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Gather is a project + platform to support community-minded journalists and other engagement professionals. We’d love your feedback. What's useful? What's missing? Let us know! 

In this week's newsletter:

  • JOIN US. #LetsGathertoCelebrate as we close out 2020. (P.S. This is our last newsletter of the year. We’ll be back in your inboxes on Wednesday, January 6, 2021.)
  • JOB ALERT: Five jobs, summer internships in TX, and one career fair in December.
  • COMMUNITY UPDATES: Social media portfolios, virtual brainstorming, social team workflows, digital accessibility, and more.
  • HOT READ: “Mapping Black Media.”

Celebration as an act of hope


Dear Gatherers,

Nearly every night since April, my final act before going to bed has been pulling out a tiny notebook with a hot pink cover and jotting down 3 things I did today, 3 gratitudes, and 3 beings to send love to. 

Practicing “gratitude” or “celebration” doesn’t come naturally to me, but this year, this simple practice literally kept me going from one day to the next. In the early days of the pandemic, it reminded me that I did take meaningful steps that day (laundry counts!), that there were bright spots in my day (my partner’s cute fish obsession), and that, even when I felt like crap, I still had beings to love.

My last entry was on November 3 - Election Day. It’s been a month since I’ve written my 3-3-3’s. Why? Today I realized it’s because I feel hope for the first time this year. 

This is when a celebration or gratitude practice matters more than ever. I don’t know how you all feel right now, but with the end of 2020 on the horizon I believe it’s time to  celebrate what good did happen this year. Not despite the tragedy and tumult, but alongside it. 

From our Friday “celebration” posts and other chatter on Slack, I know that people in our community have celebrated births and marriages this year, more time in nature, excellent colleagues who practiced collective care, engagement wins within their newsrooms, touching feedback from their communities, birthday cheese platters, simply getting through the week, taking beach breaks, and so, so much more. 

Will you join me this month to reflect on the good and growth that did happen for you this year, personally and professionally?

Use the hashtag #LetsGathertoCelebrate on Slack and Twitter and share with our community: 
  • What or who are you celebrating this year?
  • What expanded your soul this year?
  • What brought you joy this year?

I want to celebrate our Gather team: Jessica Black at the Agora Journalism Center at the University of Oregon for her strategic thinking and admin support; graduate student Maia Laperle for writing and illustrating our first Gather Guide; Andrew DeVigal for his vision for this community and designing the entire Gather website; Regina Lawrence for her leadership through Agora; Joy Mayer for stewarding this space since it began through this May; our #GatherMods for stewarding many of our channels; and our advisory committee for their big picture thinking and support since before Gather existed. 

Thank you for your work, your dedication to relational community engagement, and your generosity in sharing what you’ve learned with the Gather community. We are collectively better for it!

Sending love to all of you,
— Alisha Savson, Gather community manager


PS. “Celebration is an act of hope” isn’t my original idea; rather it’s a truth I’ve learned from Grace Lee Boggs, adrienne maree brown, friends, and so many others.

 

Jobs, Fellowships, and Funding

Shoutout to Mandy Hofmockel, Tommy Hamzik, Kanyakrit Vongkiatkajorn, Evan Mackinder, Alex Veeneman, and Joy Mayer for posting these on Slack! Check out the #jobsandinternships and #grantsandfunding Slack channels to see what other opportunities Gatherers are sharing.


Director of Member Strategy, News Revenue Hub: “The Director of Member Strategy works with senior leadership to help the organization understand how we can best serve our clients, and in doing so, plays a large role in helping the journalism landscape prosper.” Location: Remote. Deadline: 12/4/20

Social Media Producer, evening/weekend contract, The Washington Post: “This position is on our core social team, which is responsible for The Post’s main branded accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.” Location: Washington, DC. Deadline: 12/4/20

Newsletter Editor, The Washington Post: “This editor will help oversee and improve our existing newsletter portfolio, grow the audience for these products, and develop and evaluate proposals to launch new ones.” Location: Washington, DC. Deadline: 12/14/20

Summer 2021 Internships, Houston Chronicle: “Interns may be assigned to one of the following newsroom departments: Metro, Business, Photo, Digital, Page Design, or Features.” Location: Houston, TX (may be remote depending on COVID-19). Deadline: 12/18/20

Head of Community, STAT: “As the steward of the STAT community, you will understand how to leverage existing platforms and technology to engage and connect with an audience.” Location: Boston, MA

Finally, Hearst Connecticut Media is holding a Virtual Career Fair on Thursday, December 10 for multiple job openings. They are hosting an hour-long webinar with optional slots for informational interviews. Details & RSVP here.
 


Community Updates


The Gather Slack is the thriving hub of our community, where we brainstorm together, ask for and offer advice, and connect with each other. Sign up as a Gather member to join Slack.
 
  • Social media portfolios: One Gatherer shared an amazing example of how to showcase your social media experience for new opportunities. Check it out on Slack!
     
  • Virtual brainstorming: Now that everything’s online, brainstorming has to go digital too. Gatherers swapped tools and ideas for ways to make digital brainstorming fun.
     
  • Social team workflows: How do you integrate a new hire into your small social media team? Share your tips.
     
  • Digital accessibility: Here’s what Max Resnik learned about making community conversations accessible over Zoom. Read the article or connect with Max on Slack.
     
  • Reconsider “in need”: What are more accurate, less stigmatizing terms for describing when people are in need of particular services, items, etc.? Gatherers offered some precise guidelines.
     
  • The “oops” email: How do you respond when you accidentally send a newsletter with a typo? The embarrassment is real, but humor works most of the time.
     
  • Getting started in newsletters: A Gatherer is “new to the newsletter business” and wants your tips for how to get started. Share your advice here.
     
  • Restaurant news by text?: Subtext co-founder David Cohn is playing with the idea of creating a way for publications to utilize text campaigns to build community around their local restaurant industry and is looking for brainstorming partners. Learn more on Slack.
     
  • Election kudos: Want to check out some great examples of engaged elections work? This thread will put a smile on your face!

Hot Read: "Mapping Black Media" by the Center for Community Media at the Newmark J-School. (This is the Gather community's most-shared story on Twitter this week. Look for other 'hot reads' in Friday's Nuzzel newsletter and in the #reads channel on the Gather Slack.) 
 
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