NLGJA & Witeck-Combs Communications to Launch LGBT Newswire Service

In the coming weeks, NLGJA and Witeck-Combs Communications will launch OutNewsWire, a web-based news distribution service dedicated to the LGBT community and serving news organizations and media professionals interested in receiving information, announcements and event updates of specific interest to LGBT audiences. NLGJA members are invited today to subscribe for free to receive OutNewsWire releases.

E-mail subscribe@outnewswire.com and include your name, professional title and affiliation, and preferred e-mail address. City and preferred telephone number are also helpful, though optional.

Layoffs, Downsizing & Reassignment: A Distance Workshop For NLGJA Members

Are you concerned about being laid off and what impact it will have on your financial future? What about the effects of downsizing and mergers?

NLGJA will hold a toll-free conference call workshop on Wednesday, May 28, at 1 p.m. ET exclusively for its members with experts who can help you navigate those tricky waters.

Sponsored by Quinnipiac University School of Communications, this unique professional development opportunity will put you directly in touch with experts in job searches, financial affairs and post secondary education, including:

• John Brubaker - Owner, Professional Resume Plus (proresplus.com)
• Camille Gagliardi - CFP, MBA & Senior Financial Advisor for Ameriprise Financial Services in West Hartford, CT
• Rich Hanley - Assistant Professor of Journalism, Graduate Director of Journalism & Interactive Communications, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT

There is no charge to join or participate in the conference call. However, in order to create an intimate environment where back-and-forth conversation is possible, we must limit the call to ten participants.

Spaces are available now on a first come, first serve basis. Please RSVP to NLGJA Director of Communications Jason Lloyd Clement at jlclement@nlgja.org today.

The Big Question: 'Why Should I Hire You?'

By Joe Turner for Yahoo! HotJobs

"Why should I hire you?"

This is the classic question most of us hear during an interview. It's often preceded by the phrase, "I've already interviewed another person for this position who looks perfect." Then comes the killer question, "Why should I hire you?"

Be careful to avoid clever retorts or comedic one-liners here. Your interview is serious business and a wrong answer will send you packing. This is, in fact, the one question that interviewers like to ask because the answer can so easily separate the contenders from the also-rans. Give a wrong answer and the large "Game Over" sign flashes above your head.

>> Complete Story

News University: Build & Engage Local Audiences Online

Are you worried about your newspaper's Web site? Not sure how to build out your content or draw readers to your site? Are you concerned that your paper will be left behind because of limited staff and resources in your newsroom? In NewsU's "Build and Engage Local Audiences Online," you'll see what the power of local content can mean for you.

"Build & Engage Local Audiences Online" will teach you why local content is essential to your survival, and how you can continue being the chief information source to your community, no matter what the platform. And you'll discover ways to understand and grow your online audience.

Created in partnership with the Suburban Newspapers of America Foundation, this free course will take just an hour or two to complete. Enroll today and take the course on your own schedule.
NewsU offers more than 60 focused, interactive courses that appeal to journalists at all levels of experience and in all types of media. NewsU is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The program is a project of The Poynter Institute, a leader in journalism training.

>> Register for "Build & Engage Local Audiences Online"

The Click List

Bloomberg Seems Poised to Do Something Big
Jon Friedman, MarketWatch
It was big news when Bloomberg announced Monday that Norman Pearlstine, a senior adviser at the Carlyle Group, had joined the company as chief content officer. After all, Pearlstine had been the top news executive at Time Inc. and The Wall Street Journal.

Telling Our Own Stories, Becoming Better Journalists
Mallary Jean Tenore, Poynter Institute
As reporters, we're trained to tell the stories of others, to gain an understanding of experiences we may know little about and to not get too emotionally attached to our sources. More often than not, our own stories are left for personal blogs, journal entries and the spoken word.

'Twitters' Beat Media in Reporting China Earthquake
Agence France Press
The world had real-time news about China's massive earthquake as victims dashed out "twitter" text messages while it took place, in what is being touted as micro-blogging outshining mainstream news.

Anti-Gay Assault More Frequent Than All Violent Crimes Combined
Gay men sustain physical assault due to sexual orientation at a frequency that is twice the population rate of all violent crimes combined, and youth and Native gay men are at highest risk, according to new research by a Canadian public health team. The team surveyed 521 gay male volunteers between 15 and 30 years of age from 1995 until 2004. At study enrollment, one-sixth of the men said they had been previously hit, punched, or beaten because of their sexual orientation. Gay men who revealed their sexual orientation before age 16 were 4 times more likely to report previous assault (36%), compared to gay men who “came out” in their twenties (10%). E-mail Dr. Thomas Lampinen for more information and results of the survey.

Get the Job

Looking for a new job? Curious about what's out there? Be sure to check out these recent posts to NLGJA's members-only online job board. You can view full descriptions for these job announcements and many more in a variety of media categories by visiting NLGJA's Job Board in the Members Only section of our Web site. Also available are announcements about fellowships, award opportunities and training programs.

