There are fewer than 20 tickets remaining for the #MVJ2022 convention to be held this week in Washington D.C.
The 2nd Annual Military Veterans in Journalism convention was initially “intended to be a smaller affair because we didn’t know the demand would be so great coming out of the pandemic,” said MVJ President Russell Midori. “But more than 70 tickets have been sold, and we can’t fit many more attendees in the building.”
MVJ partnered with the Reserve Organization of America to host the event in their venue at 1 Constitution Ave. NE, which can support a little more than 100 people. But MVJ leadership limited total attendance to 90.
“We wanted it to remain an exclusive event so those who attend get personal attention from the programming and quality face time with career fair recruiters,” Midori said. “We are also saving ten spots for D.C.-based journalists who would like to join in on panels or share their experiences with our membership.”
Some of the panels at this year’s convention will demonstrate the ways military veterans are contributing to journalism, such as by improving media coverage of disabled veterans and disinformation. Others will inform attendees on the future of news, including a presentation by Microsoft on new tools for collaborative virtual news gathering and a discussion around entrepreneurial journalism.
The career fair will include recruiters from news organizations like CNN, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Politico, and a number of outlets from around the country.
Industry leaders are scheduled to attend, such as Sewell Chan, editor in chief of the Texas Tribune, but the MVJ leadership team is extending an open invite to other great journalists who care about newsroom diversity.
“We’ve gotten some great support from some of America’s strongest news organizations, but not enough,” Midori explained. “I think that’s because the news media industry doesn’t yet have enough awareness about the talented journalists emerging from the veteran community.”
One of the goals of #MVJ2022 is to help raise that awareness.
“That’s why we’re gathering so many of our members in the heart of Washington D.C., one of the best media markets in the country. We’re hoping to bring on some surprise guests to share their experiences in journalism with our members.”
Those who wish to attend can still purchase their tickets at 2022.MVJ.network.
