My (less unorthodox) pitch to join the SPJ board

Since I announced on June 25 my candidacy to join the Society of Professional Journalists board, there have been some developments. Or more accurately, a lack of developments.

I had hoped that my implicit challenge exactly a month ago to existing SPJ board members t0 step forward to run for secretary-treasurer would lead to a candidate. But no one declared by July 1, when they could have had their candidate statements and other information disclosed along with the roster of the rest of those running for various national board positions. That information is here.

I am ending the unorthodox part of my campaign, in which I had encouraged SPJ members like you to vote for anyone from the current board who had sought to become secretary-treasurer. Below is a script of a video where I ask for your vote.

Video script:

My name is Jonathan Make and I am running to be your secretary-treasurer.

I am prepared to help our organization do everything possible to put on even more events and other programming in areas where it shines. Our organization at all levels has established a strong niche in training journalists in areas including ethics, transparency and leadership. We can do even more.

Another strong area of focus for our organization is on protecting journalists’ and the public’s access to government and government records. Supporting the Freedom of Information Act and exposing government public relations that doesn’t serve the public have been consistent areas of emphasis for us. I pledge to help advance these efforts, and I have spent most of my career covering these issues as a journalist.

I think that subject to interest from members like you, we could help our fellow journalists by also focusing on transparency in the private and nonprofit sectors.

More generally, I promise to put your needs above my self-interest. That means advocating for things like diversity, increasing our membership, doing new and innovative things as an organization, and furthering the interests of good journalism and of its practitioners. It means rolling up my sleeves and not just talking about taking action, but actually doing it. Organizing an event or mentoring younger journalists. Talking to you to find out what you want from your organization.

As a member of your board, it would mean always advocating for civility and for open processes. No backroom deals. It would mean encouraging fellow board members to be open to new ideas. To seek such ideas, I would hold frequent ask me anything sessions on social media and on other channels.

Journalism is the only profession I have pursued over my 44 years and I still love it. My wife also is a journalist. Our son comes with me to SPJ events all the time. He now often listens to the events while I am listening to them, given how many things are virtual these days.

I started as a professional journalist at age 15, working as a freelancer for my hometown Denver Post. I now run a small newsroom in Washington, DC. I was on the local SPJ board here in Washington for half a dozen years, until last year. I was also president. Two years ago, I helped to start a grassroots group of local and regional SPJ leaders. We successfully pressed for transparency at the national board level and were among those advocating that this convention be a hybrid one.

If you have any questions, you can email me at press@warren-news.com. You can call me at 202–872–9202, extension 250.

You can find me on Twitter, Instagram and Medium at makejdm. On TikTok, I am makedm1. And you can find me on Facebook and LinkedIn. The website for the publication that I help run is communicationsdaily.com.

Thanks for your time.