Update Dec. 7: The City of Seattle has decided to enforce an admission-fee policy against us, requiring us to pay taxes on this nonprofit scholarship fundraiser. So, instead of giving the city a cut of the Northwest Journalists of Color scholarships, we are opening the party to all invitees for free. Donations are welcome online and at the event. To trim costs, we have eliminated the karaoke throwdown.
Join your friends and colleagues for Seattle’s biggest journalist party of the year: The Holiday Scoop 2011. Let’s celebrate the holidays, great journalism and the successes of our local news organizations. Our 2nd annual all-media holiday party will bring together television, radio, online and print journalists. All Puget Sound-based newsroom staffers and former staffers invited. Nosh on hors d’oeuvres and drink at our no-host bar. Lori Matsukawa of KING TV will emcee again! (See photos of last year’s event)
To use a metaphor that sports writers may jibe me for: some of my peers at Western Washington University seem to view college not as the season opener to adult life, but as merely a scrimmage. “Sure, we’re doing the same things, but they don’t affect our record right now.”
It sounds implausible that members of the digital generation who document their lives on social networks would delude themselves that way. But let’s forget about Facebook’s bottomless memory and humor them for a moment, because they almost had a major impact on our school’s interpretation of the First Amendment.
On Oct. 26, the Student Senate at Western introduced a resolution that would have allowed sources to back-edit Western publications’ content. It proposed that students or alumni featured in a publication could, one to 10 years later, tell the publication to delete the content and wipe it from the online archives.
I’m guessing most people reading this are journalists. While you folks pick your jaws up off the floor or try to control your incredulous laughter, I’ll explain the reasoning behind the proposal. (more…)
A group of chapter members is working on making improvements to AAJASeattle.org so that it serves your needs even better. The site was launched in 2008 during the UNITY conference in Chicago. It runs on the WordPress platform and is hosted by DreamHost.
We’d love to get your feedback on the site and what you would most like to see in Version 2.0.
Please fill out this survey and send it to your friends who come to the site!
It’s time for the chapter to elect board members for 2012!
There are four seats up for election, all of which are two-year terms, effective Jan. 1, 2012:
President
Vice president, Programs
Secretary
National Board representative
Serving on the chapter board is an important way for you to demonstrate your leadership (a key skill many employers look for), give back to this organization and support your fellow members.
Chapter secretary Venice Buhain will oversee our elections, which will occur in mid-October. Our national office will receive the names of our 2012 chapter board members by Nov. 1.
FAQ
Who’s eligible to run and vote?
Anyone whose 2011 membership dues are current as of Sept. 30, and is a Full Member. This means those who receive the majority of their income from or spend the majority of their work time in journalistic work (including freelance), those unemployed members between journalism jobs, or those who have left journalism but were AAJA members and journalists for five or more consecutive years. Associate, Student and Retired members are NOT eligible to run or vote.
What is the time commitment?
The board meets at least six times a year to discuss chapter business and plan our two marquee events: Northwest Journalists of Color Scholarship Reception (early June) and the Lunar New Year Banquet & Silent Auction (late January/early February). Board members are expected to participate in these meetings (generally an hour or two) and these two events.
What are you looking for in board members?
Each board seat has distinct responsibilities, which makes it easier for the group to delegate tasks and for individuals to figure out what fits their skills and talents. Of course, the board can decide to change these duties to fit the needs of the group and the chapter.
President: This person is responsible for the overall health of the chapter and represents the chapter at the National Convention and in the Seattle community. Typical duties: Facilitating board meetings, managing relationships with other organizations, and speaking on AAJA Seattle’s behalf in the community.
Vice president, Programs: This person is responsible for the Northwest Journalists of Color Scholarship outreach efforts, judging and reception.
Vice president, Events (seat open in 2013): This person is responsible for the Lunar New Year Banquet & Silent Auction. This person also could organize the summer BBQ, social outings and happy-hour mixers.
Secretary: This person is responsible for the chapter board’s official minutes and elections. This person also could be the group’s social media manager.
Treasurer (seat open in 2013): This person is responsible for managing the chapter’s finances and complying with National’s rules on bookkeeping. This is the only board position that can be held by someone other than a Full Member, i.e. Associate or Retired Members.
National Board Representative: This person is responsible for soliciting input from the local board on issues coming to a vote before the National board and reporting back to the local board. This person is required to represent the chapter at the National Convention.
We will be holding a chapter mixer sometime in the next month. Board members will be there if you want to ask them questions about serving on the board or the elections process.
Oct. 12 is the filing deadline to register your interest in running for a chapter board seat. Send an email to chapter Secretary Venice Buhain, including your name, job title, company and a brief statement (no more than 250 words) on why you’re running.
Oct. 27 is the deadline for casting your ballots. As in previous elections, you’ll most likely receive a ballot electronically.
If you have any questions, send an email to aajaseattle@gmail.com with “2012 chapter elections” in the subject line. Or you can contact one of the board officers directly. Thanks!
AAJA should be proud of this little website. It’s an important community resource in the online landscape of Pacific Northwest journalism sites. Don’t believe me? I too was shocked when a research study that came out at the 2010 Journalism That Matters conference put aajaseattle.org on the map – literally. Use the Zoom (+) button below and look at the center of the map.
Over the years, as the site’s founding editor, I’ve watched it grow and become a part of our chapter’s strategy for building community online and reaching out to members hungry for training, mentoring and jobs.
My vision for AAJASeattle.org was and still is a place for our members – especially students and freelancers – to post their profiles, share links to their stories and offer emerging, diverse journalists a platform to display their storytelling in new media (and maybe get constructive comments). I think it could realize that vision with a staff of three to five dedicated volunteers.
The chapter’s costs to keep the site up are minimal – a server hosting account and domain name – but the content our authors contribute is priceless.
The blog post items, which chronicle chapter news and turbulent times of our profession, come from members willing to donate their time. And sometimes we get photos and videos posted of chapter events.
With no advertising, no dedicated staff and sporadic blog posts, the site has attracted nearly 7,000 visits over the past year (yes, we track it using Google Analytics). We set up the site so that @aajaseattle sends out a tweet for every new post.
Now it’s time for a new editor with fresh ideas and energy to assume the duties and nurture the site’s evolution.
This is a great VOLUNTEER opportunity for anyone who hopes to be a web producer, blogger or site manager some day.
Skills you will develop as site editor:
Blogging about a community.
Recruiting and managing contributing writers.
Tracking and interpreting site analytics.
Managing the WordPress platform.
Skills we’d hope you have or are willing to learn if you want this gig:
Knowledge of basic HTML tags and how to tag content to improve search.
Knowledge of any blogging platform, i.e. WordPress, TypePad, Tumblr, Blogger.
Proficiency in editing copy.
Editorial judgment and basic understanding of libel, privacy and copyright.
The time commitment is minimal – an hour a week, perhaps – but you could spend more time if you want to create something cool. Definitely something to list on your resume when you apply for jobs at news websites.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please email Sanjay Bhatt, chapter president/aajaseattle.org editor, at sbhatt@seattletimes.com. Please write “AAJASeattle.org – Editor” in the subject line. Thanks!
