Paul Raeburn

President’s Letter

by Paul Raeburn

After a round of tough campaigns and an election entirely untainted by soft money-at least as far as I can tell-we welcome a new slate of officers and a new board (see story page 16). They arrive at a time when NASW is undergoing important changes.

During the past two years, we have expanded the roles of the officers and the board, added new committees, developed new relationships with other journalism groups, and broadened NASW’s goals. One committee was formed to recommend improvements to the NASW jobs listing. It made its recommendations, and we made changes that will make the listings even more valuable to members looking for full-time, part-time, or freelance work. It is now possible, for example, for NASW members to post freelance opportunities without charge-simply send them to Cybrarian Bob Finn. A public policy committee was also formed to monitor threats to press freedom and to protest when such threats arise. This is particularly timely, in light of the restrictions on information following the Sept. 11 attacks.

We have joined the Council of Presidents of Journalism Organizations, which allows us to share and learn from the experiences of other journalism groups, some larger and more active than us, and some smaller. Many of them face the same problems we face, however, and some have come up with interesting ways to solve them.

In what could prove to be a boon for NASW, we have joined the Authors’ Coalition, thanks to the leadership and hard work of board member Beryl Benderly. Membership in this group should earn us a share of funds generated by the use of our work overseas. With a little luck, that will give us a new source of funds that we can use to expand our educational, training, and professional programs and services.

And thanks to Secretary Lee Hotz-who is now becoming treasurer-and Bob Finn, we negotiated a successful move of our Web site. It was so smooth that you probably didn’t see it happening. That’s a tribute to their enormous effort.

I’d like to thank the departing board members who, along with me, will soon be collecting fat NASW pensions. (Just kidding; our pension plan was all in Enron stock.) They are: Janet Basu, Ira Flatow, Peggy Girshman, A.J. Hostetler, and Joel Shurkin. They represent many dedicated man- and woman-hours of work for NASW, and we should raise a glass to them. I hope we continue to hear from you; we value your experience and wisdom.

In the coming year, we expect to create new programs and committees that will require a new, energetic crew of volunteers. If you’ve been looking for a way to get more involved in NASW, contact the new board members and officers-they will need your help.

I’ve enjoyed serving as president of NASW. More than that, it has been, and continues to be, an honor to have all of you as colleagues and friends.

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Paul Raeburn is a senior writer at Business Week. He can be reached at praeburn@nasw.org.