SPJ's annual convention opens a week from today in Indianapolis. So from now till then, let's preview the coming attractions.For starters, attendance might actually not suck as bad as our industry currently does. According to SPJ HQ, registrations are tracking slightly better than last year — which admittedly plummeted from the year before. In Atlanta, attendance was right around 650.
One reason the numbers may stay OK: Convention organizers have deftly tailored the sessions toward the practical. Obviously, with many media companies no longer paying for travel, attendees are calculating a blunt cost-benefit ratio: Will I learn stuff that'll eventually earn me more money than it costs to go?
One prediction I think is safe to make: Even if the convention attendance holds steady, the pricey extra-curricular activities won't. Here's a list...
• Thursday night's Harper Memorial Fund Auction: $65
• Friday afternoon's Mark of Excellence Luncheon: $45
• Friday night's Sigma Delta Chi Awards Reception: $40
• Saturday night's President’s Installation Banquet: $65
That's $215 in official events — or one dollar shy of three years of SPJ pro membership.
Already, the crappy economy has forced convention organizers to scale back the extra-admission stuff. I remember last year, there was a breakfast that cost, I think, $25. I don't see that on the agenda this year. Also, I recall the SDX reception was a full-scale banquet in Atlanta.
Frankly, I'm not shedding a tear. I've always believed these special events insulate SPJ and SDX board members from the rank-and-file — and not just in SPJ, but in all such organizations.
Here's what happens...
On the first morning of the convention — and I mean any convention for any professional organization — board members meet for four or five friggin' hours. They work hard, so it's worth 50 bucks from their annual stipend or even their own pockets to kick back and socialize in the evening over food and drink.
Problem is, that's too steep for most of the rank and file. So all weekend, the leadership gathers in ballrooms and bond at the open bar, while the membership fends for itself at the hotel bar and in the city. With no socializing between leader and member, is it any wonder there's either tension or torpor between the two groups?
I'm not advocating convention communism, but it'd be nice if there was at least one social function that was cheap or even free, so that the leaders of today could mix with SPJ members who just might become the leaders of tomorrow.
FRIDAY: Free convention fun.
