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Reed discusses transportation improvements at the Atlanta Press Club

The Atlanta Press Club hosted Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed at a Newsmaker Luncheon Tuesday. Mayor Reed discussed a variety of subjects, including the Falcons’ proposed open-air football stadium, the upcoming presidential race, and Atlanta’s ever-present 5 p.m. traffic jam.

Reed mentioned the referendum that would add a one-cent sales tax in order to raise money for transportation improvements. Reed said he believes that this referendum, which comes up July 31, will pass but by a narrow margin. Ten metro Atlanta areas will vote on the proposal, and only those regions that pass the tax will be subject to it.

Referencing difficult decisions of past Atlanta mayors, Reed said, “Mayor Shirley Franklin came up with a way to fund $3 billion in water and sewer infrastructure. Andrew Young made the decision to move forward with Georgia 400 and opened up the entire northern corridor. So our history is hard… All of these undertakings were close.”

Most Atlanta citizens agree that the city desperately needs transportation progress, but can voters afford improvements in this economic climate? Only time will tell if Reed’s prediction comes true.

APC sends Condolences to the Family and Friends of Conrad Fink, Legendary Journalist and Educator

Conrad Charles Fink, a renowned journalist and professor of journalism at the University of Georgia, died this Saturday in Athens, Ga., at the age of 79.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin and serving as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, Fink followed his passion as a reporter. Fink served the Associated Press as a foreign correspondent, reporting from Southeast Asia and London. He then became the Vice President for the AP in New York City. After leaving the AP, Fink was executive vice president for Park Communications, a media company operating in 18 states.

Fink began his teaching in 1983, after more than 25 years in the journalism field. Fink was loved by both the University of Georgia’s faculty and students. Fink’s disciples often remarked how he brought his own real world experience into the classroom.

Fink obtained many accolades throughout his accomplished teaching career. Some such honors include: the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in 2004; the Regents Teaching Excellence Award in 2004 and the Freedom Forum’s National Journalism Teacher of the Year Award in 2002; and the Grady College’s Superior Teaching Award in 1986, 1998, 1991, and 1992. In fall 2011, Fink was also the first faculty member to be inducted into the Grady Fellowship.

In lieu of flowers, Fink’s family requests contributions in his name be made to the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He will be buried in Sharon Springs, N.Y., on Saturday, January 21st at 2:00pm. Plans for a UGA community memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Proposed Revision of GA’s Open Govt. Laws

The Daily Report offers these updates on the proposed revision of Georgia’s open government laws.

Sponsor calls open government revisions “challenging”

Governor wants to remove industry recruitment bids from open records

Media and government attorneys analyze open government laws revisions

When the Daily Report’s Kathleen Baydala Joyner analyzed the attorney general’s proposed revision of the state’s open government laws, she relied on the open records law to obtain information for her story. Joyner’s story, the third in a series, looks at the pros and cons of the proposed legislation through the lens of attorneys for both news organizations and government bodies. Read it here:

http://www.dailyreportonline.com/Editorial/News/singleEdit.asp?l=101440216291

Lawyers, as well as journalists, are watching proposed changes in open government laws

Journalism isn’t the only profession that relies on open government laws. As today’s article in the Daily Report shows, lawyers also are served by these laws, especially those that govern open records that may be used in litigation.

  In the second article in a four-part series, the Daily Report’s Kathleen Baydala Joyner discusses the concerns of plaintiff’s lawyers and, on the other side, government lawyers over a key provision of the proposed revision of Georgia’s open government laws that will be considered when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Read Joyner’s story here: http://www.dailyreportonline.com/Editorial/News/singleEdit.asp?l=101430215251

Daily Report examines proposed revision of open government laws

When the General Assembly convenes in January it will consider a comprehensive revision of Georgia’s open government laws. Attorney General Sam Olens is shepherding HB 397, which would streamline  the current patchwork of laws that address public access to meetings and records. Olens’ bill appears to improve access for the press and public in some areas but also carves out exceptions that address the concerns of governments.

  The Daily Report’s Kathleen Baydala Joyner examines Olens’ proposal today in the first of four articles. Read the first installment of the series here: http://www.dailyreportonline.com/Editorial/News/singleEdit.asp?l=101400214231

Change in APC Leadership

Message to members of the Atlanta Press Club

In June 2011, the membership voted Rachel Tobin president of the Atlanta Press Club. As many of you have read, Rachel resigned from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week and has accepted a new job with Jackson Spalding Public Relations.
As stated in Article 4, Section 3 of our bylaws, our board president must be a journalist…
Each Officer shall be either a Journalist, Associate, Educator or Public Sector/ Nonprofit member, except the President shall be a Journalist member, and except that if the Board creates any position other than Treasurer, the Board can require that such position be filled by a Journalist member.

