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April 21, 2003

PAIJ Formed to Tackle Independent Press Access Issues

If you've been reading along the last few weeks, you might have noticed a spate of items on local Web-based journalist Christopher "b!X" Frankonis' travails when it came to getting access to a city press conference. My last writeup on the issue ended with a proposal to form some sort of organization local independent journalists could use to obtain press credentials. b!X and another local weblogger, Noah Brimhall, expressed some interest in the idea, and after a bit of sitting on the idea, we kicked off a discussion that's culminated in the Portland Association of Independent Journalists (PAIJ).

The PAIJ statement of purpose reads:

The Portland Association of Independent Journalists (PAIJ) is meant to serve local independent reporters by raising awareness of the issues and concerns they face as they exercise their right to maintain a free and open press. We seek to do this in the following ways:

• Establish a set of ethical guidelines endorsed by all of our associates.
• Issue press credentials to serve as an indication that their bearers agree to comport themselves in a manner consistent with the guidelines.
• Work with local independent reporters to resolve issues of access or any conflicts that arise as a result of the use of PAIJ credentials.
• Educate members of the local independent press and interested members of the public through sponsorship of talks and discussions.

The best way for local independent journalists to get involved right now is to subscribe to the Indypress mailing list at paij.org, where we'll set the agenda for our first meeting and begin the process of hammering out ethical guidelines.

In addition to the mailing list, we're about to launch a weblog to report the most important news from the group. A link will go up once the design is finalized and we start filling it with news.