Four ways to get more involved in COMJIG

The 2018 AEJMC conference is just a month away! As you look forward to August, I hope you’ll consider getting more involved (or continuing your involvement) in the Community Journalism Interest Group. Here are four great ways to do that:

1. Attend the annual COMJIG business meeting. This year’s business meeting will be Wednesday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m. (location TBD). The business meeting is a great place to learn more about what COMJIG does. You can meet potential research collaborators, learn about publication/presentation opportunities, discuss opportunities to connect with community journalists, and more. Also consider attending our annual off-site social immediately following the business meeting. This year’s social will be at Brasserie Beck, located at 1101 K Street (just a few blocks from the conference hotel). 
2. Volunteer for a leadership position. If you’d like to nominate yourself for one of our six leadership positions (they’re listed in the bar on the right), please send an email with your name and the job you’re interested in to COMJIG head Clay Carey by Monday, July 23. If you have questions about what the positions entail, please reach out to Clay or any of our current officers – they would be happy to help. We also welcome contact from folks who are interested in pitching in but not sure they want to commit to holding and office – if you want to contribute, we can find an opportunity for you.
3. Develop a panel for 2019. It isn’t too early to start thinking about programming you’d like to see at next year’s conference. Interest group members traditionally begin brainstorming panel ideas for the following year’s conference at our annual business meeting. So if you have an idea for a panel on community journalism, bring it to the business meeting for some feedback. If you have a general concept and would like to refine it, we can do that as well. For that matter, come and participate even if you don’t have a panel to pitch – your expertise might be a great fit for someone else’s panel. 
4. Write for the COMJIG blog. Do you have an idea for an article that would be of interest to COMJIG members? If so, email your pitch to Webmaster Doug Fisher. 

I hope to see you at the COMJIG business meeting next month!

Clay Carey