As usual, AOJ will elect three board members and a future president at the annual convention's business meeting.
The meeting is set for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency, 1 Goat Island, Newport, R.I.
The nominating committee's recommended candidates provided the statements below.
(Links for absentee ballot, bylaws and current officers)
The nominated candidate for secretary-treasurer enroute to vice-president and president, is:
Alphabetically by last name, the nominated candidates for director are:
For secretary-treasurer, on "the ladder" for president, Carolyn Lumsden
Carolyn Lumsden has been editorial page editor of the Hartford Courant since 2007. In her two decades with the Courant, she’s also served as op-ed editor and editorial writer.
She would bring previous board experience to the AOJ. She’s a former president of the (alas, no longer with us) Association of Opinion Page Editors and organized the AOPE’s 2003 conference at UConn. It included Gail Collins, Paul Gigot and Henry Kissinger. She also organized this spring’s State Department briefing for the AOJ.
Carolyn began her career as a copy editor with Random House. She has a bachelor’s from BU, a master’s in journalism from Stanford and a master’s in legal studies from Yale Law School (thanks to a Knight Foundation fellowship). She’s been honored with, among others, the national Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists for her writing.
The smartest thing Carolyn ever did was to marry Francesco Martini, an Italian with a sunny disposition and a house in Tuscany. Most every summer, they spend a magical few weeks there. (back to list)
For director: Jeff Charis-Carlson
I've been running a one-person opinion shop for the Iowa City Press-Citizen since 2006. In that time, I've worked to facilitate civil-minded conversation about controversial topics in one of the most highly educated and opinionated communities in the nation.
At first, my job description was very clear: make sure our printed opinion section serves as a microcosm of the broader community. Online was important, but at the time it didn't really get everyone on the same page as powerfully as print did. It didn't force contrasting and divergent opinions to appear side-by-side in letters and columns. It didn't allow those opinions to intersect each other - at times almost burn against each other.
Technology has evolved and whatever power there was in being literally on the same page in print has gone virtual. The conversation has become immediate, the format has become interactive, and the potential audience for even a small-town newspaper has grown exponentially.
Yet the core of the job hasn't changed. Opinion journalists still can play an important role in facilitating local and national conversation. And the Association of Opinion Journalists needs to be ready to show them how to do just that in any format. (back to list)
I'm Roy Maynard, editorial page editor at the Tyler Morning Telegraph. I've been with the TMT for more than 10 years now.
I'm also a teacher and coach for a high school cross-examination debate squad (we've sent students to Nationals for eight of the last 10 years). As my two vocations show, I'm very interested in argumentation.
On my own page, I advocate civility and reasoned discussion of the issues of the day. I've helped with the AOJ's civility project for several years now, and I'd like to continue working on that.
I'm also interested in exploring, with the group, how we can keep being leaders of the conversations, in this new digital environment. (back to list)
I decided to go into newspapers when I was 5 or 6 and accompanied my reporter-father doing do a second-day story on a fire that destroyed the city's largest railroad station and its warehouses. I got to climb on fire engines, wear the chief's helmet and revel in the smoldering wreckage that so appeals to a boy. (No one was hurt.)
I edited my college paper, had a wonderful three years in the Peace Corps and returned to Pittsburgh for a job at the Press, where I did anniversaries, obits (an early introduction to the Balkans in an ethnic city), police shorts, rewrite (which I loved) and finally general assignment. I was sent to Scripps Howard's Washington bureau, where I have been ever since -- as regional reporter, labor writer (back when unions meant something), special assignments, features editor, assistant managing editor/news, managing editor and finally editorial writer.
I joined NCEW (AOJ) in 2005 when Kay Semion, she of blessed memory, was president and Kate Riley -- blessedly still among us -- was my introductory angel. Frankly, over the years I have gotten far more out of the organization than I have contributed.
The economy has not been kind, but given the cascade of tripe that passes for opinion journalism, especially on the web, the need for our organization with its strong sense of mission and clear standards has never been greater. We have been handed a trust that we want to pass on, maybe a little dented, but fundamentally sound. The supply of dunderheads is unlimited; the supply of good people to expose them is up to us.
As my company says, "Give the people light . . ." (back to list)
I love journalism. I believe in our business. I believe editorials matter and that we're as important as we've ever been.
A few weeks ago I got into a little Twitter argument with a national political reporter who alleged that few opinion pages have “juice” anymore. It was an ignorant comment from somebody who has no idea how much influence we have daily in our home communities. Perhaps, in a small way, I think the board of AOJ can help make sure that the rest of the business (including those dreaded bean-counters) knows how important we are.
I relish the conversations we have among ourselves, sharing best practices and daily struggles, and I'd be honored to be a stronger part of an organization that supports all of our work. I have been active in social media and digital advancements in the journalism field and hope my experience there can be helpful to others in the organization.
About me: I've been the editorial page editor at the Post-Dispatch since July 2012, having served as a member of the editorial board for a year and a half before that. I started work at the Post-Dispatch in March 2008 as a political columnist and legislative reporter in the Missouri Capitol bureau. Previously, I was editorial page editor at the Springfield News-Leader, and a metro columnist and city editor at the Columbia Daily Tribune. My career started in 1989 at a small weekly newspaper in Colorado (my home state), and I've also worked as a reporter, editor and publisher in South Dakota, Nebraska and Arizona.
Finally, I once used a quote from David Holwerk in a cover letter when applying for a job. I don't remember the quote but I got the job. Mostly, I included that so David will vote for me.
See you in Rhode Island. (back to list)
Members who can't be present to vote at the Tuesday, October 15, business meeting may request an absentee ballot by e-mailing AOJ Manager Lisa Strohl at [email protected]. Completed absentee ballots must be received at the AOJ Main Office no later than Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013,
The relevant sections of the AOJ bylaws and related information are:
- bylaws (search/scroll for Board of Directors ...A) and ...C) and for Nominating Committee ...B). Nominations from the floor are permitted.
- current officers
- Miriam Pepper of the Kansas City Star is vice-president and president-elect; Kate Riley of the Seattle Times is secretary-treasurer and vice-president-elect.
- (back to top)
(posted 2013-09-05 16:00 CDT)
