Category Archives: Training and Mentorship

Story by 2014 Fellow Catherine Green | Photo by Hilary Sloane

Don’t believe the hype. Readers still care about high-quality news online, especially from the outlets they use regularly, according to key findings in Wayne State University professor Fred Vultee’s 2011 study sponsored by the American Copy Editors Society (ACES).

“People aren’t going to pay for your crap if it’s crap,” says Teresa Schmedding, ACES president and deputy managing editor for the Daily Herald in Chicago. According to Vultee’s research, readers care more about grammar than style.

Story by 2014 Fellow Melissa Ludtke | Photos by Ellie Van Houtte

JAWS on Friday honored the hard-fought and enduring achievements of women, who were among its founding board of directors by establishing a fund committed to continuing the progress their actions set in motion. The JAWS Legacy Fund honors its formidable founding directors and supports continued JAWS programming.

Story by 2014 Fellow Marina Villeneuve | Photos by Ellie Van Houtte

When online media company Gawker Media approached then-magazine editor Anna Holmes to start a women’s website in late 2006, Holmes says she was up for it – but scared.

“Maybe when you get fed up, you get more fearless,” said Holmes, speaking at the Saturday keynote dinner at the annual Journalism and Women Symposium Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) in Palm Springs, California. “But I wasn’t without fear.”

It was at a time when nobody Holmes knew was moving from print to Web, and when her work in celebrity and fashion reporting was paying the rent, but failing to satisfy her personally.

“It was very scary for me, and I felt very, very fearful,” she said.

Story by 2014 Fellow Lindsey Anderson | Photos by Ellie Van Houtte | Video by Macrina Newhouse
*Update 12/18/14: Yahoo News reported that Linda is retiring on Dec. 22

A love affair with Elvis Presley got Linda Deutsch her start in journalism.

Deutsch fell madly in love with Presley when she was a 12-year-old in New Jersey. Officials at Elvis headquarters gave her a list of potential fan club members members, and Deutsch began one of the first Elvis fan clubs in the United States. She used her Smith Corona typewriter to write a club newspaper, charging $1 in membership dues in the U.S. and $2 overseas.

“This was so much a prediction of what my career would become in a way,” Deutsch said Saturday at the Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS) annual Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP).

Story by 2014 Fellow Marina Villeneuve | Photo by Kira Zalan

The inverted pyramid, a model made popular by newswire services and long taught by journalism schools, stresses putting the most important who-what-where-when-why information up at the top of stories. Though this model has long allowed editors to easily cut off less relevant chunks of information near the end, it can be dull, clunky and lose readers before they get to the end, according to a JAWS panel Oct. 30.

Rather, journalists who undertake investigative projects should approach writing such pieces thematically, said SUNY-Albany journalism professor Rosemary Armao.

Story by 2014 Fellow Suzanne Cosgrove | Photos by Ellie Van Houtte | Video by Macrina Newhouse

In a wide-ranging interview Saturday, former executive editor of The New York Times Jill Abramson talked about her upcoming startup project and said she does not spend much time dwelling on the reason she was fired from The New York Times.

At a breakfast with about 200 JAWS members and the annual Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) in La Quinta, California, Abramson said that before she was fired by Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., she was in discussions with CEO Mark Thompson and Sulzberger about her salary, which in 2011 was less than her predecessor’s salary in 2004.

Story by 2014 Fellow Lindsey Anderson | Photos by 2014 Fellow Shondiin Silversmith

Piles of documents. Endless source lists. Months and months of research. Investigative reporting projects can be overwhelming, but they don’t have to be disorganized.

“Journalism is hard. It’s really hard,” said Rosemary Armao, a professor of journalism at the University at Albany, SUNY during a day-long Journalism and Women Symposium Confer

Stephanie Yamkovenko, Web Editor for the American Occupational Therapy Association, shares her favorite apps for Journalists.

The Conference and Mentoring Project has a stellar lineup of speakers and panelists for this year’s program. Learn more about the 2014 programming here. Check out these resources from CAMP.

Join the discussion online about the Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) 2014 with these social media hashtags and handles of speakers, fellows and attendees. Follow the Journalism and Women Symposium on Twitter for updates about programs and sessions. Learn more about the workshops and panels on SCHED.

We’re excited to see you at the annual Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) in California this year. Here are a few helpful answers to some of the most Frequently Asked Questions. See you soon!

Starting Oct. 24, 2014, all JAWS members will have the chance to bid on artwork, professional advice, premium wine and some fabulous vacations. Check with your friends and families and book that dream trip!

The JAWS online auction will last just ten days to coincide with the Conference and Mentoring Program (CAMP), ending on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 2 p.m. Pacific time. Keep an eye on your opening bid to be sure you win.

By Nancy Day, JAWS board member

Sonia Nazario, whose book “Enrique’s Journey” is now used in classrooms across the country, has been added to the Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) 2014 program.

Nazario first reported on children who make the perilous journey from Honduras to the United States for her six-part series in the Los Angeles Times, which won the 2003 Pulitzer for feature writing. Earlier this year, she re-reported the story, traveling on top of freight trains with boys as young as seven to discover firsthand what is happening now. The drug cartels, squeezed out of Colombia with massive U.S. aid, have moved inland, threatening and ensnaring children and teens.

By Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn, JAWS member

JAWS is bringing women — and their stories — to the big screen at our Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) this year.

With Hollywood just over the mountains and in the midst of the playground of the stars at La Quinta Resort and Club near Palm Springs, what better time to spotlight the remarkable women who make the documentaries and films that have such an impact on our view of the world?

Two local JAWdesses, Allison Engel and Donna Myrow, suggest a few fun outings.