The Canadian Association Of Journalists — News Update

CONVERGENCE '98: Watch your mailbox for the first brochure and registration form for Convergence '98, the CAJ's annual conference! The event will be hosted by the CAJ's Toronto chapter at the Westin Harbor Castle Hotel from April 24-26, 1998. The line-up includes keynote speakers Lloyd Robertson and Peter Mansbridge, the anchors of Canada's two nightly network newscasts, and Sylvia Vollenhoven of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The conference will also feature an extensive selection of workshops, led by the best in the business, and a day of intense discussion and debate. Be sure to book your plane ticket early and register for the workshops of your choice!

CAJ AWARDS: The deadline has passed and all of the entries are in for this year's CAJ Awards. And we've broken a record here! The CAJ received close to 300 entries this year -- that's 30% more than last year and the highest number in CAJ history. There were noticeable increases in several categories, including community newspaper, open newspaper and television (under 5 minutes). And there's still time to get your entry in for the CAJ/CNW Student Award. That deadline is February 28. All of the award winners will be announced at the CAJ 20th Anniversary Awards Gala on Saturday, April 25. Good luck to all!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: And speaking of the 20th anniversary....as you may already know, the CAJ turns 20 this year. The organization got its start as the Centre for Investigative Journalism and the CIJ's first conference attracted more than 300 people. Today's CAJ represents 1,500 journalists working in all parts of Canada and in all facets of the industry. And our services and advocacy work have grown along with the membership. We'll mark the CIJ/CAJ's past and future at the 20th Anniversary conference.

CIJ/CAJ HISTORY PROJECT: The CAJ is currently compiling a history of the organization and developing a presentation for the 20th Anniversary conference. If you have ideas, memorabilia, addresses for long-lost members, or any interesting anecdotes about the CIJ/CAJ, please pass that information along to Rob Henderson in the CAJ Office in Ottawa.

WOMEN IN THE MEDIA CONFERENCE: Close to 200 women trekked to Winnipeg in November for the CAJ's Women in the Media conference. The three-day event was coordinated by Karen Pauls of WTN, and an enthusiastic group of volunteers. SURVIVAL KIT featured speakers, like Pamela Wallin, Sally Armstrong, Katherine Lanpher and Hilary McKenzie, hands-on journalism workshops, and lively panel discussions, including one about the media's role in the death of Princess Diana. During a closing plenary, the delegates discussed the future of the WIM conference, in light of dropping attendance. While most agreed the event is vital to women working in media, they acknowledged that it's difficult to organize an annual event of this size. The group decided to hold the next WIM conference in the fall of 1999 -- the re-activated CAJ chapter in Saskatchewan is looking at the possibility of hosting WIM '99.

REVIVING THE WOMEN'S CAUCUS: The plenary discussion at WIM 97 revealed that many women working in journalism want -- and need -- a forum for discussing issues and exchanging information among themselves. There was plenty of talk about the CAJ Women's Caucus, a group that's been all but dormant over the last couple of years. And a number of women volunteered to get together and revive the Caucus. They'll be holding a conference call early in March (maybe on International Women's Day?) to come up with plans for a newsletter, research on women's representation in the newsroom and other issues. Are you interested in getting involved? Call the CAJ office and let us know.

THE CAJ NATIONAL WRITERS' SYMPOSIUM: The CAJ is launching an exciting new project this year -- two regional conferences that focus entirely on workshops for writers. They'll be held this fall in Halifax (November 6-8) and in Calgary (November 13-15). The workshops will take place on Saturday (morning and afternoon) and on Sunday morning, allowing each delegate to attend three half-day sessions. The sessions will include topics like feature writing, interviewing, on-line writing and creative writing techniques for journalists. Our first confirmed workshop leader is Jacqui Banaszynski, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist who now works at the Seattle Times. We'll have more information for you as we book the rest of the workshop leaders and work out registration details. But in the mean time, circle those dates on your calendar and let your colleagues know what's coming up this fall!

CHAPTER NEWS: Several CAJ chapters across the country have been recently re-activated or re-organized and they have big plans for this year. In Halifax, new board member Paul Schneidereit (Chronicle Herald) and newly-elected chapter president, Margaret McGee (ATV News), are working with a new executive to plan local events. In Saskatchewan, board member Elaine Shein (Western Producer) is working with volunteers in Regina and Saskatoon to plan activities for both cities. Fred Vallance-Jones (CBC Radio) is the new president of the Winnipeg chapter, heading up a new executive. New board member Sally Haney (CBC Radio) is recruiting volunteers to re-activate the Calgary chapter. For information about your local chapter, contact the CAJ Office or your lcoal president or board member.

That's the news for now!

Beth Ryan
CAJ National Vice President

New Office Number: 709-739-5266
E-mail: rcb1019@infonet.st-johns.nf.ca