Miscellany

I have several housekeeping items for this blog, so here's an index:

1. Next real-life meeting

2. Actors needed

3. Colleen Sparks wants a job

4. Great Washington Post article 

1. Next real-life meeting: How about 9 a.m. next Wednesday morning, Feb. 25, at Crackers & Company Cafe on Elliot Road in Tempe? A few of us last time were on board with it. If you haven't eaten at Crackers, you're in for a treat. It's basic breakfast and lunch comfort food done just right. Their carnitas huevos rancheros are dee-lish, the waffles are superb, the soups are to die for, the salads are out of this world. The list goes on. I've never had a bad meal there.

 It's just west of Hardy, in front of the Staples, where Island Roots Guamanian Restaurant used to be. (Curiously, Guamanian food didn't seem to take off in Tempe.) Still can't place it? OK, you know where Costco is? Go a little further east and it's in a small building in front of the strip mall right up next to Elliot. 

I was going to wait until March to schedule something, but I am going on a special diet for two weeks at the beginning of the month and want to avoid temptation. Yes, a food critic, on a diet. Go figure. But it's only for two weeks, and then I do shake supplements for a few more weeks, and then you will see the slim, trim, muscular physique that I have been developing emerge from under the layers of flab. And then I can eat anything I want, in smaller portions than I've been consuming.

2. Actors needed: I'm almost done with the first draft of my musical comedy stage play, Strip Mall Blues: The Quest for Culture in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm really close, so I want to line up a time next month to have five actors do a read-through so I can start the revisions. I need a 40-something white male, a 20-something female, a 20- or 30-something Latina, a 60- or 70-something white male and a 30- or 40-something female. Acting experience a MUST, but students welcome. Singing and dancing skills also are required, but not super-important just for the read-through. I will provide wine and snacks. 

3. Colleen Sparks wants a job: She is a former Arizona Republic reporter who is doing freelance writing and PR. If you hear of anything where she might fit, please contact her at colleensreporter@hotmail.com. Here is her info:

I wanted to see if you might be able to put out the word in one of your e-mail lists to fellow writers, etc., that I am looking for some kind of part-time job to supplement my income while I grow my business. I am pretty flexible, just looking for something that pays well and would be an interesting experience like working at a bookstore, working in an office or for a non-profit. Other than my 13 years of journalism and year and a half in public relations, I was also a dance minor in college and would love to teach children dance or do anything related to helping a dance studio or arts organization. I have waited tables before but to be honest that really wasn't my forte and I don't know much about alcohol so probably bartending wouldn't be a great option, either. 

4: Great Washington Post article: One of the other 60 Percenters sent this link today regarding newspaper revenues and the future of news. It is worth a read:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/18/AR2009021803762.html?referrer=emailarticle

If the link doesn't work, e-mail me and I will send you the article.

The big event

I'm proud to announce one of the biggest journalism events of the year, the Society of Professional Journalists Region 11 Conference, will be held right here in downtown Phoenix April 3-4 at ASU.

Some of us tireless (OK, maybe tired) volunteers have been working on this for months, and it's going to be outstanding. I personally found the caterer and have been working with the chefs on the menu for Friday's opening reception at the uber-hip Hotel Clarendon, so you know the food will be good.

But of course you really will come for the stellar lineup of speakers, unlimited networking opportunities and spirit of camaraderie you will share with your peers from a five-state region. We also have a sweet after-party planned for Saturday night.

Please consider attending. Info:

SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS  REGION 11 CONFERENCE

 TO REGISTER AND FOR A CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, GO TO      WWW.SPJCHAPTERS.ORG/ARIZONA     

  SPJ REGIONAL CONFERENCE

Walter Cronkite School

of Journalism and

Mass Communication

Grab some certainty... during uncertain times for journalism at the Society of Professional Journalists Region 11 Conference.

The theme, "Journalism 2.0; Redefine '09," speaks to the sweeping changes in our profession and how journalists can meet them.

Co-sponsored by Valley of the Sun (Phoenix) SPJ professional chapter and Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University, Phoenix.

