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You can help shape the agenda for ASBPE’s next Ethics ‘Twitter Chat’

By Howard Rauch, Ethics Committee Chairman

What’s your biggest editorial ethics concern today?  Are you ready to speak out about it in a spurt of 140-character “Tweets” and get immediate reaction from your peers?  If so, you’ll definitely want to attend ASBPE’S next “Ethics Twitter Chat.”  Please mark the date and time:  June 28, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. [Edited to add: That’s Eastern time.]

Obviously there is much to discuss.  At the top of my list would be whether or not we’ve been successful in preserving the highest possible levels of editorial quality.  Another priority item that’s been glossed over in previous “Chat” sessions:  truth-in-hiring.  That is … how forthright have we been when describing promotional and financial outlooks to job applicants?

Some industry observers have issued alerts that advertisers will be pressing for more favorable editorial exposure in our digital content.  This possibility is an obvious sign that church/state disputes are still a regular event.  Do you agree?  How about freelancer relationships?  At one recent ASBPE LinkedIn discussion, anguish was expressed at how some editors were not playing fair with payment policies.  Is this process actually within your control or are you laboring under some budgetary mandate?

And the list goes on.  One promising difference in this year’s event is the level of participation by ethics committee members.  You’ll have the chance to seek input from several group editorial directors and two prominent educators.  Twitter Chat manager is Paul Heney, former ASBPE president and current TABPI president.

In advance of our session, I’d like to receive your suggestions concerning worthwhile agenda additions.  You can e-mail me: ethics.chair@editsol.com.  Or call (201) 569-7714.  I always welcome input from folks on the firing line.  And be sure to watch for more updates regarding our final agenda in the Ethics News Updates regularly posted at ASBPE’s LinkedIn site.

ASBPE Young Leaders Scholarship Winners Announced

For the last 10 years, ASBPE has helped young editors to advance in their B2B careers through the Young Leader Scholarship competition. This year, the association is honoring four up-and-coming editors under the age of 30 with this prestigious award. The winners will receive a one-year membership to ASBPE, free registration to the Boot Camp of their choice and one night of hotel.

“We were impressed with all of the winners this year,” said Amy Fischbach, national president and Young Leader Scholarship committee chair. “They have the enthusiasm and energy to become effective leaders both now and in the future.”

Here are the 2012 Young Leader Scholarship winners.

• Austin Kilgore is the managing editor of Mortgage Technology magazine and a regular contributor to National Mortgage News, American Banker and other SourceMedia publications. He’s served as an editor, reporter and photographer at numerous newspapers, magazines and online publications covering technology, financial services, real estate and public affairs. Kilgore is a native of Texas and attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
• Jenny Laurello serves as senior community manager for the Health IT Exchange, SearchHealthIT’s premier community and online publication, working with some of today’s most influential health leaders to educate members while delving into the robust world of health care social media. Jenny also writes and produces new media content for the Health IT Exchange, covering a wide-range of topics such as electronic health record’s implementation and funding, through mobile health adoption and data privacy and security compliance.
• Tessa Parmenter is the site editor of SearchEnterpriseWAN.com. Working on SearchNetworking.com and SearchMobileComputing.com in prior years at TechTarget since 2006 has given her the technical background to bring pertinent content concerning wide area networks (WANs) to the site. She assigns and edits technical content, works with the news team, interacts with industry experts, and covers most production duties on the site. In addition, Tessa develops and edits newsletters, blogs on Window on WANs, trains new employees at TechTarget and has worked as an SEO representative for her media group.
• Lena Valenty began her writing and editing career after graduating from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. She has since worked as a freelance writer for consumer publications such as Minnesota Bride and is currently the managing editor of EXHIBITOR magazine, where she oversees the publication’s day-to-day operations.

