Melissa Ludtke's successful 1978 legal battle over access for female reporters covering baseball came from years of experiencing institutional sexism and working toward incremental changes. The story of her career provides lessons for women in journalism today, including the importance of networking, perseverance, creative solutions, defining your narratives, and simply doing the work, no matter how small the task.

I realize that many of you were not able to attend this year's Sunday night dinner at CAMP in Welches, Oregon. However, I believe it's important for all 680+ members to know what happened at dinner.

“Work-life balance” is a handy phrase for marketing self-help books, but the reality is,  it’s all life. And these two parts of life can’t help but impact each other. Elise Hu—former Korea  and Japan bureau chief for NPR and current staff reporter/host with NPR—walked us through those intersections in her JAWS CAMP 2018 keynote, framed as “all the ways I’ve failed to work for The Washington Post.”

Opportunities for investigative work are hiding in plain sight: in annual reports, budgets from every level of government and your keen observations about your surroundings, be they physical cues (crumbling infrastructure) or listening to the informed complaints of the local community (what is the one hospital locals don’t want to wind up in? That’s a good place to start.).

Personal branding for journalists needs to authentically reflect your personality and be dimensional. Your brand needs to establish your voice and how it sets you apart. A personal brand statement answers three things; your aspirations (what you are best at), your unique promise of value (what sets you apart), your audience (who you serve).

You only have a few moments to draw a listener into a story; you’d better make them count. From capturing background sound to equipment check, putting together the perfect audio story is no small feat.

At Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) 2018, Journalism and Women Symposium honored women journalists who sparked change, who embody our mission to work toward an accurate portrayal of women in society through their reporting and who are supportive mentors.

Join us in welcoming new officers and members to the 2018-2019 Journalism and Women Symposium Board of Directors.

Any attack on a newsroom or journalists, no matter the motive, is an attack on the free press and the public’s right to know. We stand in solidarity with the courageous staff of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. The members of Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS) mourn for the people killed or wounded, and we support the journalists covering the ongoing investigation.

Women media leaders have taken over the narrative in an unprecedented way this past year, from the #MeToo movement to “The Post.” We will continue leading the conversation at the Journalism & Women Symposium’s annual CAMP in Welches, Oregon, this fall where we will master new skills, make lasting connections and rejuvenate after another busy news year.

Many of our JAWS members are hungry for more resources and connections in audio journalism. And more than half of AIR’s members identify as women; now, they can access JAWS’ extensive network of resources and connections for women journalists at a special rate.

ESPN correspondent Jemele Hill and NPR Seoul bureau chief Elise Hu will be keynote speakers at Journalism and Women Symposium’s Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) this year. Both women have covered and commented on two of the biggest stories of the year — the Trump administration and North Korea.

Michele Lent Hirsch knew she couldn't be the only woman who's faced serious health issues at a young age, as well as the resulting effects on her career, her relationships, and her sense of self. What she found while researching Invisible was a surprisingly large and overlooked population with important stories to tell.

Journalism and Women Symposium sent a letter to Sinclair Broadcast Group Executive Chairman David Smith this week to express our concern regarding the "must-read" statement local news anchors employed by the group were recently required to read on air.

Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS) is concerned about Sinclair Broadcast Group’s decision to require local news stations to present a “must-read” statement without revealing the compulsory nature of the announcement, which characterized other news outlets as being biased and pushing an agenda of fake news.

Peggy began the interview talking about when she decided to be a journalist, saying "As a teenager in the 1950s, I listened every night to Pauline Frederick reporting from the United Nations - there might have been barriers for women, but as a kid, I didn't see it, because there was Pauline Frederick." As a sophomore in college, Peggy began writing for the college newspaper, and was picketed by people who didn't like what she wrote -- which she thought was great. She says, "After college, I didn't think that there were barriers, I just couldn't get a job."

Kay Mills, a historian of women in journalism and civil rights and an inspirational member of the Journalism and Women Symposium's founding board of directors, died Thursday, January 13, 2011, after a sudden heart attack in Santa Monica, Calif. She was 69. Kay's sudden death shocked and saddened her JAWS friends, who considered themselves Kay's extended family, often housing her on her research trips.

Maria Hinojosa is the President of the Futuro Media Group. In addition, she is the Senior Correspondent for the acclaimed series NOW on PBS, the anchor and managing editor of NPR’s Latino USA, and the anchor of her own Emmy Award winning talk show One on One with Maria Hinojosa from WGBH/La Plaza.

An impressive group of nearly 70 women representing the best of journalism gathered at the Poynter Institute in May to talk about the past, present and future of women in the profession. The focus of the gathering was a new book, The Edge of Change: Women in the 21st  JAWS was well represented at the conference. Past president Dawn Garcia and I attended, as did Geneva, Arlene and Peg; membership director Kat Rowlands; and members Jo-Ann Huff Albers and Jill Geisler.

When Kathy Bonk sent out the word to Washington Jaws members that Edie Lederer and Linda Deutsch were coming to town for the Gridiron dinner and would love to see their JAWS sisters, she got a great response. She and her husband then graciously offered to host a brunch at their lovely apartment above the Newseum. It was last-minute notice and she said she had no idea who would show up. It turned out to be a bonanza. A dozen of the faithful came including Margie Freivogel and husband Bill who arrived from St. Louis for the Gridiron event and came to brunch with their suitcases direct from the airport.