HIGHLIGHTS

 Andrew Leckey, Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business Journalism, on the biggest business story of our times: the current economic recession

Dan Gillmor, Knight Center for Online Media; Andrew Donohue, Voice of San Diego, on how online and nonprofit media are starting to take hold

Steve Doig, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist; Joe Russomanno, First Amendment issues expert; Steve Elliott, former Phoenix bureau chief, Associated Press; on the latest issues in public records access

David Dow, CBS News, retired, on the latest tensions regarding cameras in courtrooms, including new rules for 2009 in Arizona

 Editors from Arizona Highways magazine and Phoenix magazine

For students: Recent grads who turned their internships into full-time jobs, even while still in school.

 For professionals: The latest on how to cope with a layoff or buyout

 PLUS: Sign up for a separate Friday half-day boot camp that will familiarize novices and help deepen the knowledge of more experienced multi-media journalists (attendance limited to 20 participants)

NOT JUST NETWORKING

OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION

Join us Friday evening, April 3, poolside at the historic Hotel Clarendon, site of the 1976 fatal car-bombing of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles, for appetizers and no-host drinks. Wander up the steps (or take the elevator) to the Top of the C, the rooftop (fifth-floor) deck of the hotel overlooking the Phoenix skyline and nearby mountains framing the Valley of the Sun.

MARK OF EXCELLENCE RECEPTION

Join us at the Cronkite Schoolâ*˙s First Amendment Forum for a reception early Saturday evening honoring the best in college journalism in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada.

SATURDAY EVENING NIGHT OUT

Then, head out into the nightlife of downtown Phoenix, on your own, or come with a contingent of your fellow conference-goers to Hanny's, the newest and hottest nightspot downtown.

Hanny's restaurant and bar is a renovated historic 1947 building that once housed a men's apparel shop by the same name. Its modern interior has a concrete-and-glass design with curved walls and trendy touches like a see-through upper floor, a "beauty hallway," a Berkel meat slicer behind the bar and mystery restrooms (you'll see if you go).

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

Rates include all conference workshops and breaks, Friday opening night reception, Saturday late-afternoon Mark of Excellence Awards Reception. Friday's multimedia boot camp and Saturday's Arizona Freedom of Information Awards Luncheon may be attended for an additional cost each.

RATES:

Discounted early-bird registration

(remittances must be postmarked on or before March 4):

SPJ members $89, non-members $109, students $55

Regular registration

(remittances postmarked March 5-March 30):

SPJ members $109, non-members $129, students $65.

Walk-in registration

(at the site, April 3-4):

SPJ members $125, nonmembers $150, students $75.

SEPARATE BUYS:

Multi-media bootcamp,

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, April 3

(details at www.spjchapters.org/arizona; limited to 20 participants):

$50 per person

Arizona Freedom of Information Awards Luncheon honoring the state's best of public records and open meetings journalism in 2008,

11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Saturday, April 4 at Cronkite School's First Amendment Forum:

SPJ members $30, non-members $40, students $20

 Luncheon remittance must be received no later than April 1.

To register for the conference and-or make separate buy purchases, go to www.spjchapters.org/arizona for a .pdf of the registration form you can download, print and send in with your remittance by check or money order.

HOTEL REGISTRATION INFORMATION

NEARBY CONFERENCE HOTELS ARE NOW TAKING

RESERVATIONS AT SPECIAL SPJ RATES

Hotel Clarendon

Site of the 1976 car-bombing of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles (the car is in the Newseum in Washington, D.C., and location of our Friday night (April 3) opening night reception!

Rates are $129/night plus tax single/double per guest room.

For this rate, you must reserve on or before March 13. Call (602) 252-7363 or visit goclarendon.com. To get this rate, you must give this code number: AS-SPJ-1.

Hotel Clarendon

401 W. Clarendon Ave.

(Two miles north of Cronkite School, access by Central Avenue light-rail line.)

These two other hotels are also available:

Holiday Inn Express Phoenix Downtown

$129/night plus tax single/double per guest room or $139/night executive suite.

