An Associated Press team has won top honors in the 2012 New York Press Club Awards for Journalism for the investigative series, "NYPD Spies on NYC."

The Gold Keyboard award winner was one of six AP entries judged exemplary by the competition jury, a tally matched by The Wall Street Journal and by hyperlocal news website DNAinfo.com which won Best Web Exclusive Content for its "Crime and Safety Report," an in-depth analysis of crime in 69 New York City neighborhoods.

Detailed results and dinner RSVP info on our Awards page.

Members in good standing of the New York Press Club are able to take advantage of an optional benefit: membership on very special terms in the historic Players Club on Gramercy Park.

A comfortable, convivial and gracious "hang out," the Players membership benefit is available to all interested New York Press Club members who are in good standing. Send us a note, for details.

Recent word that the Denver Post has become the most recent publication to sweep away its copy editors in a fit of frugality set our "Constant Columnist" to reminiscing.

Beatrice Williams-Rude observes, "The desk is, in effect, now being used to acquaint neophytes with the profession, rather than utilizing the knowledge of experienced veterans." Beatrice might have added, "to assure that the published product does not resemble the work of neophytes."

More...on the Constant Columnist page.

Our nominating committe has completed work on this year's ballot for the election of New York Press Club officers. Members should by now have received ballots by mail and are encouraged to complete and return them by May 31st. Instructions for voting and returning completed ballots are included in the mailing.

The leadership election is held annually. Officers of the Club each serve one year terms. Governors serve two year terms and Trustees are elected to five year terms.

SAVE THE DATE for this year's Conference on Journalism, the 20th annual such event produced by the New York Press Club Foundation.

Details of this year's conference will be published here, when available.

The New York Press Club is collecting specific and verifiable information about First Amendment abuses by public safety agencies operating in New York City. Please let us know if you have been improperly obstructed by members of any public safety agency while on assignment or while engaged in spec coverage with intent to publish.

Incidents can be reported on our Coalition for the First Amendment page. The New York Press Club and a number of other organizations representing journalists in New York City formed the Coalition to monitor police-press relations and to document and protest tactics and behavior that contravene First Amendment protections. Each such instance that comes to our attention is posted on the Coalition page.

We urge working journalists who feel they have been subjected to suppressive or unreasonably exclusionary tactics by any government agency to let us know about it.