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From the President's Desk

Our Vision for the Near Future
July 2008

We've got nearly 1,300 members now, and not all of us -— heaven knows —- can agree on everything. That's a given. But over the past months, the ASJA Board of Directors has tried our best to sound out the membership, to get a firm handle on what our organization can do to benefit the majority of our members. We now have a plan...a strategic plan. And I wanted to fill you in.

The sounding out process began with an ad-hoc five-year planning task force, headed by Minda Zetlin (also our Board secretary), with help from members R. Manning Ancell, Carole Christie, Alison Fromme, Margaret Littman, Trish Riley, Anne Stuart and Grace Weinstein, and non-member Patti Wolter of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. The task force came up with a list of organizational priorities, and that list has since been honed to the six priority items that I list below.

• ASJA needs to regain its stature as a forceful advocate for writers' rights. We also need to update our advocacy to address some of the additional pressures and demands on writers in today's publishing industry.
• We need to establish a clear and easily communicated identity for our organization, and then conduct a campaign to raise ASJA's profile throughout the publishing world. This might start with a "brand audit" to better recognize our present strengths and what we offer that other organizations don't.
• Although in the current era it may not be possible for ASJA to offer members affordable health insurance, we must do a better job of educating members about what their options are. In addition, given the intense interest in this benefit, we should seek any opportunity to provide insurance (if not health, then perhaps disability, dental, or media perils) to members.
• ASJA needs to take another look at Freelance Writers Search to see how the program can be made more valuable to members. A minimum fee limit might be appropriate.
• ASJA should create educational opportunities (probably small sessions, and not limited to New York City or the annual conference), and perhaps something akin to a mentoring program, for members who need to learn how to use new technology. New technology is key to remaining competitive in today's world of journalism.
• We need to foster creation of more regional events. Set a goal of at least three successful, ongoing regional events by the end of 2012.