May 2016
In This Issue
From the President
Mark Your Calendar
Wrap on April 8th Program
Welcome new members...
2016
Board of Directors
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE


President
Ed Byers
Medical Mutual


Vice President
Thom Fladung
Hennes Communications 


Secretary
Amy McGahan
Dix & Eaton 


Treasurer
Carol Kovach
Diocese of Cleveland 

TRUSTEES

Rita Andolsen
MetroHealth 
 

John Betchkal
Retired, GE Lighting 

 
Mary Lou Brink
The Plain Dealer

 
Toni Garbo
Fox 8 News


Jennifer Keirn
Keirn & Co
 
Russ Mitchell
Russ Mitchell
WKYC - TV3 


Lee Moran
The News-Herald 


Kathleen Osborne
Hathaway Brown School 


Mary Patton
Patton Public Relations 


Denise Polverine
WKYC - TV3 


Joe Pulizzi
Content Marketing Institute 


Todd Schneider
FirstEnergy 

Past President

Michael Bennett
Cleveland Leadership Center 

ADMINISTRATION
Lynn Bracic
Professional Management Concepts, Inc. 
Quick Links
 
 
 
 
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From the President - Ed Byers

May greetings!

The nomination deadline has been extended, but time is running out! You have until midnight Friday, May 6 to nominate a well-deserving journalist for The Press Club of Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame and The Chuck Heaton Award. We have a good list of nominees thus far, but please let us know if there is someone you would like to see inducted to the Hall in November.

The Hall of Fame reunion and annual spring fling is ready to roll at Nighttown on Wednesday May 18 from 5:30 to 8 PM. Again, you do not have to be a Hall of Famer to attend, everyone is welcome to come and join us for a fun time and relaxing evening on the Nighttown patio.

It was great seeing so many members and non-members at the Terrace Club in April for the "RNC: All Eyes on Cleveland" program, which ended up being a sell-out crowd. Mike McIntyre was the best moderator anyone could ever ask for and panelists Phil Alongi, Rick Batyko, Tom Beres and Emily Lauer offered unique perspectives on what we might expect in July. Michael Bennett has the lowdown a little further down in this column.

Excellence in Journalism Chair Lee Moran reports everything is GO for The Press Club's 38th annual awards presentation at the House of Blues Friday, June 3rd. Press Club members, your invitation is in the mail, if you haven't already received it.

-Ed
Mark Your Calendars

Friday, June 3, 2016
All Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards
 House of Blues
(Invitations will be in your mailbox shortly)
Coming Up This Month:

May 18, 2016
5:30 - 8:00 pm
Spring Fling / Hall of Fame Reunion  Afterwork Networking Event
Nighttown

"Making Freelance Writing Pay" 
Date:  May 26
Time:  5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Place:  Market Garden Brewery
Call The Press Club office at 440.899-1222 for more information 
Program sheds light on RNC media spotlight on Cleveland
By Michael Bennett
Immediate Past Press Club President 
    
  
Cleveland can benefit from media attention around the Republican National Convention before and after the four-day event in July, says Emily Lauer, senior director of PR and communications for Destination Cleveland and the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee.
 
"The convention shines a light around Cleveland and puts it on the radar screen," Lauer said. "It's an opportunity to leverage the attention Cleveland is going to get and open the door to conversations that go on after the convention."
 
Lauer was one of four panelists at The Press Club of Cleveland program "All Eyes on Cleveland: TheRNC, 15,000 Media and How You Can Get a Piece of the Spotlight" on April 8, 2016. The event at the Terrace Club at Progressive Field sold out with more than 110 attending. It was held in cooperation PRSA Greater Cleveland Chapter and NIRI Cleveland Chapter.   
Other panelists were 30-year media executive Phil Alongi of Alongi Media Solutions, who is producing the event for the Republican Party; Tom Beres, WKYC's senior political correspondent; and Rick Batyko, senior vice president of marketing and communications at Team NEO, who has spent years helping national media focus positive attention on Cleveland. Mike McIntyre, Plain Dealer columnist and host of ideastream's "Sound of Ideas" radio program, was moderator.
 
From a political standpoint, Alongi said, there is no playbook for this convention. "It will be made up as you go along. The interest level will be just so high and there are so many fascinating aspects of this story," said Alongi, who was executive producer of NBC News' specials unit.
 
While a lot of the national press focus will be what happens in Quicken Loans Arena, Beres noted that some media may be interested in looking at Cleveland as a microcosm of America.
 
For instance, suggested Batyko, the region's economy may be a story for some. "They will want to get out into our communities and do stories about Cleveland's rebound and some of the issues it's facing. We're trying to be sure all that messaging is in their hands before they get here."
 
Lauer, whose organization is creating a matrix of story ideas for media, suggested that organizations seeking a share of the spotlight carefully consider reporters and platforms that make sense for them, and focus on human-interest angles. "Target your story but make it naturally relevant outside northeast Ohio and frame it in that perspective," she suggested. 

Thanks to our program sponsor:
Welcome new members
Marie Elium
 
Marie Elium is editor of Northeast Ohio Boomer and Beyond magazine, a lifestyle publication for people 55 and older.

She is a long-time freelance writer. Elium began her career as a reporter for the Lynchburg News & Daily Advance in Virginia. She then worked for the Youngstown Vindicator covering local government and schools.

Elium lives in Garrettsville in Portage County.

"I joined The Press Club because I'm interested in getting to know other writers and editors in the Cleveland area. I also want to participate in workshops and events to pick up career development tricks and tips." - Marie Elium.
Lynn B. Johnson, MFA
 
Lynn B. Johnson, MFA, is the Director of Marketing & Communications for The Music Settlement. 
 
She holds two degrees from San Jose State University: a BA in photojournalism and an MFA in non-fiction creative writing & stage/screenwriting. 
 
Her California marketing agency, Motormouth Marketing, supported high-tech and manufacturing companies in Silicon Valley for 3 years during the first dot-com boom. Lynn has served as a marketing and PR consultant for more than 15 years and is available for freelance work. 
 
In December 2015, she was featured in the "Who to Watch: Marketing/Creative" section of Crain's Cleveland Business. In her free time, Lynn practices karate and enjoys reading, playing ukulele, and skunking her children in backgammon. Her Twitter handle is @LBJMFA.
 
"I chose to join The Press Club because professional writing of all ilks is well worth supporting. And also because in my experience, it's a total blast to be a member of a cadre of writers." - Lynn B. Johnson.  
Nate Paige
 
Nate Paige, an East Cleveland native, is a Life & Culture Reporter for cleveland.com
 
He began his career with cleveland.com as a part-time copy editor during the early days of the website.  Over the past 19 years, he has held a number of other positions within the company: community producer, entertainment producer and hyperlocal content producer.
 
Previously, Nate worked for the Call and Post newspaper as the principal writer for the Showtime Entertainment section, and served as a contributing writer for local publications including Scene Magazine, The Cleveland Free Times, City Reports and The Real Deal. He also won a local prize through Cleveland State University for screenwriting.
 
He attended Cleveland State University where he majored in English.
 
"With my position recently changing from copy editor to reporter - a change that will allow me more time out in the community - I felt the time was right to become a member of The Press Club of Cleveland. " - Nate Paige. 
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