Julie Pedretti, President
Several weeks ago, Press Club of Southwest Florida members received a special notice regarding an announcement that will be made at the November 7 lunch program. It is a pivotal time for the 23-year-old press club.
Please join us for the upcoming lunch program, featuring local prominent media leaders discussing the power of local journalism and the media. Almost daily, we read news stories of major media consolidations. How will these consolidations impact journalism and journalists? How will they impact us, as interested and engaged citizens? Can we be assured of receiving fact-based, verified local, national and international news stories? As individuals, what do we need to do to be astute consumers of news? How can we help others?
As you will also learn on November 7, your press club—as part of its strategic plan—is taking significant steps to achieve our mission: “To advocate for quality journalism in all its forms – print, broadcast and digital. We actively defend both the First Amendment and the public’s right to know. Our further goal is to support journalists of the future through scholarships and mentoring.”
Your board is committed to growing the press club, both in terms of membership and impact in the community. As part of our mission, we will continue efforts to become more relevant and responsive to working journalists by expanding programming into the Fort Myers and Bonita Springs areas and hosting “newsmakers” as important announcements are made in Southwest Florida.
Consider becoming more involved. Your expertise and enthusiasm will help us support the First Amendment and current and future journalists. There is a variety of opportunities, including serving on the board, joining the program committee, assisting with PR, and writing summaries of the monthly lunch programs. Please let me know where you’d like to make your contributions to assist in creating a more vibrant and relevant organization.