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President’s Letter: JAWS love
 Not to get all syrupy, but for a feel-good JAWS moment, read the note earlier this month from Sabine Muscat to the listserv about The Wall Street Journal’s accepting her story.
Muscat says Viola Gienger brought her to a D.C. JAWS event after she lost her job as Washington correspondent for a German newspaper. She wasn’t sure how to break into freelancing and expand her outlets to write in both English and German. JAWS members reached out and offered advice and resources. Two years later, Muscat says she can live on her freelance income.
“It has been liberating to see that it is still possible to make a living as a journalist these days,†Muscat wrote. “But it also is a fact that job and income security are not easy to attain for freelancers — which is why networking is so important. JAWS is the best example for that.â€
On that note, let’s welcome some two dozen journalists who became JAWS members since the first of the year. Now they also have access to the kind of support and networking that Muscat described. Please show them lots of JAWS love.
– Linda Kramer Jenning
Hadley Barndollar (@hbarndollar)
Donna Borak (@donnaborak)
Shannan Bowen (@shanbow)
Kara Brandeisky (@karabrandeisky)
Kerry Cardoza (@booksnotboys)
Natalie DiBlasio (@ndiblasio)
Rachel Glickhouse (@riogringa)
Rebecca Hughes
Michele Kayal (@AmerFoodRoots)
Esther Yu Hsi Lee (@estherindc)
Karen Mawdsley (@the_mawdster)
Heather McWilliams Mierzejewski (@hmcwilliams)
Erica Meltzer (@meltzere)
Lucija Millonig (@Millonig)
Catherine Morris
Lindsey O'Connnor (@LindseyOConnor)
Tara Peterman (@tapeterman)
Sarah Posner (@sarahposner)
Patricia Raybon (@PatriciaRaybon)
Ashley Southall (@assouthall)
Jessica Weiss (@jessweiss1)
Alessandra Whitney (@AKWhitney)
Dionne Young
Amanda Zamora (@amzam)
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Board member blog post
Hooked on JAWS
 It’s time to confess: I was a JAWS denier.
In the early years of JAWS, Betsy Wade and Joan Cook urged me to join. Why did I need JAWS? I thought to myself. I was already at a wonderful place in my career at The New York Times (the second woman to be the chief of a major news copy desk, Betsy, of course, being the first). I didn’t need a group of women to validate my success. I demurred, more than once, and they stopped asking.
Fast-forward to 2006, more than 15 years later. I was now the director of copy desks at The Times, the largest department in terms of people reporting to it, more than 160. There were other women in top jobs at The Times, but I had little camaraderie with them. I needed something by way of a support group, a sounding board.
Read more here.
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JAWS staff update
The Journalism and Women Symposium is seeking a well-organized team player and self-starter to be our part-time operations director. The successful candidate will help fulfill our mission of supporting the professional empowerment and personal growth of women in journalism while working toward a more accurate portrayal of society as a whole.
Share the job posting with your networks and circles.
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Mentors and mentees, we’re open for business!
After a two-month hiatus, the Mentor Committee is pleased to invite JAWS members to sign up as a mentor or mentee. Our expanded year-round project provides ample opportunity for mentors and mentees to spend more time together via phone or in person.
The volunteer committee will match pairs based on professional expertise, location, career transitions and other requests. The questionnaire is streamlined and will only take a few minutes to complete. Please be patient while we match you to your mentor/mentee; it may take a few weeks.
Here are the links to the mentor and mentee form.
Mentor link: http://goo.gl/forms/9mHps72ksM
Mentee link: http://goo.gl/forms/aQhwB3TGsJ
If you need further assistance please contact:
Sheila Solomon, Mentor Committee Co-Chair
Donna Myrow, Mentor Committee Co-Chair
Bonnie Rollins, Mentoring Coordinator
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JAWS FAQ
Check out our FAQ! Many thanks to Nikki Raz for leading this effort,with great assists from Adrienne Lawrence, Connie K. Ho, Kat Rowlands, Sandra Fish and all of you who suggested questions (and in some cases supplied the answers). A public FAQ and a members-only version with all your questions about the listserv and more are available.
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Call for regional captains
JAWS has active chapters in D.C., Los Angeles, New York City and other cities around the country. Just because we might not have current board members in your city doesn’t mean we can’t have a regional chapter there! You can spearhead one!
