• If you need to get up to speed on the Web, you need to be at Making Media Connections: we’ve got workshops on Facebook and MySpace (by Heather Mansfield, who maintains the MySpace nonprofit organizations page), video (by Michael Hoffman of See3, co-sponsor of a recent national video competition), Britt Bravo of TechSoup and other national leaders;
• Of course we’ve also got a workshop on writing to make news, led by Jon Anderson, formerly Tribune CityWatch reporter (and formerly a writing instructor at Univ. of Iowa);
• And that was just the preconference workshops on Wednesday! On Thursday, we’ll feature keynoters Renee Ferguson of WMAQ on the new mix of news media and citizen journalism, and Beth Kanter of Beth’s Blog, from Boston, on new media and the wizard behind the curtain, plus our usual line-up of thoughtful journalists, seasoned nonprofit communicators and, of course your peers.

Check out all the details on the Web!
Register Now

Terkel Awards Coming Up
Get your silent auction bidding strategy ready—you can win:

• Dinner at Oceanique in Evanston or Lunch at Cliff Dwellers Club (for two)
• Signed photo of Harold Washington by Marc PoKempner
• A Working Basket (signed First Edition of Studs’ book Working with DVD of play, teacher’s guide, and CD Soundtrack)

Workshops

“Pitching was absolutely the most important skill I learned…. I really feel that CMW gave me a genuine, honest-to-goodness new skill…. A close second is the insight I gained in to the practical details of the process. I could have the best message in the world, but it is useless if I don't know what time to reach a reporter, what they'll probably say to me when I call, or when to fax my advisory, etc. I appreciated how focused the course was on the details of this kind of interaction. The instructors obviously had keen insight into this, which was confirmed by my simultaneous experiences with attempting to execute my organization's media event.”
From Sally Puleo of Fight Crime, Invest In Kids Illinois, who took our Professional Media Relations workshop:

“Christine Cupaiuolo was very well organized and provided lots of resources…. Figuring out this stuff on my own would have taken months.”
From Maria Santonato, Greater Lincoln Park Democracy for America, who took Online Communications

Register for upcoming workshops:

• "Email Marketing" with Gabi Fitz
• "Develop and Sharpen Your Message" with Nora Ferrell
• "Crisis Communications" with Wynona Redmond and Hope Daniels

UPDATE: Another round of buyouts at Chicago Tribune. Checkout our blog at www.npcommunicator.org to find out who made the list.

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People to Pitch

Judy Wang
Anchor and reporter, Chicagoland Television (CLTV)
I get to the station around 7 a.m.” Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, says Judy Wang. After morning editorial meetings, she leaves the station with a list of assignments to cover that day; Saturdays and Sundays she anchors the morning news.

Judy and the staff at CLTV Chicago’s all-news cable outlet, do not have enormous amounts of time to do feature stories but fit them in around breaking news and other must-cover stories. They do find the time, though. For example, Judy was pleased recently with her station’s story on Kids Off The Block, when CLTV covered the agency’s after-school and other activities for kids in the wake of several killings of Chicago Public School students. The best way to reach her is via e-mail, which she gets on a blackberry, so no attachments and keep it short! Reach her at jwang@tribune.com.

Find more "People to Pitch" in our 2008 Getting on Air, Online and Into Print media guide. Get it here

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Newstips
by Curtis Black, newstips editor

Digital Video Fest Comes to Town
Newstip Date: 03-17-2008
With a goal of democratizing video storytelling and creating a "virtual campfire" where people from around the world share their stories, the Project Accessible Hollywood festival provides participants with video-enabled cell phones and assists them in creating short pieces. Their work is posted on the group's website and reviewed by celebrity judges. Read more

LSC candidate deadline extended
CPS has extended the deadline for candidates to file for LSC elections to Monday, March 24. The news was reported on PURE’s blog, and apparently nowhere else – even the CPS website has no word of the extension. Read more

Subscribe to the new Newstips v2.0 Blog
Visit the Newstips blog and tell us what you think.

