This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here March 30, 2021 The American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) does not endorse any company, product, or service sold by any corporation, institution or member supporting our organization. Corporate partnerships, advertisers and sponsors are not an endorsement of a product or service and may not be represented as such, in any way. The use of the ASJA name and/or logo, or representation of such, without the written consent of ASJA, is strictly prohibited. .MEMBER-EXCLUSIVE NEWS Yesterday was my birthday (which means I actually wrote this five days before my birthday). I am “groans every time I stand up from the couch” years old. On the eve of my 39th birthday, I wrote a list of 40 things I wanted to learn or achieve before I turned 40. Two, or possibly 78, years (what is a “year” in COVID time?) later, I have crossed maybe 5.5 of those things off the list, sort of. Consider this an invitation to all of us to set mental – or hell, physical as long as you do it safely – fire to all of those lists of things we “should” have “achieved” by certain junctures of our lives, or the “30 Under 30s”. They are designed to breed feelings of inadequacy. But here’s something I do like: At another birthday, one that involved fewer pounds and grey hairs and lines on my face, a friend asked me what I’d learned that year. What about you? Amidst the insanity, what have you learned this past year? All the best, Holly Leber Simmons, ASJA Weekly editor Will We See You at ASJA 2021? ASJA ASJA's annual conference starts in just a few weeks. Still on the fence? Over at Confidential, Conference Chair Kristine Hansen digs into some of the reasons we're so excited for this virtual event. Read more at ASJA Confidential. ASJA Virtual Rates Go Up April 1st — Register Now! ASJA If you haven't registered for ASJA Virtual yet, now is the time to jump on it. Rates will increase on April 1. To get the very reasonable price of $240 for members/$340 for non-members, make sure you visit the website today: https://na.eventscloud.com/website/20696/home/. Snick Snack, Let's Chat ASJA While we can't meet in person for small-group-themed lunches at our annual conference this year, we can log into our computers or devices at the same time and, well, chat! Snack Chat facilitators are hard at work creating 10 Snack Chats for each conference track (Journalism, Books and Content Marketing) with sign-up in early April. (Stay tuned for communications from ASJA about how to sign up.) Snack Chats will take place noon – 1 p.m. the Wednesday of each track and cost $10 for members, $20 for non-members. Last year’s Snack Chats filled up fast so keep an eye out and don’t wait too long to register. Questions about Snack Chats? Contact Kristine Hansen, ASJA 2021 chair, at kristinehansenwriter@gmail.com. Travel Writers, Start Your Engines — DEADLINE 4/1 ASJA Travel writers, including foreign travel writers whose work has been published in American media, are eligible to enter the Society of American Travel Writers Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The contest awards up to $22,000 total in prizes each year. Hurry! The deadline (April 1) looms large. Read here for more details on how to enter. Tele-Connections: Better Than Ever! ASJA The Tele-Connections team is excited to report that they have more than 50 (yes, 50!) editors, agents, and content marketing managers signed up for the two-day event on May 24 and 25! There are more to come, too. Check out the lineup here and register for Tele-Connections and other ASJA Conference events here. Share Your Expertise: Be a SIG Leader! ASJA If you've been thinking to yourself, "Self, how do I get more involved in ASJA?" we've got your answer: sign up to lead a Special Interest Group (SIG). SIGs are small (up to 12 people) private groups that meet online to discuss a particular topic. Past SIGs have included six-figure freelancing, travel, content marketing, history writing, corporate writing and more. Future SIGs will include...well, that's where you come in! SIG wrangler Jennifer Billock is open to your ideas. To be a good SIG leader, you need to be willing to dedicate time, lead and contribute to discussions, and share your own expertise. To get involved, email Jen at jenniferjoanbillock@gmail.com. ASJA Volunteer Opportunities ASJA • Grants Committee – Research and apply for grant opportunities on behalf of ASJA. No grant writing experience required! Contact Katie Navarra at asjaoffice@asja.org. • First Amendment Committee – Review First Amendment Issues and/or represent ASJA in a multi-organization fighting book bans by government-run bodies. Contact JoBeth McDaniels at asjaoffice@asja.org . • SIG (Special Interest Groups) – Lead special interest groups. Looking