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  Writer's Week  

Society of Professional Journalists

    Cleveland Pro Chapter Newsletter     

July 22, 2014   

 Deadline For Next Edition: Aug. 1, 2014  
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President's message

Early bird discount ends tomorrow
Rodney Bengston
Rodney Bengston

 

The old adage says that the early bird gets the worm, but in the real world early birds can get a discount.

                   

July 23 is the early bird deadline for the joint Society of Professional Journalists - Radio Television Digital News Association Excellence in Journalism convention in Nashville, and I cannot recommend these conventions enough.

                   

After every conference I've been to I leave feeling a little bit better about journalism. Obviously, now is a challenging time for journalism, but good work still is being done.

                   

The changing technological landscape may change the way we deliver stories, but many the basic rules still apply in reporting.

                    

One thing that will have a chance to do is ask questions and make comments about the SPJ ethics code revision now in progress. Much of the revision will deal with how to handle things in the age of social media.

                   

There are many are things going on at this year's convention, and I will try and touch upon some of them in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, to get the early bird rate, register online here today!  

 

Rodney Bengston

President, SPJ Cleveland       

   

Ethics code update three ready to view

As Rodney mentioned above, the national SPJ SPJ vertical logo for web Ethics Committee is working on revising the SPJ Code of Ethics, last updated in 1996. A group of volunteers convened in Columbus, over the weekend to come up with the third draft revision of the code, which will now be presented to SPJ's national board, membership and to the public, before being voted on at the Excellence in Journalism conference in September. The meeting was live-streamed, live-tweeted and blogged about in two separate posts by Ethics Committee Chairman Kevin Smith and SPJ President David Cuillier. See the timeline of the revision process thus far, look over the guidelines to show you what is different from the original version, read feedback and give input on our national website, here.
 
Before the meeting, SPJ national board member Bill McCloskey interviewed Smith about the Code revision process in a podcast for The National Press Club. Listen here.
 
Questions about the process or want to give more input? Comment online or email Kevin Smith.
Job opportunities
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR - CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL
Sadly, Cleveland City Council is losing Jim Kopniske who has been Communications Director for the past four years. Jim has decided to return to college.
 
Sometime next week, Council will be posting the position for a Communications Director who has a minimum of five years experience in the business, two years' experience as a supervisor.
 
This is a challenging position that requires someone who is flexible and has the right temperament to work with elected officials. It is also a bit of a hot seat, but it does lead to many new contacts and daily work with the news media.
 
If you are interested and qualified, please send a resume to this email.
 
Council wants to fill this by September, if possible.

AWARDS COORDINATOR - SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS 
Want to work for the nation's largest most broad-based journalism organization? We're looking for a full-time Awards Coordinator to join our national staff.

Your duties would include:
- Serve as primary contact for SPJ awards programs. These programs include: Mark of Excellence Awards (college student awards), Sigma Delta Chi Awards (professional awards), and other awards that are presented annually.
- Prepare and maintain a yearly schedule for the SPJ awards program.
- Develop timelines for each awards program.
- Ensure that each program remains on schedule, which includes the management of member volunteers.
- Work with IT firm to manage and enhance SPJ's proprietary online awards platform.
- Coordinate all site logistics for three awards banquets including developing scripts for each of these events. (Sigma Delta Chi Awards Banquet, Mark of Excellence Awards program and President's Banquet)
- Maintain a database for each awards programs to include judges, entries, and the tracking of awards submissions
- Secure judges for each contest.
- Manage all facets of an awards program, including logistics, promotions, marketing, communications, and planning. This will involve coordinating vendor and volunteer responsibilities.
- Prepare and monitor program budgets to ensure that each program remains within budget. Review all bills and expenditures. - Serve as a resource for internal and external awards information inquiries.
- Provide assistance to local chapter leaders seeking information on local contests.
- Assist the programming department with program logistics such as processing registrations and preparing materials
- Oversee the annual Legal Defense Fund Auction (both live and silent) - includes securing items, preparing for sale and coordinating auction events.
- Other duties as assigned.

Sound fun? Visit our website for more information about the gig, as well as application details. The deadline is July 28. If you have questions, contact Executive Director Joe Skeel at jskeel@spj.org.

