refusing to hand over unedited video of a 2005 San Francisco riot, according to the SPJ website.

“That shows the level of commitment of SPJ,” Brewer said. “It exists to preserve and protect journalism and that costs money.”

SPJ patrons such as former President Georgiana Vines continue to participate in the auction.

“I want to make sure that there is money in that fund for legal defense, ” Vines said. “I’ll be down there tonight and I’ll bid on something.”

In the past, she won a lunch with reporter Helen Thomas with a $1,000 bid.

Five items were up for auction this year, including a director’s chair signed by Daniel Schorr, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Ben Bradlee and three other journalists who covered the Watergate scandal.

Carol Cole-Frowe was the big winner of the night taking home the Watergate chair for $3,300.

She was ecstatic about her prize.

“I am going to display it in my home,” Frowe said. “I am in awe that I was able to get that. I was telling my husband that I would rather have that than a new car.”

She also bid on another Watergate chair last year, but lost to Steve Geimann, the SDX Foundation president.

Geimann has four of the Watergate chairs. He joked with Frowe after the auction about letting her win this year.

“I’ll see you next year, Steve,” said Frowe, a resident of Norman, Okla.

There are a total of seven chairs.

Along with raising money from the items, SPJ awards coordinator Lauren Rochester hopes the participants had a good time during the auction.

The people who attend usually have been involved with the organization for years, Rochester said.

Sometimes the participants start bidding on random items. Last year, Rochester said, a tie someone was wearing went up for auction and added a level of spontaneity to the event.

An earlier version of this article misstated the amount of money raised in the silent auction. It was $3,000, not $7,680.

Gordon "Mac" McKerral, from Western Kentucky University, led the SPJ Legal Defense Fund Live Auction on Tuesday night. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press
Dave E. Carlson, of the University of Florida, places a bid on a chair bearing the signatures of a number of journalists who reported on the Watergate scandal. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press
Attendees began filing in early for the auction. The annual event raises money for the fund, which accepts applications for legal or financial assistance. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press
The silent auction raised $7,680 while the live auction raised more than $4,600. Carolia Hidalgo/The Working Press
A set of silver Sigma Delta Chi spoons went for $500. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press
Patti Cross, a freelance designer and editor and active member of SPJ's Bluegrass Pro Chapter, places a bid on Tuesday. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press
Barbara Straus Reed, from Rutgers University, smiles after winning tickets to RTDNA's Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards ceremony, held annually. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press
Stephen John Geimann, of Bloomberg News, places a bid on a set of Sigma Delta Chi silver spoons. Geimann's bids didn't snag him the spoons, which went for $500. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press
Patti Cross, a freelance designer and editor and active member of SPJ's Bluegrass Pro Chapter, laughs after topping a bid for a set of Sigma Delta Chi silver spoons. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press
Carol Cole-Frowe, a freelancer from Norman, Okla., won the coveted Watergate chair. The SPJ chair is signed by a number of journalists who worked on the Watergate scandal story in the 70s. "I've never paid $3,300 for any piece of furniture," Cole-Frowe said. "But these people did such amazing journalistic work." Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press
Proceeds from two auctions, one live and one silent, benefit the fund that assists with litigation fees for public access cases and help protect freedom of press rights for journalists. Carolina Hidalgo/The Working Press