ASBPE
Foundation charitable priorities set
Foundation president
Rob Freedman:
Helping editors with
affordable
training Goals:
stay on top of new
media; close the consumer-business
journalism education gap
Editors today are playing
more
roles than ever, often taking on
tasks for which they’ve had little
or no formal training. Podcasts
were virtually unheard of five
years ago, and yet today few B2B
publications could be competitive
if online audio products weren’t
part of their editorial mix.
Web video is likely
to chart
a similar growth path, and, like
audio, few editors know much
about applying their content
knowledge to this very different medium.
In part to help B2B
editors stay focused
on the editorial process in the expanding
digital marketplace, ASBPE will formally
launch the ASBPE Foundation in
July at our National
Editorial Conference in Kansas City as
a cornerstone toward this goal.
ASBPE also hopes this
new
nonprofit charitable 501(c)(3)
Foundation can close the longstanding
education gap that
exists between the consumer
and business sides of journalism
curricula.
Because the Foundation
is incorporated
as a tax-exempt charitable
organization under the U.S. Tax Code,
Foundation donors can deduct their contributions
from their federal income taxes.
“This is a time
of tremendous opportunity
for B2B editors,” said Rob Freedman,
president of the ASBPE Foundation. Freedman
is a past president of ASBPE, which will
continue to be an IRS 501(c)(6) business
league.
“With the rise
of new media like Web videos, podcasts,
webinars, blogs, and
social
media platforms, editors have so many
more ways of delivering content to their
publication audiences,” Freedman
said.
“But with this
new opportunity comes the challenge of
having to learn these
technologies
on the job. The Foundation will
offer more training opportunities at reasonable
prices or for free, thus helping to keep
print and digital editorial content where
it
belongs: in the hands of editors.”
Online professional
development
The Foundation’s ambitious education
plan
includes sponsoring on-site professional
development seminars in partnership with
B2B publishing companies, and funding
a
series of webinars and other online professional
development programs.
At the university level,
the Foundation
will endow an academic chair, the ASBPE
Professor of Business-to-Business Journalism,
and fund graduate and undergraduate
scholarships for students seeking a career
in
B2B journalism.
The Foundation will
also help promote
excellence in B2B journalism by hosting
awards programs, like ASBPE’s existing
Stephen
Barr Award, that recognize exemplary
work.
“With the Stephen
Barr Award, we’ve
been able to showcase B2B writing that
ranks among the best journalism being
done in the United States today,” said
Roy
Harris, a Foundation trustee and immediate
past president of ASBPE.
“It was only through
the generous contributions
of the Barr family that we were
able to host an award of that caliber.
We’ll
be looking to do even more of that.”
Governing body
The Foundation is governed
by a six person
board of trustees. ASBPE’s four
national officers — president,
vice president,
treasurer, and immediate past president —
and two others appointed by the
ASBPE board. Foundation terms are for
two years. Trustees may be reappointed.
“This is the right
time, and ASBPE is the
right organization to launch a nonprofit
foundation dedicated exclusively to the
ongoing
excellence of B2B editors through education,”
said Steve Roll, ASBPE president.
“Now everyone
in business publishing
who has a stake in the continuing excellence
of the B2B editing profession has a
vehicle for channeling their resources
and
making a difference.”
Big fete planned for
kick-off
ASBPE will officially
kick off the Foundation
at the opening-night cocktail reception
at the 2008 National
Editorial Conference in Kansas City in July.
At the reception, trustees
will share their
vision for the Foundation and give
a preview
of its planned educational programs. Back to ASBPE News page |
