NLGJA Insight

By Adam Griffiths
InSight Staff Writer

National board member Randy Dotinga hadn’t missed a convention in 11 years. David Poller, also on the board, had been to 12. Walt Swanston has been coming since 1993, and treasurer Ian McCann is nine conventions strong.

But the story about who’s here and who’s not may be one of the biggest stories at the first NLGJA convention held outside the United States. Yes, Montréal’s attracted plenty of new faces and names to learn. But with attendance numbers lower than ever, it’s impossible not to think of the faces and personalities of those whom, for whichever of a myriad of reasons, were unable to make it.

Poller’s reasons for not being in Montréal are “two-fold.” At first, he couldn’t get the time off at the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Then in August I was laid off, and what was a scheduling issue became a financial issue for me,” he said.

Dotinga said he understood “we had no good options” when it came to dealing with the unforeseeable downturn in both the industry and the economy when arrangements were made years ago. The expense kept him from coming to Montréal, but it wasn’t a decision he made lightly.

“For me, the convention is an opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones,” he said. “Just about anywhere I travel, I can find an NLGJA member to have dinner with or put me up for a day or two. NLGJA is a community and a family. It’s like I didn’t go home for Christmas this year.”

For Poller, the end of this year’s convention marks the end of his term on the board. He said he also misses helping with the student project, the sessions and “the fun of the silent auction.”

“I’m missing a lot by not being in Montréal for the convention,” he said. “It’s very bittersweet for me to not be there with my colleagues and friends.”

Both Rotinga and Poller joined Swanston and McCann in voicing concerns about the diminished attendance this year. Fewer attendees mean fewer eyes on what little promotions fewer sponsors are offering. And the impact of the decline in convention goers certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Swanston wasn’t able to bring other staff members from National Public Radio with her, and she said journalists come “to meet people who can give them moral support. In that way, [the convention] is missing something.”

But Swanston did strongly urge Eden Lane, a PBS reporter from Colorado, to come to Montréal. At the reunion reception on Thursday night, Lane explained she was forced to come out while she was covering the Democratic National Convention last year.

“I figured I should meet some lesbian and gay journalists so I could know some experts so when I’m doing stories I can call them up and ask, ‘Is this right?’ ” Lane said.

For Eric Hendrickson, it was a priority to make Montréal his first convention to learn more about social networking and broaden his abilities as a journalist. The copy editor at the Detroit News said he felt “the convention has a draw because it’s not job-specific,” and he was particularly interested in the job fair.

Standing with Hendrickson at the reception, McCann pointed out the opportunity for journalists to take advantage of this year’s convention to become more “relevant.”

“For the vast majority of people here, it’s important to have skills building and to make yourself more indispensable to your company,” he said.

There’s plenty to learn and gain from being here this year, and there’s certainly not a lack of optimism about the future.

“I have no doubt that the people who are in Montréal will get a lot out of their experience, just like every year,” Poller said. “NLGJA conventions are so good on so many levels. I hope that only the scale of the event has changed this year.”

But the question remains, as the convention winds down Saturday: Will San Francisco be enough to rejuvenate spirits and attract more members as NLGJA celebrates its 20th anniversary next summer?

“It had better be,” Dotinga says.