ASSISTANT EDITOR - EARLY AMERICAN LIFE MAGAZINE
Firelands Media Group LLC is interviewing for the position of Assistant Editor for Early American Life magazine. The position is full-time with benefits. The ideal candidate will have writing and editing skills for both print and electronic media, a knowledge and appreciation of American history and historic styles, and the ability to represent the magazine in public forums, both online and in person.

Duties include making assignments to outside writers, creating original content, editing for style, copy editing, and interfacing with the art department. Because we attend shows, the position requires flexibility and the availability to travel. Fluency in Microsoft Word and sufficient understanding of Adobe Creative Suite to work with the art department are required.

Early American Life is a national consumer magazine with headquarters in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and is published seven times a year.

Applicants should contact Tess Rosch, publisher, at 440-543-8566 or submit resumes by email to  this address.

TECHNICAL WRITER - NORDSON CORPORATION
Writes, edits, and coordinates the printing of Nordson technical publications including product manuals, instruction sheets, documentation for engineered systems, field service handbooks, and other technical literature.

Essential job duties and responsibilities:
1. Writes and revises product manuals, instruction sheets, documentation for engineered systems, field service handbooks, and other technical literature.
2. Assumes day-to-day responsibility for maintenance of major publications or product group documentation.
3. Selects artwork for technical publications; assists in coordinating the production of artwork.
4. Edits and coordinates the production of foreign language manuals for Nordson products.
5. Assists in maintenance of technical communications files and information storage systems.
6. Coordinates the review of internal and external technical publications to ensure the accuracy of text, completeness of information, and adequacy of warnings.
7. Consults with Engineering and Marketing personnel to establish technical content and time schedules for manual publications.
8. Checks artwork and graphics; coordinates publication and distribution of printed materials.
9. Estimates and helps control costs consistent with quality and budget requirements.

Education Required: Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Communications, or similar is required

Experience Required: Minimum of one year of experience in Business, Engineering or Manufacturing environment

Preferred Skills and Abilities:
1. Excellent written and oral communication skills
2. Time and project management
3. Basic knowledge of mechanics, hydraulics, and electricity is preferred
4. Ability to read blueprints and engineering drawings preferred
5. Knowledge of printing and printing process preferred
6. Experience with Adobe InDesign, Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop, RoboHelp and QuickSilver is preferred
7. AUTOCAD and Solidworks experience is preferred
8. Web, multi-media and graphic design experience is preferred

Location: Amherst, Ohio

More information and how to apply here.


Many thanks to Dave Davis of Youngstown State University for finding the next four jobs on this list, checking them out and determining that they open to entry-level applicants.

SPORTS REPORTER - NEW CASTLE (Pa.) NEWS 
The New Castle News is looking for a full-time sports reporter. If you love sports, love to write, are willing to work hard and would like to become part of the Lawrence County community, this job may be for you.

A college background or the equivalent, experience in writing and excellent grammatical skills are a must for this nighttime position. Candidate also must possess some pagination skills, with a good knowledge of Quark Xpress and Photoshop. Some experience in photography also is a plus.

Candidate must be comfortable in front of a camera as well, in order to become a personality on our Crunch football and Bounce basketball web sites. Position includes paid vacation and health insurance, with 401K plan available.

Mail resume, writing samples and references to Kayleen Cubbal, sports editor, New Castle News, 27 N. Mercer St., New Castle, PA 16101. No emails or phone calls, please. 

REPORTER - THE TIMES-LEADER (WILKES-BARRE, PA.) 
The Times Leader is seeking a reporter to join its news team. 
In this role, you will be responsible for covering news in a highly competitive market; Wilkes-Barre is one of the last two-newspaper towns in the country.

While you'll be writing for our newspaper, your primary responsibility will be to write for our digital audience. 
We try to foster a collaborative atmosphere with a mix of experienced and new reporters. We're very active in breaking news online, and we're proud of the strong lead we've built in connecting to audiences on social networks.

You'll start off as a general assignment reporter. After you've learned our area and the players, you'll be groomed for either a topical or geographic beat. 

