Bridging the gap between tradition and change

Originally posted to www.press.org January 21, 2011

As I look out on the opportunities and the challenges facing our Club and our professions, I first want to thank our members for giving me the honor of serving as the 104th president of The National Press Club. Also, I would not be able to do it without the support of my family and my employer, The Associated Press, for which I'm grateful.

Preparing for my duties, I've been meeting with people who have a great interest in what we do here. That includes our members, Club officers, former presidents and top-notch staff. While there are a variety of views on what we should do and how we should do it, one point is affirmed by everyone with whom I've spoken. People are very passionate about the Club and want us to take special care to ensure that it has a strong future.

In that regard, I'm grateful for the strong leadership shown by my predecessor, Alan Bjerga, as well as the other presidents before him. That includes our most senior living former president, John Cosgrove, who was inaugurated 50 years ago. Just days after John F. Kennedy was himself inaugurated as President, he showed up for John Cosgrove’s inaugural party to wish him well. It is easy to understand why he and others who've long been Club members feel as passionately as they do.

Since we have members of all ages, it is worth noting that we have a growing Young Members Committee in the Club, led this year by Tim Young. They too are very enthusiastic. I’m thankful for Tim’s good start with Young Members. You'll be hearing more about the activities they have planned this year.

You might wonder about my own priorities for the coming year. At the top of the list is strengthening communications to our members and the rest of the world. That’s one of the reasons why I’m writing this post. We have a newly energized and enlarged Publications team, led by Mark Schoeff. They are producing The Wire, our regular e-mail newsletter for members. You can expect to see a number of enhancements there, including attention devoted to our rich Club history. I’m also asking our NPC Committees to be mindful of the need to contribute to www.press.org and The Wire.
We’re starting a new Diversity committee, headed by Greg Mott of Bloomberg. It will reach out to a variety of groups in journalism involved with issues of diversity and inclusion. This can only enhance our already strong position in the industry and should also help us to make an appeal to potential new members who aren’t yet familiar with our story.

The National Press Club stands at the unique intersection of professional and social activities woven together by news and communications. Because of our rich history and a unique business model, we provide tremendous value to our members. Working with my fellow officers and members of the Board of Governors, I can promise that we'll be pay a great deal of attention to ensure that value and good service is there.

Amid the economic downturn and the separate volatile changes in journalism, the Club has thrived. Still, the pace of technological and economic change shows no sign of decelerating. We must continue to be vigilant to ensure the proper focus at the Club.

In the meantime, let us also remember to enjoy and engage in the special spirit fellowship our Club has to offer.

The original founders of the Club would have wanted it that way.