For this rate, you must reserve on or before March 16. Call (602) 452-2020. Be sure to mention the Society of Professional Journalists when making reservations.

Holiday Inn Express Phoenix Downtown

620 N. Sixth St.

(3 blocks west to Cronkite School)

Best Western Central Phoenix Inn & Suites

$99/night plus tax per guest room April 3, $129/night plus tax per guest room April 4.

For this rate you must reserve on or before March 3. Call (602) 252-2100. Be sure to mention the Society of Professional Journalists when making reservations.

Best Western Central Phoenix Inn & Suites

1100 N. Central Ave.

(5 blocks south to Cronkite School, access by light-rail line or free shuttle.)

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION       Contact Mark Scarp at phoenixspj@cox.net

SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS  REGION 11 CONFERENCE

      TO REGISTER AND FOR A CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, GO TO      WWW.SPJCHAPTERS.ORG/ARIZONA       

What works for you?

Our most recent real-life 60 Percenters meeting at Curry Leaf Indian Grill in Ahwatukee was a hit. We shared plenty of useful information and a bit of gossip, as usual.

And after I suggested stopping the meetings and blog due to lack of interest, several of you expressed interest in continuing both.

For various reasons, though, I need to change up the 60 Percenters day, which has traditionally been on the final Tuesday of the month. But I can't do Tuesdays anymore. It also seems like a lot of folks are on deadline at the end of the month.

Instead of meeting on the last Tuesday, what would work to get more people to attend? Mid-month? Early in the month? 

Coffee or breakfast seems to work better for most of us, because once we get going on our day, it's tough to stop in the middle and go out for lunch. Now that Crackers & Co. Cafe opened in Tempe on Elliot near Hardy, everyone at the last meeting seemed to like that idea for a morning meeting. But if you really love the idea of lunches, let me know.

If you can't get the comment field to work on the blog, feel free to e-mail me and I will get back to you all in a week or so with the verdict.

Life after newspapers

A fellow 60 Percenter shared a fascinating article with me today on "Is There Life After Newspapers?" The writer interviewed several former newspaper employees who had lost their jobs in recent years. 

Not all the news is bad -- more than half have found work, including a good chunk as full-time freelancers. The article is long, but worthwhile: http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4679

The numbers bear out what we discussed yesterday at the (trumpets please) First Ever 60 Percenters Lunch Meeting. I proclaimed that newspapers have already begun the process of operating like magazines, with a skeleton staff of editors, advertising reps and managers, and will continue to go down that path and rely more on freelancers. It makes more sense as a business model. And whether the news is delivered on paper, on the Web or on a thin, pliable sheet of plastic that you can tuck into a briefcase or backpack, there always will be news.

Freelancers, in turn, will be more like reporters of old: Experts on their subject or subjects. 

When I lived in Detroit, the writers at the Detroit News and Free Press (and even, usually, at the suburban dailies -- yes, "suburban dailies," plural -- now an oxymoron) knew their field of expertise inside and out. Whether it was covering courts, the music scene, fashion, police beat or the always-entertaining mayor's office, these writers dug their heels into a beat and stayed for years.

Here, reporters and editors are shuffled around regularly. There are a few great ones -- for instance, I think Richard Nilsen probably knows more about arts than anyone in this state, and he's damn good at communicating about them. And the Tribune lost a real jewel with the layoff of Mark Scarp, who is a walking encyclopedia of Scottsdale (of course, the Tribune ceased publishing in Scottsdale, which is why he was let go, but if anyone else starts up a Scottsdale community paper, he should be number one on the list of writers).

For freelancers, what this means is that while it's always important to be a jack-of-all-trades so that we can spread ourselves around, it's a good idea to hone one or even a few areas of special interest. Smart media managers will seek out these knowledgeable people and not worry about sharing them with other outlets, because there will be so many niche publications and not a lot of direct competition as in the old days between "major dailies."

Being a freelancer -- or a contractor, as I used to be called when I did most of my work for a publishing company -- is the future of journalism and writing in general (because what we do is not always journalism, as we know). We are an important part of the new model for media. It's exciting that people are reading more and more thanks to the Web, and that means a need for content. 

