Recent reports concerning the future of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) have stated, with one September post from NiemanLab saying that both membership and revenues are so low that the organization is set to "end the year $391,000 in the red," according to an audit prepared by an external accountant and dated August 2023. The same article by Sarah Scire featured the sub-head, "If we don’t change our thinking, the next incoming president will be the last president.”
That new president was sworn in at the October 1, 2023, annual convention in Las Vegas. She is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, journalism professor and associate dean for the Center for Media Design at the Santa Monica College, Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins.
Hopkins also made history on that date as the first black woman ever to be elected to that post.
Hopkins feels confident that the financial issues reported are not insurmountable, stating during this interview with E&P Publisher Mike Blinder, "I can firmly and unequivocally say that I will not be the last president of the SPJ. All of the journalism organizations across the country are facing financial situations. We have the benefit of having a foundation that was created to be in support of the society. That foundation has $12 million in the bank." She continued, "We are on our way to 'righting the ship,' and I can firmly say that will happen before the end of my term."
Diversity within the SPJ and the journalism industry is another goal of Hopkin's. As quoted in the press release announcing her presidency, "I hesitated to join SPJ for several years because I just didn't see anyone who looked like me in leadership positions. It made me feel like I didn't belong in the organization. But I decided to be the change that I wanted to see in SPJ," she said. "Representation matters, and I hope to show through my leadership and diverse board of directors that there is a place for everyone at SPJ."
In this episode of "E&P Reports," we go one-on-one with newly sworn-in Society of Professional Journalists President Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins to discuss how she plans to keep the organization prospering during a time of lagging membership and conference attendance, as well as her plans for SPJ's success. We also hear her views on the news media ecosystem as a whole and how we can define what is journalism in a world of disinformation and "fake news."
199 Meet The Washington Post’s new GenZ voice - Renee Yaseen
198 The new Community News and Small Business Support Act
197 Insights into maximizing digital ad revenue — one-on-one with Brock Berry.
196 One-on-one with News Media Canada's Paul Deegan as their country's battle with Big Tech heats up.`
195 Borrell’s latest survey: Ad spend to rise with newspapers hanging in there
194 A quick audit of the top issues facing Danielle Coffey, now 3-weeks in as the new CEO of the News/Media Alliance
193 Gannett CEO Mike Reed on Google antitrust lawsuit
192 One-on-one with Peter Bhatia, CEO of the new nonprofit, free-access Houston Landing
191 NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss on TNG-CWA’s “most active year” of strikes and walkouts
190 One-on-one with the outspoken Evan Brandt, the last reporter left at The Mercury
189 Ballantine enters a Gannett “ghost paper” town, starting a five-day-a-week free, printed tabloid
188 The NPPA’s Mickey Osterreicher. Helping both the police & journalists understand the 1st Amendment.
187 The new MaineJF: Fighting to keep Maine news media pristine and hedge-fund free.
186 A one-on-one with Trust Project CEO Sally Lehrman
185 Guy Tasaka’s takeaways for news publishers from the NAB
184 Philanthropy and local journalism, as seen through the eyes of the giving community
183 Covering multiple major stories simultaneously. One month in the life of the Nashville Tennessean
182 Exploring Ogdensburg, NY’s two years as a 'news desert' and how the community rallied to bring back its voice
181 The Charleston Post and Courier: Committed to statewide coverage one market at a time
180 Two embedded journalists are making an impact thanks to the JFP
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