The Times Leader is a Civitas Media news organization. We offer full medical, dental and vision benefits, as well as life insurance and a 401(k) retirement plan.

To apply, please send your resume, a cover letter, your salary expectations and three clips to Executive Editor George Spohr by email at gspohr@civitasmedia.com.  
Please send your application material as PDFs. 
Website: http://www.timesleader.com/

PAGE DESIGNER/COPY EDITOR -
THE TRIBUNE DEMOCRAT, JOHNSTOWN, PA.
The Tribune-Democrat, a newspaper and media company based in Johnstown, Pa., seeks a creative page designer/copy editor to join our night desk team. Bachelor's degree in journalism or related field required. Two years experience preferred. Skill with news, sports, business and features a plus. This position requires skills in the areas of page design, headline and caption writing, page proofing, story editing, web content publishing and social media. Qualified candidates should send resume, cover letter and work samples to: Chip Minemyer, editor, The Tribune-Democrat, 425 Locust St., Johnstown, PA 15907-0340; or by email to this address.

Website: http://www.tribune-democrat.com/

REPORTER - THE DAILY RECORD, WOOSTER
The Daily Record in Wooster is seeking a full-time Reporter to work in its Millersburg office. Experience preferred, but recent graduates will be considered. In addition to solid writing skills, candidates should be comfortable using social media. Please send a cover letter, resume and samples of your work to Lance White, managing editor, at lwhite@the-daily-record.com

Website: http://the-daily-record.com/ 
Events
There is more information on these events in articles below and at left. A number of new job listings are featured below at left, and student internships are below at right.

   July 23

Early Bird Deadline
for Excellence in Journalism 2014 

National conference of SPJ and RTDNA 

to be held Sept. 4-6
Nashville, Tenn.
More info and online registration here

 

Sept. 10

Cocktails and Conversation
with Facebook Content Strategist Jonathon Colman

The Press Club

6 p.m. 

location TBA

 

Sept. 20

Associated Press Media Editors

Columbus, Ohio, NewsTrain

8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

at the Columbus Dispatch

34 S. 3rd St., Columbus, Ohio 43215 

Cost: $75

More info and online registration here 

 

 

 

Featured Event
The Associated Press Media Editors will be holding a one-day NewsTrain workshop in Columbus Sept. 20 that is open to nonmembers. Here are some details from the APME's website on this special training event:

This workshop is for reporters, editors and other journalists from print, digital and broadcast newsrooms of all sizes, as well as journalism educators and students, who are interested in improving their skills in social media, video storytelling and data-driven enterprise stories. You do not have to be a member of APME to attend.

You will learn how to:

Maximize your use of social media for reporting, as well as for personal branding and community engagement.
Tell video stories more efficiently in ways other than the traditional TV-news segment.
Shoot video effectively on your smartphone.
Spot enterprise stories in data, whether your beat is government, sports, the arts, business or education.

A limited number of diversity scholarships to cover the $75 registration fee are available to professional journalists, journalism educators and journalism students of color. Apply by Aug. 4.

More details on the workshop and the diversity scholarships can be found at this website.

 

Quick Links

 SPJ Job Bank

Join or Renew Membership
(Be sure to scroll down on the application form and sign up for the Cleveland Pro Chapter, as well as the national SPJ)
Facebook strategy, Sept. 10

Make plans to join The Press Club of Cleveland for "Cocktails and Conversation with Facebook Content Strategist Jonathon Colman" on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. at a downtown Cleveland location to be determined. Colman will be in town for the blockbuster Content Marketing World conference presented by Cleveland's own Content Marketing Institute, which was founded by Press Club board member Joe Pulizzi.
 
At the Sept. 10 event, Colman will talk about building an integrated content strategy and take plenty of Q&A.

Learn InDesign
this summer at  Lorain County Community College

Lorain County Community College is offering an In-Design course with an emphasis on newspaper/magazine design.

The class begins on Aug. 26 and the hours are 11a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.

Journalists, who need to upgrade their skills, may take the class on an audit basis.

For more information, please contact Cliff Anthony at
canthony@lorainccc.edu

 

Scholarship for
Technical Editing
The Nertheast Ohio Society for Technical Communication announces:
The deadline for applying for the Diane Feldman Technical Editing SIG Scholarship program has been extended to July 25. The SIG will be awarding two $1,400 scholarships.
 