 

ASBPE National Board Selects Winning Logo

To reflect the shift to multi-platform publishing, ASBPE’s marketing committee recently sponsored a logo competition. Designer Bonnie James, who has been working in B2B publishing since 1988, submitted the winning entry and earned a free one-year membership to ASBPE. James began in the industry as an illustrator for Gorman Publishing and is now working as a freelancer specializing in both print and Web design projects.

To create her modern, clean logo, James used ITC Officiana Sans. This font was released in 1990, and its design was influenced by the typewriter fonts, Letter Gothic and Courier.

“A font based on typewriter style fonts seemed an interesting choice for an editorial organization,” James said.
As a nod to the old logo, James used the pipe key, which is often used to separate items in Web site navigation bars. 

“Sometimes it’s good to keep an element from the old design for continuity and recognizability,” she said.
The newly redesigned logo will soon be integrated into ASBPE’s Web site banner, placed on the Azbee award certificates and  used in the association’s new membership brochure. To learn more about Bonnie James, please visit her Web site at http://www.bonniejamesdesign.com. 

ASBPE encourages members to sign up receive membership updates

In parts 1 and 2 of our series on navigating the new ASBPE website, we’ve covered

• Where to log in or register
• How to renew your membership

In this post, we’ll be talking about how to continue to receive information from ASBPE about your membership, upcoming events, and discounts as well as career information, job postings and ethics advisories.

When our new website launched in late January 2012, our entire membership database stopped receiving emails from ASBPE. We’re still trying to determine the cause, but like any good publishers, we’re asking for your help to get everyone back on track.

To renew your subscription to ASBPE’s e-newsletters, please click on Free E-Newsletter Sign Up in the sidebar of any ASBPE page. (Those who renewed their memberships in the last post will remember this sidebar).

Once you have clicked on Free E-Newsletter Sign Up, you’ll be taken this page . Here you’ll be asked to Sign up for our Email Newsletters.

Next, you’ll be taken to a page on Constant Contact’s website where you’ll be asked to enter your email address.

Once you have completed this section, you’ll be asked which e-newsletters you’d like to receive. You can choose one of three options — General E-News, Ethics and Jobs. General E-News will include information on broad topics — including membership — whereas Ethics and Jobs will be niche e-newsletters.

And that completes the process for registering for membership updates. Questions? Contact ASBPE Headquarters at info@asbpe.org.

ASBPE offers guide to renewing membership on new website

In February, ASBPE offered members and non-members a quick guide on navigating the new website, http://www.asbpe.org. The site has many features, least of which is our members only section, which can be found under the Members tab. Starting on April 20, 2012, only members that have paid their membership dues will have access to this section of the site.

You can pay your ASBPE membership dues — and retain access to the Members Only section — several ways, which are outlined below.

Option 1: Via the Members Tab

Once you select the Members tab, you will be taken this page. Select the option to renew or upgrade your subscription.

Option 2: Via the Renew Membership option

On nearly every page of the website, you can find a sidebar containing the options to Join, Renew Your Membership, Edit Member Info and more. Select Renew Your Membership to be taken to the next step in the process.

After you have made your selection to Renew Your Membership, you will be taken to the following screen to review your subscription, or membership, information. (For the purposes of how memberships are handled on the new website, each member has a subscription to the site.) On this screen, you will see the duration of your trial membership subscription, when your trial membership expires as well as an option to upgrade your subscription. (This can be found under Membership Type)

Select Membership Type: Trial (Upgrade) to update or renew your membership. You can then choose the membership type you are renewing.

Upon selecting your membership option, you will be taken to a payment screen. Payments can be made through PayPal via credit card or check. If you wish to have a paper invoice sent to you, please contact ASBPE headquarters to request one.

After selecting the PayPal option, you will be taken to to the PayPal website where you can make any necessary adjustments to your payment type.

Once your payment has processed, your membership will be renewed.

If you have any questions, please contact ASBPE Headquarters at info@asbpe.org.

Journalism: How do I love thee?

