It’s a new year and with that comes renewal forms for several of my professional journalism organization memberships. With three of these groups all needing to be renewed by February, I started debating if I really needed them. Here are some thoughts on four of what I think are the best online and multimedia journalism professional groups out there describing what makes them awesome, what’s not awesome, what’s the group vibe and what to look forward to in the future.
[Please note: These are professional membership groups, each with membership fees. Not non-profit orgs like Poynter, Multimedia Shooter, Visual Editors, etc. that do fantastic work on their own and often for free! These are professional groups that you have to pay to join and (in theory) should have some extra benefit from those dues. So while it may seem like I’m being hyper critical, I’ve paid for that right at least four years in a row at all of these organizations and attended conferences and events for all of them. For most of these organizations, I have participated in leading or have friends, colleagues and former professors that have or still do have leadership roles in these organizations. I’m not playing favorites, just providing my anecdotal experience. Like I said, they’re the four best online and multimedia journalism groups. Not everyone made the list! So simmer down.]
Now, on to The Four:
This post is part of the January blog Carnival of Journalism, check out more of the festivities at Adrian Monck’s place.
January 14, 2008 at 8:30 am
The Newspaper Association of America’s Digital Media Federation — please add it to your list, and contact me for more information at beth.lawton@naa.org. It’s a really great network of newspaper digital media professionals, plus you get discounted rates to NAA conferences, events and Webinars, you get the Online Publishing Update e-mail newsletter and special, early access to NAA reports. Definitely worth it and not very expensive at all.
January 15, 2008 at 12:42 am
Hey Beth,
Thanks for reading and commenting!
I’ve been really impressed by the changes the NAA has made in the last year (especially considering their slow and someone backwards/antiquated arguments they’ve held to focus only on print for so many years before).
I’m not a member yet though so I couldn’t really speak to the whole experience and benefits of being a member. Perhaps this year I’ll join, but I’d really like to see some more focus and value for those interested in multimedia to justify the expense.
The NAA does some great work though and is definitely a group to watch.
Cheers,
Will