By Brandon Goldner
Philip Merrill College of Journalism, UM SPJ Chapter Immediate Past President
The nation’s capital and (arguably) the media capital of the world will likely host next year’s SPJ Region 2 conference, according to Andy Schotz, the region’s incoming director.
“It sounds very promising,” Schotz said to Region 2 members attending the 2013 Excellence in Journalism conference in Anaheim, Calif. “I’m personally glad D.C. will probably be the next site.”
During the EIJ’s Region 2 meeting, Schotz reported that talks with Georgetown University about the school playing host are “promising.”
Though a site hasn’t been officially designated, outgoing Region 2 Director Brian Eckert was hoping for the conference to be held in the “northern part of the region.”
For the past three years, the regional conference was hosted twice in Norfolk, Va., and once at Elon University in central North Carolina.
Besides location, another consideration for the upcoming conference is whether money made from the conference will go back to the hosting chapter or the general regional funds.
Though the two issues have yet to be resolved, Eckert said it’s important for all Region 2 chapters to attend next year’s conference, wherever it may be hosted.
“It lets us do higher-level programming that affects us region-wide,” Eckert said.