We’ve seen all the memes and the goofy little photo compilations illustrating what we actually do and how people perceive us. But, I was wondering if anyone has ever sang a love song about journalism. I was shocked to Google songs about journalism and see that (just like Hollywood these days), my idea was not original. The fine folks at Poynter beat me to the punch last year. And some three years ago, Paste ran a post about songs referencing print journalism.

My favorites:

• A Day in the Life by the Beatles (I read the news today, oh boy.)
• Paperback Writer by the Beatles (ok, so it’s more Stephen King style writing
• Dirty Laundry by Don Henley (even if it is about TV so-called journalists)
• Fred Jones Part II by Ben Folds (about a journalist being let go)

I had planned to write a humorous, amusing blog post. Then, I found the Ben Folds song  from the Poynter list and it really hits home. It literally brought tears to my eyes. You can see the video and hear the song below. As we’ve seen so many of our colleagues being let go, so many publications being shuttered;  this one really painted a picture that I can’t seem to get out of my head. How many times has this scene been played out in newspapers and magazines (B2B and mainstream) across the country for years now? You’ve seen it, too. We all have. Next time you grumble about your job, think about Mr F Jones and all the others we’ve seen get shown to the door. It makes me grateful that I’m still about to contribute to the B2B world with a mixture of news and attitude. What do you think?

— Tonie Auer, ASBPE National Competition Committee Czar

We need you to help improve the Azbees

Have you entered the Azbees http://www.asbpe.org/azbee-awards? We’re in the process of judging the 2012 entries and we’re already planning for the 2013 contest and we’d like to get your feedback.

Do you have suggestions for new categories? Outdated categories that should be removed? Criteria that we should be considering? We added two new categories this year to recognize the growth in smart phone apps and webcasts. And, what hinders your ability to enter the contest? Are the publishers standing the way? The time crunch in getting entries done? The SRDS aspect? What else? We would like your feedback. You’re in the trenches; you want recognition … how best can we do this? Please email me your input at tonieauer@gmail.com, so the National Competition Committee can review and create suggestions for the ASBPE Board.

— Tonie Auer, ASBPE National Competition Committee Czar

Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged

I’m full of clichés today. I suppose since I can’t use them in my quality work writing, I will use them to torment readers today. But, wait, there’s more! You can take that judgmental nature with which you read and apply it to good use. Instead of just shaking your head and thinking “this poor woman needs a good editor,” you can help us out by judging the Azbees. If you’re not familiar with them, you can get the 411 here. http://www.asbpe.org/azbee-awards

We have more than 1,300 entries that require a critical eye from a quality editor for judging. The commitment to judging can be from two hours on a small category to around a dozen or more hours. We’ll give you the criteria and make it as easy as possible and you’ll have several weeks to get it done. The payoff? You’ve helped colleagues, just like yourself, be judged fairly by a B2B journalism professional. Think you’re up the task? Then, email me your contact information at tonieauer@gmail.com and I’ll follow up with you.

— Tonie Auer, ASBPE National Competition Committee Czar

Enter the 2012 ASBPE Young Leaders Scholarship Competition Today

In 2012, ASBPE will be sponsoring four Boot Camps in select cities nationwide including Chicago, Kansas City, Boston, and New York. These half-day workshops will educate B2B professionals on the world of social media and digital content. To make it possible for younger editors to attend one of these events, ASBPE will again be organizing the Young Leader Scholarship competition.

For the last 10 years, ASBPE has sponsored this scholarship to foster interest in ASBPE by younger B2B professionals who are advancing in their careers. These scholarships are open to all business editors, including print and Web. The scholarships will pay the registration fees and one night of hotel for the winners. Transportation to and from the event, any non-conference meals, and other incurred costs are the responsibility of the winners or their publishing companies. Winners of the award will also receive a free one-year membership to ASBPE.

For more information on how to enter the contest, please visit the secure Google Document we have created. Entries are due on March 14, 2012, so enter your application today. For any questions relating to the competition, please e-mail Amy Fischbach at amyfischbach@gmail.com.