for someone to lead a session on Word Press. Contact Jennifer Billock at jenniferjoanbillock@gmail.com. • Virtual Pitch Slams – Find editors for monthly pitch sessions and handle registration logistics. Learn more about the program here. Contact Wendy Helfenbaum at wendy@taketwoproductions.ca . • Content Curators – Looking for a short-term chair and team to help populate the education section of our new website by curating content including past blog posts, magazine articles, market reports, podcasts, and more. Contact Laura Laing at lelaing@gmail.com. Member News ASJA Michele Meyer's latest COVID-19 linked stories appear in Infectious Disease Advisor and on Memorial Hermann Hospitals' websites. Cheryl Maguire landed her first New York Times and National Geographic bylines. Inspired by a podcast interview Estelle Erasmus conducted with Huffington Post editor Emily McCombs, Cheryl successful pitched and placed a piece with HuffPo as well. Elisa Shoenberger’s book, In Good Company: A Guide to Corporate Fundraising has been published by Aspire Research Group. The books help organizations learn the many ways they can approach and relate to companies in the US. Do you have professional news you'd like to share with the group? A new job, a story you've published (in article, blog post, book, cave painting, etc. form), a new project you've launched, an interview with someone fascinating, a speaking gig? Send your news (50 words or less) and a link if applicable to Holly Leber Simmons, ASJA Weekly editor at hello@redpeneditorial.co (that's .co like Coco Chanel). All communities deserve deeply-reported, beautiful journalism Columbia Journalism Review Narrative features have long been a beloved part of journalism. As the traditional model crumbles — particularly at the local level — journalists have been forced to consider what is worth saving and what is better left behind. This process can be reduced to basic triage, but some newsrooms are prioritizing narrative reporting as a service. READ MORE Future of journalism: Study explains why some news stories get more clicks from social media than others The Conversation Few industries have suffered more disruption from the internet than the news media. Over two decades or more, journalism has been hit by a “perfect storm” due to the loss of geographical monopolies that national and regional news organizations once enjoyed as well as the emergence of amateur content producers such as bloggers. READ MORE Why are freelancers organizing against the PRO Act? The New Republic Shortly after the House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a sweeping labor-law reform bill, on March 9, freelance writers began expressing concerns about the bill, with op-eds appearing in The Hill, Forbes and Business Insider. One such column, published in The Week, is representative of the genre. READ MORE Production of print newspapers is migrating — up the interstate — with ever earlier deadlines as a result Poynter As the search for cost savings redoubles, it is becoming more the rule than the exception that your hometown newspaper is no longer printed in your hometown. Precise circulation figures are not available, but about 22 million households still get a daily and/or Sunday edition. With outsourced printing often as far as 150 to 180 miles away, that can mean substantially earlier deadlines. READ MORE Most US news organizations still won't let most readers cancel their subscriptions online Nieman Lab Bad news for people who hate using the phone: Just 41% of U.S. news publishers “make it easy” for subscribers to cancel their subscriptions online, according to a new survey from the American Press Institute. News organizations also vary widely in how and whether they identify or assist subscribers who are at risk of canceling. The blunt, “we’ll-just-make-it-hard-for-you-to-cancel” method remains more common. READ MORE How coronavirus has affected humanitarian journalism Journalism.co.uk The journalism industry has changed drastically throughout the pandemic, notably making remote working and on-the-ground reporting difficult. Humanitarian journalism, a beat that focuses on stories around humanitarian crises, aid policies, NGOs and the work of the United Nations, has been particularly hard hit. READ MORE   The ASJA Weekly Connect with ASJA Jennifer Nelson, Publications Chair Jason Zimmerman, Director of Publishing, Multiview, 469-420-2686 | Download media kit Acacia Munoz, Content Editor, Multiview, 469-420-2652 | Contribute News American Society of Journalists and Authors 355 Lexington Avenue, 15th Floor  |  New York, NY 10017  212-997-0947  |  Contact Us  |  www.asja.org Click here to unsubscribe.  Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. 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