And that means a need for us.

Money-making tips

I don't want to be all gloom and doom on this board, so here are a few tips on making money from fellow freelancers.

Alan Korwin suggests a service called Money Line to find work. There's a fee to join POMA (Professional Outdoor Media Association; more info at  www.professionaloutdoormedia.com/moneylineadd.cfm). 

Also, you can join the Society of Professional Journalists and post your data on its freelance board; it's included in the cost of membership. Visit www.spj.org for details. The local Valley of the Pro chapter is at www.spj.org/arizona. Look for info on the SPJ regional conference April 3-4 to come soon to 60 Percenters.

And this is from Deb Krol: "But it's not all bad out there: I've actually been getting invites to query from High Country News--anybody got some great enviro stories and no place to pitch them? Send them to Jodi Peterson...that's jodi@hcn.org. They don't pay oodles but at least it's something in the pipeline."

Here is some info on the POMA service:

The Professional Outdoor Media Association's (POMA) Money Line service is connecting professionals and growing their businesses.

Are you benefiting? 

Money Line connects entities that are looking for writers, photographers, editors, public relations and marketing specialists or staffers with qualified professionals -- POMA members. And, the service is free. During the past month, Money Line has connected:

A writer with a magazine that needed a monthly columnist

Several publications with photographers who were able to fulfill unusual photographic need

An up-and-coming journalist with a market otherwise inaccessible an

A public relations firm with an outdoor industry professional who can represent the agency's outdoor clients

"I have been impressed with POMA's Money Line service each time I've used it," said Cheryl Snider, general manager of JB Scott Publishing.

Arizona Woman's change of life

One more Valley publication has ceased to exist -- at least in its original form -- leaving us freelancers with one less decent-paying outlet.

The Arizona Republic, on the back of Wednesday's Business section, announced Arizona Woman would become "a regular feature section within AZ magazine." It was a tiny article buried just below the fold, and I can't find it on azcentral.com.

It says it will be "part of a strategy to focus on women in Scottsdale and the East Valley." ValleyPRBlog has some things to say about that:

http://www.valleyprblog.com/media/first-bizaz-now-arizona-woman-bites-the-dust/

Shortly after I left the Republic, in the summer of 2007, Arizona Woman was cut to 6 issues a year, so I took that as a sign. I hadn't written for it in a while, but a few 60 Percenters did, and I feel for them. I don't know what "regular feature" means exactly, but I know it means fewer words and lower costs.

The Valley's freelance opportunities are drying up more every day, it seems.

Freelance Success

I keep forgetting to let you all in on this web site that I learned about from Jackie Dishner, a fellow Phoenix-area freelancer I met in November on a press trip.

Jackie said she used to write for local publications, like many of us do, but found more lucrative work in the national market. I'm sure most or all of us would love to break into bigger publications, but how? 

Jackie dished the dirt: www.freelancesuccess.com. She said it's helped her immensely in landing gigs for national mags and web sites. It's $99 a year and gives tips on which editors are looking for which kinds of stories, with contact info.

I took some time off recently (just laziness, not like I went anywhere exciting or had secret plastic surgery or anything) and didn't check it out. But I signed up today and I have high hopes that it will launch my career into fascinating new territory. Maybe Cat Fancy will need my services! How about Architect Magazine? Heck, I'll take Plumbing Supplies Today if it means more than 30 cents a word.

All together now: "Thanks, Jackie!"

And on the same subject, I haven't been hearing from many of you lately, and hardly anyone is coming to the 60 Percenters lunch next Tuesday at noon at Curry Leaf in Ahwatukee (a few of us will be there, though). I started the group and this blog to share helpful info like this nugget from Jackie, or tips on publications to avoid due to non-payment, or advice on anything related to the freelance business. But it seems like no one is interested anymore. 

Does anyone out there care? Do you want me to keep organizing the monthly get-togethers? How about the blog? I won't keep bugging you if you don't want me to.