The SPJ DC Pro Chapter membership survey, which many members recently completed, provides very useful information about how the chapter can be of even better service to journalists and journalism in the Washington, D.C., area. The chapter board will carefully consider all of the suggestions for what issues the chapter should address; what programming, training, and social events the chapter should offer; and how the chapter can grow and retain its membership, among other things.
Following are some of the suggestions.
Survey respondents said the most important items SPJ-DC should address include offering training to help reporters stay “relevant” in a changing media landscape; fighting constraints on legitimate reporting; focusing on diversity in media; providing networking opportunities for jobs; standing up for press freedom; and having professional development opportunities.
Among the specific professional development opportunities, respondents suggested events that focus on trends in journalism, how to succeed in management, how to be a better editor, and how to find sources.
While some respondents expressed continuing caution about COVID-19, many people said that they would welcome the return of chapter social events, including happy hour mixers, newsroom tours, the revival of the annual picnic, and a baseball game outing.
In addition to these suggestions, respondents also provided some personal insights, including why they became a member of the chapter.
Here are some of the responses:
“Have been a member for decades. Want the professional contact. Been hard to get during the pandemic.”
“Want to support the local chapter of an organization that has been so crucial to my career.”
“SPJ has excellent resources and networking opportunities.”
The survey also revealed something that we already knew: chapter members are an incredibly talented and dedicated group of journalists who have devoted themselves to this profession for a number of reasons.
One of the survey questions asked people to tell why they are, or have in the past been, a journalist. Here are some of the responses:
“Reporting news and comment is vital to democracy.”
“To tell interesting stories.”
“In grade school, I decided I wanted to be a reporter, to help tell all sides of a story. I grew up with 9 people, so it was important to be aware of the varied points of view.”
“I’ve always wanted to tell stories and give a voice to those less heard.”
“Different stuff every day.”
“Because I don’t want to do anything else.”
Thank you to all who completed the survey. Thanks also to a number of people who indicated through the survey that they are interested in volunteer opportunities with the chapter. We greatly welcome this, particularly with SPJ’s annual national conference – this year dubbed MediaFest22 – coming to Washington, D.C., Oct. 27-30. We’ll be in touch with those who have already expressed interest in volunteering with the chapter, and we also welcome any others who would like to help out as well.
Together, our efforts are helping to support journalism and journalists in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
— Randy Showstack, President, SPJ DC Pro Chapter