Toward
new leadership
ASBPE board submits
nominations for 2007–2009 national
officers.
The ASBPE Board of Directors, acting
on
the recommendation of the Nominating
Committee, has submitted the list of
nominees to stand for a vote as
the Society’s new national officers. They are:
ASBPE members who are eligible to
vote are those who:
- are employed in
an editorial capacity by a business publication
or
- are freelancers who edit or write
regularly for business publications.
A ballot was printed
in the May/June 2007 member newsletter, which
members recently received in the mail. Members also
can download
the newsletter (420K
PDF).
-
Elected officers will serve two-year
terms beginning after the August 2–3,
2007 National Editorial Conference.
- Voting members should mail completed
ballot to National Election, ASBPE, 214 N. Hale St.,
Wheaton,
IL 60187,
fax to 630-510-4501, or e-mail to info@
asbpe.org.
- Votes must arrive by
Monday, July 2, 2007.
- Write-in votes will be
accepted.
Background and goals of nominees
Steve
Roll
Steven Roll
is a senior editor for BNA
Tax Management’s
State
Tax Library, in Washington,
D.C. Since 2003, Roll has served as
president of ASBPE’s Washington,
D.C., chapter.
Last year, Roll co-edited Journalism
That Matters, a book comprised of case
studies about business-to-business (B2B)
journalists who produced stories that triggered
an important change within the
markets they covered. Roll will speak about
the vital role of the trade press at the Society
of Professional Journalist's Oct. 4–7
National Convention in Washington.
One of the publications Roll edits,
The Monthly State Tax Report, has twice
earned Azbee awards in the overall newsletter
category. Roll has been named as a
finalist in BNA’s Editorial Excellence
Award competition several times, including
in 2006.
Roll earned a law degree
from the University
of Baltimore School of Law and a
B.A. in English from State University of
New York at Albany.
ASBPE Goals. ASBPE’s current slate of
national officers will leave large shoes to fill.
President Roy Harris led a diligent revamping
of our organization’s code
of ethics, a
significant accomplishment that highlights
ASBPE’s ability to tackle a complex subject
in a thorough, yet timely fashion.
Although ASBPE occupies a small
niche within the associations representing
the press, its leaders and members are
some of the brightest in journalism. Being
small and smart makes us agile enough to
keep making meaningful contributions to
the journalism community.
One contribution should include
finalizing
efforts to establish a nonprofit foundation
to pursue educational initiatives.
And, we must also further develop the
Society’s ability to reach out to members
with national webinars on cutting-edge
editorial or technical topics.
ASBPE must also continue to highlight
the important role that the business press
plays in an increasingly complex world.
That was the subject of Journalism That
Matters, a book I co-edited last year with
ASBPE’s immediate past president Robert
Freedman. Journalism That Matters is a series
of case studies about how business-to-business
journalists produced stories that
triggered a tangible result (i.e., the uncovering
of an unethical industry lobbying
scheme, or government scrutiny into the
faulty labeling of hazardous chemicals).
Behind each groundbreaking story
was
a B2B journalist who possessed technical
savvy within a particular industry and solid
reporting skills. In each case, the journalist
shed light on a crucial but arcane development
that would typically receive little or
no coverage in the consumer press.
But co-editing a book about the
vital
role that the B2B press plays is only the
beginning of my efforts. I will continue to
work to see that trade journalists receive
the recognition and respect they deserve.
Amy Fischbach
Amy Fischbach worked for Prism
Business
Media (now Penton
Media) for eight years
as an award-winning writer and managing
editor before beginning her freelancing
career.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in
print journalism and public relations and
her master’s degree in journalism from
Kansas State University.
In 1999, she began working as
an associate
editor for CEE
News, an electrical
trade magazine, and later joined EC&M
magazine as a staff writer. She then served
as the managing editor of Club
Industry’s
Fitness Business Pro magazine and now is
a contributing writer to the publication.
Fischbach first became involved
with
ASBPE as a Young
Leader Scholar in 2002 and then helped launch the Kansas
City ASBPE chapter, serving a two-year term as
vice president followed by a two-year term
as president.
ASBPE Goals. As the national
vice
president, I would help ASBPE grow its
membership, revenues, and services. To
boost membership, ASBPE can launch
new chapters in regions such as the Pacific
Northwest. The organization can also stay
connected to editors in cities without
active local chapters through such initiatives
as online training, a mentoring program,
and a Web-based resource center.
ASBPE’s growth is tied to its ability to
help editors embrace their changing roles.
Journalists are not only responsible for
producing the print magazine, but also for
many other online, revenue-generating
products, such as e-newsletters, Web sites
and webcasts. To help meet these member
needs, ASBPE should further expand the
categories in its online awards competition
and offer educational workshops on
working on the Web.
ASBPE must also continue reaching
out to college students about the opportunities
in B2B journalism and educate them on the benefits
of ASBPE as a professional
resource that can provide valuable networking
and continuing education opportunities
throughout their careers.
Jyme Mariani
Jyme Mariani is managing editor
of three
national trade magazines and two quar-terly
publications at Branch-Smith
Publishing in Fort Worth, Texas. She has been
with the company for 12-1⁄ 2 years.
Mariani is a Texas Certified
Nursery
Professional, although her background is
in journalism. Mariani was president of
the Dallas/Fort
Worth chapter for six years
and is now immediate past president as
well as treasurer. She received her B.A.
in Communications from the University
of Texas.
ASBPE Goals. One of the most
important
issues for ASBPE seems to be the
same problem that we are all facing as
business editors. ASBPE needs to stay relevant
to our members. Nowadays, with so
many avenues grabbing people’s attention,
we need to make sure that ASBPE continues
to identify the issues that are the most
important to members and addresses
them in a timely, easy-to-digest manner.
I’m excited about the chapter blogs. I
enjoyed updating and creating the DFW
blog when I was chapter president. I think
ASBPE is good at reflecting what is going
on in the “real world.”
Another area where
we need to continue
to be diligent as an organization is
recognizing the needs of all of our members.
Sometimes we have a disparity between
small and large publishing houses
and organizations. We should make sure
that both sizes are recognized and represented.
For the record, I work at a small
publishing house.
The main reason I’m a member
is that ASBPE is the only organization that is
out
there for ME — the business editor. I’ve
tried other associations, and I never seemed
to fit in. For the media, we are in the minority,
which is why we need to stick together.
I’ve learned more from my ASBPE
colleagues — at conferences, on the online
discussion forum, and through e-mails —
than from any other source. My boss frequently
has me “ask my ASBPE friends”
how they handle certain situations.
Even if you’re a member outside of easy
access to chapter meetings, there are so
many benefits. The salary surveys and the
discussion forum are worth the price of
membership. Back to ASBPE News page |