For this reason, the board has accepted Rachel’s resignation as president and has named her an honorary, non-voting member of the board. Jon Shirek, our incoming president and reporter for WXIA-TV, has agreed to take over as president effective immediately and stay in the role through summer 2013 when his regular term is due to end.
We appreciate Rachel’s time, enthusiasm and dedication as president and wish her great success with her new job.
-
Atlanta Press Club Board of Directors

Atlanta Press Club Seeks New Assistant Director

It is with mixed emotions I announce Elaine Hudson, our assistant director, has accepted a new job at Leadership Atlanta and will leave APC after our Holiday Author Party in December. Elaine has been a tremendous asset to APC since she started as an intern in 2007 and will be greatly missed! We are accepting resumes for a new assistant director. The qualifications and guidelines are below if you or someone you know may be interested.

Please join me in wishing Elaine wonderful success as she starts her new job at Leadership Atlanta.

Lauri Strauss
Executive Director

The Atlanta Press Club is looking for a well-organized, people-person with excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities include:
• Oversee day-to-day office administration
• Manage member database
• Assist in planning events
• Oversee volunteer-based committees
• Supervise interns

Qualified candidates:
• Must be able to attend periodic evening, breakfast and weekend events
• Must be interested in working for a non-profit
• Should have a bachelor’s degree and strong computer skills

Email resume, salary requirements and writing samples to info@atlpressclub.org

EBooks changing the face of publishing

EBooks, manuscripts that you can buy or download online and read via an electronic device such a Kindle or iPad are making their mark on the world. Younger generations consider them the new way to read; those with a more traditionalist mindset find them inadequate when compared to a good-smelling, page-flipping printed book. Some claim they are the way of the future. Opponents say that eBooks will kill the paper manuscript, just as iTunes ‘killed’ the CD. Whether or not they will cause the downfall of literature as we know it, eBooks are clearly on the rise. Ken Auletta from thenewyorker.com writes that “while [eBooks] account for only an estimated three to five per cent of the market, their sales increased a 170% in 2009, and it was projected that they would eventually account for between 25-50% of all books sold.”

Moreover, author Pamela Seiple asserts, “Amazon, whose eBook sales account for approximately two-thirds of America’s total eBook sales . . . has sold 105 eBooks for every 100 printed books.” This rate of growth is incredible, akin to the explosion of interest when the Guttenberg Press was invented in 1440. And while every new phenomenon experiences an eventual plateau in regards to demand, I think we can expect the popularity of eBooks to increase at a fairly steady rate. Following in the footsteps of the cellular phone and the laptop, the forms in which eBooks are read will evolve, becoming thinner, smaller, more aesthetic, more technologically advanced in terms of life and durability and storage space. Libraries are already scheduling eBooks to be available on loan in their collections, colleges are incorporating them into their curriculum, and some publishers who have seen the wave of change created a double portion of their services to include ePublishing. Clearly the eBook is growing rapidly in popularity, and as it does so, what will happen to traditional printers and publishing houses? Will they be outsourced like the vinyl and the CD before them? Or will they be forced to adapt with everyone else?

Written by Caitlyn Mitchell for APC blog

Charles Loudermilk Pledges $1 Million to Fund Atlanta Press Club Political Debate Series

September 22, 2011, Atlanta, GA - The Atlanta Press Club announced today that R. Charles “Charlie” Loudermilk, founder of Aaron’s Inc., has pledged $1 million to permanently endow the club’s series of political debates during every election year in Georgia. In honor of Loudermilk’s close friendship with former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, the debates will be named the Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series.

The $1 million gift will be given in $250,000 increments over four years. The funding will be restricted to the club’s debate programming, which will include major political races as well as issue-oriented programs. The Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young Debate Series will continue providing programs with the highest professional standards for balanced, objective and fair discourse.

“We believe that both Charlie Loudermilk and Andy Young are committed to having an informed populous that can make independent decisions on how to vote,” said Lauri Strauss, the club’s executive director. “Our statewide televised debates are an excellent vehicle to help voters understand their choices, and this grant ensures that they will continue in perpetuity.”

For 20 years, the Atlanta Press Club, in partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting, has been organizing the premier political debates in the state of Georgia. The Atlanta Press Club Debate Series provides the most comprehensive, timely and widely viewed series of political debates during every election year in Georgia.