There’s no strict program you have to follow when hosting a JAWS event. The main goals are to connect with existing members while recruiting new ones. Some members make these events very casual. Some have quite a bit of structure with a speaker.
We are also looking for regional captains in St. Paul/Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston to continue the great work current captains have already done. If you are interested in becoming a regional captain, please contact Liz Seegert, committee chair for regional gatherings.
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JAWS 30th Anniversary Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) Oct. 9-11 in Whitefish, Mont. CAMP co-chairwomen Gina Setser and Emily Shenk are busy sorting through at least 45 proposals for speakers and panels submitted by members and others. Stay tuned for updates!
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Winning JAWS 30th Anniversary slogan
By Nancy Day, JAWS member
On behalf of the judges, I am pleased to announce the winning slogan for our 30th anniversary year:
JAWS: WOMEN MAKING NEWS FOR 30 YEARS
 The judging was blind, based only on the merits of the many entries, but I was thrilled to find that the winner comes from Linda Deutsch, legendary trials reporter for the Associated Press, based in Los Angeles. Those of us lucky enough to come to CAMP ’14 were spellbound during her interview with her longtime friend and colleague Edie Lederer about her approach, ethics and entree into the world of celebrity defendants and their lawyers. Last month, Deutsch announced her retirement and her plan to write her memoirs.
Thus, the prize of extra time on the Friday night CAMP introductions should be lively and include more juicy tidbits from Deutsch’s victory lap year, including many celebrations of her storied career.
When JAWS President Linda Kramer Jenning, also an AP alumna, told Deutsch of her victory, she replied, “I am thrilled to have chosen the JAWS 30 slogan.â€
The process, which those who tried it can attest, was far easier said than done, getting at the essence of what JAWS is and does in one brief phrase.
“Pondering the challenge,†said Deutsch, “I jotted down the elements that should be included, while keeping it short. Three things came to mind: the name of the organization, the 30-year milestone and the importance of women in news both as journalists and news makers.â€
Many entrants, as Deutsch surmised, toyed with the notion of “30,†the anniversary of the Estes Park founding, and also part of journalism jargon, a problem because “30†connotes the end. Eventually, she concluded, “that was too much an insider’s term to appeal to a wider audience.â€
“It may not have the cachet of ‘You’ve come a long way, baby,’ but times have changed since that was used to peddle cigarettes,†Deutsch said.“Our product is more powerful and we are no longer babies.â€
Kramer Jenning said the slogan will be used internally and externally, to attract new members and sponsors. She concurred with Deutsch, who added, “I look forward to celebrating the Big 3-0 with everyone at CAMP.â€
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February BoardBytes
The Legacy Committee suggests setting up a JAWS speakers bureau and making members available to colleges and universities, especially those without a journalism program.
Please share your ideas for diversity training that can be conducted at regional meetings and CAMP.
Have you volunteered to help with one of these committees?
Programs and Services: Sandra Fish
CAMP: Gina Setser, Emily Shenk
Fellowships: Kira Zalan
Mentoring: Donna Myrow, Sheila Solomon
Regional programming: Liz Seegert
Membership: Susy Schultz
Finance: Amy Resnick
Fundraising: Pam Moreland
Communications: Merrill Perlman, Justine Griffin
Visit the members-only site members.jaws.org and log in to view full board minutes.
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Regional gatherings recap
JAWS Bay Area: We’re currently in the planning stages of a daylong investigative journalism training/workshop. If you have ideas or would like to help, contact Angela Woodall or regional captain Emily Beaver.
Bay Area and Albuquerque JAWdesses gathered in their respective cities for viewings of “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry.†Feedback reveals this is a great opportunity for regions to use a film or play as a recruitment tool — especially if you can arrange an informal mixer or talk afterwards.
JAWS Boston: Boston JAWS members last month attended “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins,†a play written by JAWS members (and twins) Margaret (Peggy) and Allison Engel.
JAWS D.C.: The D.C. regional group co-sponsored the Feb. 14 screening of “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry.†Peggy Simpson welcomed everyone to the theater and told the audience about JAWS (with wild applause from all the JAWS members present). The film was followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers (you may remember Mary Dore from CAMP) and Marlene Sanders.
JAWS SoCal: We held a goal setting workshop with coach and author Debra Eckerling. The speaker volunteered her time and the space was donated by NextSpace LA, a co-working space. Eleven members and three non-members (2 non-journalists) attended for a total of 14 participants.
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