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A Look Back at The National Press Club in 2011
As we prepare to close the books on my NPC presidency and celebrate the inauguration of Theresa Werner, let's take a look at 2011 and some of the more interesting or amusing moments at our historic Club. In no particular order, here we go. 1) World Press Freedom Day is celebrated at The National Press Club. This was a remarkable event, held in the United States for the first time in the history of the event. Thanks to the hard work of Executive Director Bill McCarren and 103rd NPC President Alan Bjerga, we held the UNESCO Cano World Press Freedom Prize ceremony. It was an honor to preside…
Type: News
A quick note about our recent NPC election
As you know, we've just completed one of the more remarkable Club elections in some time. We had an unusual high level of participation, both in terms of the vote count and the number of candidates. So, if you had anything to do with any of that, whether as a voter, or a candidate, I thank you. This involvement is a positive sign regarding the energy among our membership. Whether you voted for the victorious candidates or not, I hope you will agree that it was a robust process. We had two debates, both of which were recorded on video, to ensure candidates had wider audiences, including…
Type: News
On objectivity, fairness and NPC Luncheon audiences
A note about journalistic objectivity, which I take quite very seriously. And I know it is an issue of concern to our Club members as well as the general public. On occasion, we will have an NPC Luncheon where the audience is partly comprised of guests of members, who are not journalists. While our Club constitution requires that a majority of our members are in the Journalist category, we have many wonderful members who are in the Communicator category. They are not bound by the same professional framework as journalists. The issue of composition our audience comes into play, when…
Type: News
Challenges for everyone managing the digital transition
Many people love their technology, including mobile phones, iPads and other tablets and their laptop computers. Does anyone love their desktop? Not sure about that. Having just spent a week in my native Kansas, speaking with groups and individuals around the University of Kansas, it became clear to me that the tremendous shifts in technology we’re all experiencing are also causing more than just a little stress. It reminds me of the book “Future Shock” written back in 1970 by futurist Alvin Toffler, who was credited for coining the term “information overload”. He saw a lot of this coming.…
Type: News
What “the most trusted man in America” found at the National Press Club
There are many ways for our members to derive tremendous value out of the National Press Club. And the reasons to be a member vary among individuals, depending on their needs and interests, of course. As we try to fulfill those interests, one of the biggest challenges for an NPC president is to work to ensure that each of our more than two dozen member-populated committees are vibrant. Beyond the committee activities, there's the wonderful service provided by our restaurants and bar, our library and our fitness center. I've come to appreciate that there's a learning curve for new members who…
Type: News
Tools change, the rules do not
People often ask me about change in the journalism industry. There’s no denying that change is a constant. Professionals and organizations are challenged to embrace it. Thinking about how things were at my first job at a radio station in Coffeyville, Kansas drives that point home. We had no computers, only manual typewriters, analog telephones with dials, reel-to-reel and cassette tape recorders and played 33 1/3 and 45 rpm records for music on-air. All machinery that is obsolete today. Good work was done there, but with different tools, adhering to core principles of news gathering, which…
Type: News
For Journalists, the Best of Times, the Worst of Times
I was having a 45-minute long conversation in the NPC president's office recently with a young man named Mukesh and one of his fellow countrymen, both journalists. Mukesh works in television news in Pakistan and had been on an academic fellowship in the U.S. He told me about having been detained in his country for four months just for practicing his craft. Another Pakistan-based peer was killed during this time, he told me. I had the opportunity to meet Mukesh after presiding over the final session of World Press Freedom Day. This phenomenal three-day event had its concluding prize-…
Type: News
Timeless Journalism Values - what David Broder and Jim Lehrer have in common
We live in interesting times, to say the least. We've witnessed a rolling tide of revolution half a world away, made possible by social networking technology. At the core of that human mobilization is information. The value of good, accurate information, the kind that journalists find and help provide, has also been underscored by other recent crises, including the horrifying disaster in Japan. As the media landscape has become increasingly fractured, our National Press Club remains a constant. And as an institution, we stand strong in affirming press freedoms and core journalism values…
Type: News
In praise of our volunteers and one in particular
The operation of the National Press Club would not be possible without the involvement of members who volunteer their time. Among our more than two dozen member-powered committees, there are Chairs, Vice Chairs and any number of project managers and brain stormers. These include former NPC presidents as well as new members and everyone in-between. One of the most productive of these is hard-working Newsmakers Committee member Peter Hickman. Next year, he will have worked on this club-branded news conference series for two decades. By his own count, he has organized more than 1,000…
Type: News
Why We Rush Toward Danger
The quickly-changing turn of events in the Middle East has affirmed the value of access to information in a free society. As people have yearned for freedom, journalists who have rushed toward danger in the pursuit of the story have all-too-often faced attacks. Whether it was the brutal attack on CBS News correspondent Lara Logan, or lesser-followed or reported instances where journalists were detained in Iran, authorities or other unknown entities sought to cut the free flow of information. They have hoped to chill the activities of pro-democracy demonstrators and to stop revolution in in…
Type: News