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Committee outlines plans to

On the final day of the ASNE Convention, members heard recommendations from a special committee that had worked for months to chart a future for the 89-year-old organization. The headline: Dramatic changes are coming. The committee's strategy is to broaden membership while tightening ASNE's focus. It also urges exploring an array of initiatives and abandoning programs that are no longer critical to ASNE's core mission. "The result is a detailed and powerful roadmap for the future," said committee chair David Boardman. "The leadership of ASNE is committed to following it, and we are confident it will lead us not only to greater financial stability, but to becoming an even more helpful and relevant organization for our members, for journalism and for our society."

The recent ASNE convention in San Diego was all about the future of journalism. But it was also about the future of ASNE.

In a final-day session, members heard recommendations from a special committee that had worked for months to chart a future for the 89-year-old organization. The headline: Dramatic changes are coming.

The strategy is to broaden membership while tightening ASNE's focus. It also urges exploring an array of initiatives, from regional conferences to a tiered dues structure to launching new programs while abandoning those no longer critical to ASNE's core mission. And the plan calls for creation of a task force to explore partnerships and alliances with similar organizations, as well as possible mergers.

Seattle Times Executive Editor David Boardman, who chaired the Committee on the Future, outlined plans to "reposition, rebrand and revitalize ASNE" as an organization for news leaders, not just those who hold supervisory positions in newsrooms or top jobs at journalism schools.

Later that day, ASNE's board voted to expand membership criteria to include a broader range of those involved in journalism. Under the proposed bylaws changes -- to be voted on soon by ASNE's full membership -- more print and digital journalism leaders would be permitted to join. Membership from the journalism academy, previously limited mainly to deans and assistant deans, would be extended to faculty and those in university-related media institutions or programs. Leaders of independent media research groups, as well as organizations promoting free press and quality journalism, would also be welcomed.

The Committee on the Future was formed by Washington Post Senior Editor Milton Coleman, last year's ASNE president. Boardman was tapped to head the 11-person panel, which included current ASNE President Ken Paulson and the organization's other officers. The Bernard Consulting Group of Kansas City, Mo., was retained to guide the process and lead a one-day planning retreat in January at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

"This process began at the ground level, with the question not of how to save ASNE but of whether American journalism still needed such an organization," Boardman said this week. "We surveyed some of our key members and stakeholders, and the answer to that question was a resounding 'yes.'"

Boardman said the Bernard Consulting Group, which had experience working with nonprofits and other journalism groups, "helped us mine the collective wisdom through surveys and interviews."

"The result is a detailed and powerful roadmap for the future," said Boardman, who is ASNE secretary. "The leadership of ASNE is committed to following it, and we are confident it will lead us not only to greater financial stability, but to becoming an even more helpful and relevant organization for our members, for journalism and for our society."

Attachment
ASNE Committee on the Future presentation by David Boardman

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