I found this post particularly interesting in an era when associations are carefully scrutinizing cost to value relationships in publishing our journals. I’ve had many conversations with our association about why our costs for publishing continue to rise and there are several useful suggestions in this list that are not evident to those outside the editing and publishing arenas.

As I skimmed the list of newly released books at the iStore, I was drawn to the cover of the book The News Sorority by Sheila Weller. The subtitle of the book is “Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour-and the (Ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News”.

I’ll be honest; I was hoping to learn more about Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric. Full disclosure, I do not watch the news and very little TV. I certainly did as a child/adolescent and young adult….but for a number of reasons (a distaste for conflict being one), I purposefully turned away from watching television news (and most television except sports and HGTV) in my thirties. I remain conversant with world, national, and local events, feel that I am a responsible citizen. But, I have long since become disillusioned by the drama and sound bites of what is currently presented on television.

This is not a critique of The News Sorority….I did enjoy the book and if you like women’s history, writing, and journalism (as I suspect most of you do), then you’ll more than likely be able to critique this book much better than me.

What I wanted to share was my awakening to the person who is Christiane Amanpour. I had certainly heard of her, seen her reports on CNN…but as is suggested in this book, her “international” reporting and “foreign” birth/heritage somehow made her less important than her colleagues, Diane and Katie, especially in the highly competitive world of American television news.

The book is divided into sections, each featuring the three women alternately several times. I expected to skim through Christiane’s sections but found that the opposite was true….I skipped the others to read more about her life.  And what a life it is! The review of her birth, upbringing, education, profession, international reporting, and “late marriage and motherhood” is the stuff produced by fiction novelists. In fact, if you were reading such a novel, you might think it too over the top!  Who lives like that?!

Well, Christiane does…..but of course, so do Diane and Katie. So, what drew me to Christiane?  I think it is her willingness to go into the danger and speak for those who can’t speak for themselves…repeatedly. Certainly, many journalists do that (and danger does not need to be purely physical). But it is her relentless pursuit because it is the right thing to do that stands out to me. How courageous is that? Her reporting can be dramatic (bullets flying) or simply reporting as a witness to a wrong. She tells the story for those who cannot.

There are many lessons, much courage, women’s rights, injustices, andmore in all three women’s stories….but for some reason this day, Christiane’s voice speaks to me above the others….she reminds me to be me. She reminds me that although my style is different than others, it is effective for me and that gives me an opportunity. In my professional life, I have the opportunity to speak for children who are affected by weight….and for their families. I have the chance to dispel some myths, offer some physiology, and show how bias, discrimination, and mockery affect my patients.

It is hard. As a pediatric nurse, I am used to the public and colleagues praising my efforts to help children (valid or not). As a nurse taking care of children affected by obesity, I have experienced a “come-up-ance” as my husband would say….and have felt in a very minor way the daily abuse that confronts these children and their parents. It would be so easy to walk away….but they can’t so I try to carry on and help as I can. Christiane seems to find the strength to be a witness and write the story…and by doing that, provide inspiration to others to do the same.

The 2014 INANE conference in Maine was more than fun … it was productive!  We have the project on “predatory publishers” well underway, and another project addressing student papers that are submitted for publication is gearing up.  Shawn Kennedy is spear-heading this initiative, and is issuing a call for other Editors to work with her on this project. Here is Shawn’s description:

Many editors have commented about being inundated with unpublishable papers written by students to fulfill course requirements. However, from the state of many of these papers, the students have not received the necessary coaching around writing for scholarly publications or how to go about submitting their papers. Several editors voiced interest in developing some guidelines/position statement/white paper addressing this common problem.

If you are interested in being part of this important work, let Shawn know!  Click here to send her an email!

New Treasurer for National League for Nursing

Patricia Yoder-Wise

Washington, DC- A new treasurer was sworn into office on Friday, September 20 at the NLN’s annual Business Meeting.Patricia Yoder-Wise, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, ANEF, was installed as Board of Governors (BOG) treasurer.

“I am always awed by the enthusiasm of colleagues to step up to the responsibility of board service, and this year is no exception,” said NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, in congratulating the winners of the 2014 NLN elections. “On the League’s behalf, I extend a warm welcome to the newest additions to the BOG. I look forward to a productive year.”

Added NLN President Marsha Howell Adams, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, a professor and the dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in Huntsville: “The talent, expertise, and collective years of leadership in nursing education that our board represents will continue to enhance the NLN’s effectiveness as it moves forward to promote excellence in nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the health of our nation and the global community.”

Patricia Yoder-Wise, dean emerita and professor emerita of the Health Sciences Center School of Nursing at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, was a 2012 winner of the prestigious NLN Award for Outstanding Leadership in Nursing Education. She has touched the careers of many colleagues and aspiring nurse educators through her writing, which includes the well-known volume, Leading and Managing in Nursing; numerous scholarly articles; and 25 years as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing: Continuing Competence for the Future and for three years ofNursing Forum. Although retired from the Texas Tech administration since 2000, Dr. Yoder-Wise remains active in nursing organizations and continues to teach at Texas Tech, Texas Woman’s University, and the University of Texas in San Antonio. She has served as president of the Texas Nurses Association and the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and treasurer of the American Academy of Nursing.