Lights, camera ...

This is the fabulous campaign video that Russell Contreras put together. The backdrop is the arch at the Boston Harbor Hotel.

Daily Grind

I wrote six dailies last week. One of those stories -- a folo to a page one piece I did on Toyotas -- had me and a few television reporters hanging out at a salvage yard for nearly eight hours, waiting for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inspectors to come out and talk.

We were there so long that we bonded a bit, and the chatter eventually turned to the workloads we'd each been handling at our respective news outlets. All around, things are not good. No matter who I talked to, the story was the same: With fewer journalists in each newsroom, the remaining reporters are all handling more breaking news and dailies outside their beats, while project stories -- weekenders, longer page one offerings -- are falling by the wayside. Even when an important story pops up, it sometimes gets short shrift because of other duties.

Not that I like taking work home all the time, but I've often found myself editing video on weekends, driving out to interviews on my off hours ... just so a story gets the proper attention. For an example, check out that story I did on the fatal Toyota crashes in New England that some suspect are a result of sudden unintended acceleration.

So, I'll say up front that I'm still trying to figure out how to balance increasing reporting responsibilities with good journalism. What I do know is this: I can offer the multimedia bells and whistles on a story because of the skills that I've learned through NAHJ. I wouldn't know how to capture and edit audio and video if it wasn't for the lessons I got from NAHJ members Russell Contreras and Sara Fajardo, and the refresher courses I've received through regional training sessions such as the one that NAHJ Boston hosted recently.

This is the kind of training and support that we need to make sure all our members get, even if it's not in a formal setting. Look around your newsroom. Who has skills that you'd like to learn? Ask them to sit down with you. And offer to share what you know with others. That's how I learned to dig into public records. If you ask, I'll pass along that knowledge ...

We've all got more job responsibilities. Knowing where to look for help is the first step to getting a job done well and done quickly.

Welcome

Thanks for visiting! If you've found your way here, you already know I'm campaigning for NAHJ Secretary. Why? My candidate statement, if you haven't seen it, might shed some light:

When I joined the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in 2001, I was a journalism student at Northwestern University looking to build the professional network that would help me get the real-world experience necessary to land a job outside of college. After nine years as an NAHJ member, I've reaped the benefits our organization offers -- from job-training at conventions to an ever-growing list of mentors and friends. NAHJ contacts have helped me get into most of the newsrooms I've worked in, first at the Los Angeles Times, then the Orlando Sentinel, and now at the Boston Globe.

My campaign for secretary is about supporting NAHJ as it has supported me, and ensuring that the opportunities and resources it offers evolve in the best way possible to help our members, while also protecting diversity within our media outlets. Our industry, as everyone realizes, is changing rapidly as our newsroom learn to work with smaller budgets, shrinking staffs, larger workloads. Now is when we need NAHJ the most. And we need the right people at its helm, working to make it a better resource for all of us.

If elected secretary, I know I can help guide the organization in that direction. The group already does much, through its work with the Parity Project, and our annual and regional conferences. But we can always do better.

As secretary, I would be your liaison to the executive board, not just taking notes at meetings, but keeping you informed about NAHJ's dealings and listening to your feedback. My immediate goals would be to improve online access to NAHJ records, including meeting minutes and budgets, and to start a dialogue with members so that you can tell the executive board what you think of the job it's doing. In the long run, I hope to help NAHJ streamline its finances so that more money can be used for scholarships and fellowships, monetary aid for members wanting to attend job-training sessions, and the like; expand the skills workshops the group offers so that they are more frequent and accessible to our members in all regions; and to get more members involved in sharing their expertise with fellow journalists.

I don't have all the answers, but I know -- with your help -- we can figure them out together.

As you consider who to vote for in this election, I hope you'll throw your support my way. In the coming days, I hope you'll take the time to learn more about me, ask me questions and tell me what you'd like to see out of your NAHJ secretary and the executive board. For more info, check out Erin Ailworth for NAHJ Secretary on Facebook, as well as NAHJ Vote for Your 2010 Board.