The SPJ San Diego Pro Chapter was awarded a 4-star rating for 2009 from the national SPJ board.

The 4-star rating, SPJ’s top chapter ranking, is given to chapters that hold at least six programs each year on journalism-related topics such as diversity, freedom of information, ethics or any other topic relevant to SPJ’s missions; that support student journalists by offering scholarship awards, mentoring programs or other assistance; that have regular communication among board members, national headquarters and the regional director; that communicate regularly with chapter members through newsletters, e-mail or a Web site; that file their annual reports on time; that are represented at their regional conference and the national convention; and that are successful in recruiting new members