Brave New World

These are strange times indeed. Just a few weeks ago only one death from COVID-19 had been reported. Now we live under the pall of uncertainty, fear and sadness the pandemic has caused. In six weeks we have gone from one death to 39,000. Six weeks ago there were six reported cases. Today the daily cases are measured in tens of thousands.

Our challenges are both personal and professional. For journalists who work for media outlets, the greatest challenge may be safely covering news, or dealing with the scope of illness and death. For freelance journalists, work may have dried up.

For those of us who are sheltering in place, we have the added challenge of isolation, family conflict, attempting to home school our kids.

Simply put, these days aren’t easy for anyone. And Houston SPJ wants to help. Our programming always reflects our desire to provide training and support to Houston-area journalists. Like many other organizations, we have gone virtual. Our first virtual event was Coffee Break for Journalists, which was very successful. Attendees were able to share their feelings and their coping strategies, both in terms of daily life and trying to compensate for lost work and coping with the deaths of friends.

We’ve scheduled the next virtual coffee break for Saturday, June 20 at 2 p.m. You may register here. We look forward to seeing you there, and if you need any assistance, let us know and if it’s within our power, we will arrange it.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay home, wash your hands!

Categories: Virtual coffee break