The first scholarship assists students who are pursuing an undergraduate degree in technical communication (or a related area, such as professional writing or digital media) and the second assists students who are pursuing a graduate degree in Technical Communication (or a related area, such as professional writing or digital media).
 
Students applying for one of these scholarships are expected to be able to demonstrate their focus on topics related to technical editing through their academic studies, current jobs, special projects, or undergraduate/graduate program.
 
The winners will be announced in the Technical Editing SIG newsletter.

For complete details, see this website

 

Internships for journalism and communication students

CREATIVE WRITER 

Save Local Now is looking for a creative writer interested in the world of advertising. Save Local Now is hiring an intern to help create and manage the content for its deal, event and business campaigns. You will be working with local business across the USA, Canada and Caribbean. We like wit, humor and energy!

Save Local Now is on a mission to grow local business, while making it easy for people to save money and buy local. Our digital marketing platform and suite of analytical tools help businesses promote themselves across social media channels. We offer mobile apps, email marketing, daily deals, and an event publishing service for consumers to interact with our members.

Responsibilities: 

Write copy for deal, event, and business campaigns;

  Ensure consistency and style, while focusing on commercial audiences;

Proofreading daily deals and events before publication;

Assist member engagement team with various projects.   

 

Requirements:

Undergraduate or graduate student or degree-holder. Creative Writing, Professional Writing or Journalism majors (preferred); 

Undergraduate or post-graduate writing or editorial experience (preferred);

Excellent oral and written communication skills (required);

Great attitude and sense of humor (required);

Tech-savvy and very comfortable using social media (required);

Passion for buy local initiatives and helping small businesses thrive (required); 

Experience managing and updating social media and blogs (preferred);

A strong desire to be an asset of a fast-growing, innovative company; 

Extreme attention to detail and the ability to multitask; 

Comfortable with a fast paced environment with the ability to adapt quickly;

Deadline driven.  

 

Location

Chagrin Falls, Ohio, or working from home will be considered.

 

Credit or Compensation

Internship can be used for college credit or a weekly stipend can be negotiated. There will be an opportunity for full-time hire at the conclusion of the internship.

Next Steps

Interested candidates should send a resume to Zach McCrory, Operations Manager, at this email address. 



VIRTUAL INTERSHIPS
THE CELEBRITY CAFE

We are looking for dedicated interns who understand the culture TheCelebrityCafe.com embodies. We have nine different internships opportunities; Marketing and Social Media, Business Administration, Research, Copy Editing, Graphic Design and our News, Music, Entertainment and Sports Writing internships.

This is a 12-week internship for students in a virtual office for academic credit only.

We had previously asked students to dedicate 10 hours minimum per week, but will be increasing the requirement to 15 hours each week. As the online forums for writers grow, we want to continue to guide students to the best of our ability and and help them understand how an online magazine operates, and found that this can not be properly done within our original time requirements.

Additional program descriptions are online here

We also want to highlight the importance of our Marketing and Social Media internship. Students who are interested in this internship will become knowledgeable in an array of online communication, and will learn how to combine online marketing with overarching outreach goals in a professional setting. This is a necessary skill for students to acquire upon entering professional work settings, many that are heavily internet focused.

Openings for the internships are limited. Please have interested students apply here as soon as possible.

 

infoaboutusWriter's Week is a service of the Cleveland chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. This e-newsletter is edited by Carrie Buchanan, assistant professor, Tim Russert School of Communication & Theatre Arts, John Carroll University, and assistant editor Jackie Mitchell, a reporter for Cleveland Jewish News and recent graduate of John Carroll University.

Please send news items and job & internship postings to spjcleveland@gmail.com    

 

Street Address: Cleveland SPJ, 4337 Chanticleer Drive, Fairview Park, Ohio 44126-1906

Chapter email: Cleveland@spj.org

President: Rodney Bengston  

  

      The Society of Professional Journalists works to improve and protect journalism. SPJ is dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi and based in Indianapolis, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed public, works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists, and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press.