Do you have a newstip? Contact Curtis Black.
curtis@newstips.org | phone: 312-344-6400 | fax: 312-344-6404

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Community Media & You

“City Voices” WNUA 95.5
Redeeming Factors: Giving Former Offenders Fair Employment Opportunities
This Easter Sunday show with Rev. Calvin Morris and Rep. Connie Howard will focus on redemption and new legislation to give former offenders a fair chance in the job market. Show will air Sunday, March 23 at 6:30 a.m. on WNUA 95.5 FM. Hear the podcast at www.communitymediaworkshop.org/podcast

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Other Events Around Town

Investigative Reporting Workshop
5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 20 at Tribune Tower, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Investigative reporters Ray Gibson of the Tribune and Diane Carbonara of Fox Chicago will walk you through completing a Freedom of Information Act request and how to look up campaign finance records. Free. Hosted by the Asian American Association of Journalists. RSVP by today, March, 18 at chiaaja@yahoo.com.

Endless Eye Multi-Media Fundraiser
6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. entertainment, Thursday, March 20, FLATFILEgalleries, 217 N. Carpenter, Chicago
Help this nonprofit production company fund their next documentary film, Message from the East. Event promises live music, a silent auction of photography and specially commissioned calligraphic art and trailers from the film. Suggested donation of $20. RSVP at 312-399-7981 or fawzia@endlesseye.org. Learn more at endlesseye.org.

GIFT Training
9 a.m to 5 p.m., April 4 and 5, Rochelle Lee Fund Library, Rm. 300, 5153 N. Clark
Two-day hands-on workshop with presentations and discussions will teach nonprofits how to raise money from a broad base of individual donors.  Costs $200. Scholarships available. More info and register at http://grassrootsinstitute.org/ or 510-452-4520 x 305.

National Media Reform Conference Scholarship Deadline
Monday, March 31 scholarship deadline for June 3 to 8 conference in Minneapolis
Free Press hosts annual conference with Dan Rathers, Bill Moyers and other news professionals and activists interested in improving the media. Learn more at http://www.freepress.net/

New On The Web

FlickrPro
Get two-user or five-user packages of Flickr for $6 or $15 -- almost free – via TechSoup. Flickr is one of the most popular online photosharing sites, and you can use it to serve up pix on your Web site. There’s also a great article by Beth Kanter at TechSoup with suggestions on how your nonprofit can use it.
Get the donation: http://www.techsoup.org. Read the article

Hispanictips.com
News by, for and about Latinos all in one English-speaking site at Hispanictips.com. Creator Tomas C. handpicks 40 to 100 news articles from nationwide sources a day and categorizes by subject, state and metro area, with a focus on a Latino audience.

CitizenPowered.org
Chicago’s new social networking tool designed for nonprofits is at www.citizenpowered.org. A project of the Community Building Initiative of Chicago, the website supports community-building efforts among nonprofits, faith- and community-based organizations. We’re signed up so come join our group!

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Communications Jobs

Web Product Manager
YouthNoise
The Product Manager's primary duty is to gather web application requirements and transform those requirements into detailed technical specs and wireframes for YouthNoise’s development team. This position – located in either San Francisco or Chicago - requires a thorough knowledge of competitive companies and products. The candidate must understand the interests, values and needs of YouthNoise’s target audience of youth leaders and activists and develop product strategies for specific programs. Candidate must be up to speed on the latest web technologies, including custom social networking applications and explain tech talk to non-techies, as well as to talk tech with the development team. A minimum 3 years experience in an online development environment with an emphasis on online social networking and community building is required. Please send letter of interest and resume to work@youthnoise.org. Be sure to include URL's and indicate your role in successful web application development and launch. Salary DOE but if you have firm salary requirements, please indicate such in your letter! Work samples and references will be requested and required prior to hire. More at www.youthnoise.com

Executive Editor
Media Consortium
The executive editor will work with Media Consortium Washington Correspondent and two Media Consortium Reporting Fellows on short and long-term story planning, edit and file two to three stories a week, communicate story advisories and provide feedback on articles and ideas for future story planning.  Candidate should have two years editorial experience, knowledge of national and progressive issues and be proficient in AP style.  This is a part-time (15 to 20 hours per week), 6-month contracted position with the option to extend. Send cover letter and resume to Tracy Van Slyke, tracy@themediaconsortium.com by March 19. No phone calls please. More at www.themediaconsortium.com.

Email Writers and Producers
Obama for America
Obama for America needs to fill four positions on their national email team in Chicago. They need two short-term contract employees to start immediately and work through the end of April. They are also looking for two full-time salaried employees to start immediately and work through the duration of the campaign. Candidates should have at least 1 year professional writing experience, degree in journalism or other related field and the ability to work under deadlines. Preference given to those with graphic design and speech writing experience. To apply, email a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to jobsforchange@gmail.com. Include the job title in the subject line of your message.

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