AAJA Welcomes Newly Elected National Vice President for Print

Please welcome Janet Cho, AAJA's newly elected National Vice President for Print. Cho, a business reporter with The Plain Dealer in Ohio, won the special election to fill the position vacated by current National President Jeanne Mariani-Belding. Cho's term begins immediately and runs through Dec. 31, 2007.

JANET H. CHO

When I got my first reporting job 15 years ago, journalism looked like a pretty solid career choice.

Boy, have things changed.

Not only have the web, podcasts and video changed the way traditional print journalists gather and report the news, but once-robust newspaper companies are seeing both their readership and their profit margins decline.

Knight Ridder, once one our most vocal advocates of diversity, has disappeared, and nearly every newsroom has lost staff to layoffs, buyouts or disillusionment.

All of which underscores why we need AAJA more than ever.

I am running for National Vice President/Print because I think AAJA and our UNITY partners need to keep the news industry accountable for how budget and job cuts hurt newsgathering and diversity.

I believe AAJA must both prepare our members to take leadership roles within their newsrooms and provide them with the multimedia skills for the newsroom of the future. I want to develop ways to ensure that our members are prepared for and positioned to direct whatever incarnation newspapers take next.

I invite you to join me in this vital discussion, as we embark on AAJA's next 25 years. Thank you for your consideration.

Janet H. Cho served as National Secretary. Janet is business reporter with The Plain Dealer in Ohio.