• University of Illinois Seeks UI-7 Coordinator in Urbana, IL
• Chicago Public Radio Seeks Education Reporter in Chicago, IL
• Center for Public Integrity Seeks Web Editor in Washington, DC
• Primary Anchor sought by ABC5 in Des Moines, IA
• KTVM Seeks Anchor/Reporter in Bozeman, MT
• United Church of Christ Seeks News Director in Cleveland, OH
• WLIU-FM Seeks Bureau Manager in Brooklyn, NY

Login by visiting nlgja.org/membership/members_only.htm and entering your username and password in the fields provided. Your username is the first letter of your first name followed by your entire last name. Your password is the membership ID number printed on your NLGJA membership card. If you need assistance logging in or if you have misplaced your membership card, please contact NLGJA at info@nlgja.org or 202-588-9888, ext. 10.

The Round Up: Special NLGJA Convention Edition

Summer is almost here, and that means three full days of hands-on training sessions and workshops will be at your fingertips at NLGJA's annual conference. Check out this partial listing of sessions to be offered at "NLGJA Goes to Washington," our 2008 National Convention & 5th Annual LGBT Media Summit, to be held August 21-24 in the nation's capital:

• Kid Gloves: Covering Children, Education & Young People's Lives
• Hearing is Believing: Writing for the Ear
• Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics: Writing on Research
• Beyond Blogging: Mobile Media Workshop
• Sound Judgment: Mastering the Art of the Broadcast Interview
• Ready, Aim, Shoot: The Ins & Outs of Web Video
• Sunshine Week Session: FOIA is Not Just a Four-Letter Word
• Gays & Sports: Asking the Big Questions
• Everyone's Entitled: Opinion Writing in the Age of Blogs
• Watch Your (Graphic) Language: Using New Media To Expand Traditional Reporting
• Wash Your Mouth Out: The FCC & You

Visit the online schedule for more hands-on workshops and hot-topic panels, and register online by July 11 to save $150 as an early bird!

News University: Writing Better Headlines

Do you want to sharpen your approach to writing compelling and engaging print headlines? NewsU is offering a four-week online group seminar on "Writing Better Headlines" from June 2-27, 2008.

"Writing Better Headlines" will help you improve all facets of writing daily newspaper headlines. The course will explore using key words for headlines, making headlines more specific, pinpointing the best verbs to use, avoiding traditional headline traps and recognizing when and how to use word play.

Taught by Kenn Finkel, the course costs $249 and includes readings, assignments, due dates and discussions. Although evaluations and grades are not given, participants will get plenty of feedback.

The application deadline is May 5, 2008. Visit www.newsu.org/headlines to find out more and apply.

NewsU offers more than 60 focused, interactive courses that appeal to journalists at all levels of experience and in all types of media. NewsU is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The program is a project of The Poynter Institute, a leader in journalism training.

>> Register for "Writing Better Headlines"

'One Year Later': Covering the Virginia Tech Anniversary

By Mallary Jean Tenmore, Poynter Insitute

One year after the Virginia Tech shootings, The Roanoke (Va.) Times is taking a different approach to the anniversary story: producing a live multimedia project that is evolving as the campus recalls the tragedy.

>> Complete Story

The Click List

2,400 Newsroom Jobs Lost, Biggest Dip in 30 Years
By Rick Edmonds, Poynter Institute
After years of mildly reassuring numbers tracking the size of newspaper newsroom staffs, the latest American Society of Newspapers Editors' annual census leads with a bombshell. Fulltime professional news staffs fell by 2,400 last year, a drop of 4.4% to a total of 52,600.

New Resource for Journalists: Online Tool Exploring Media Bias
Skewz.com
Skewz is a new online tool designed to reveal political bias in online media through a user-driven voting system. Skewz was founded with the goal of presenting news without the underlying political agenda, to expose to the reader the most objective account of the issue at hand. Use Skewz's split-view functionality to see what both sides have to say on a particular topic, or engage your own readers by adding the Skewz widget to your site or blog so they can skew your content.

Bright Ideas for the Taking
Sunshine Week 2008
From tropical islands to snowy peaks, sunshine spread across the country March 16-22 as newspapers, broadcasters, online media, schools, libraries, public officials, civic groups and individuals celebrated open government. Visit their online gallery to see examples of the different ways people marked Sunshine Week this year.

What's News? Who Knows! Welcome to Print 2.0
By John Koblin, New York Observer
When The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on April 9 that "barring a change" Katie Couric and CBS News were "likely" to part ways and that it "could" happen after the election (those are just the qualifiers from its headline and subhead), Matthew Drudge picked it up quick as lightning on the Drudge Report.

Survey: 61 Percent of Americans Want Indecency Rules for 'Net Radio
Radio Ink
American Media Services has released more findings from its "Radio Index" survey, reporting that 61 percent of American adults would like the government to regulate the use of obscenities and profanity on Internet radio.