Have you ever wanted to bend the ear of the publisher or editor of your favorite local news publication? Have you ever wanted to drink a cold beverage with your favorite television news anchorperson or your favorite radio newscaster? Have you ever wanted to exchange quips with your favorite political commentator?
SBT invites its readers to take advantage of a chance to "Meet The Milwaukee Press."
With all apologies to the NBC TV program, the Milwaukee Press Club will celebrate its 120th anniversary on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The club, which is the "oldest continuously running press club in the Americas," was founded Nov. 1, 1885.
To celebrate the anniversary, the Milwaukee Press Club will conduct a community open house on Nov. 1, at the Newsroom Pub, 137 W. Wells St., in downtown Milwaukee. The idea is to bring members of the media together in one setting and invite the public to meet them in a way that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
The festivities will begin with a 4:30 p.m. Milwaukee Press Club Newsmaker Press Conference, featuring John Jones, the future president and chief executive officer of the Green Bay Packers.
Jones will take questions from the media about the future of the team. The next leader of the Pack will discuss how he plans to keep the team competitive, even after the inevitable retirement of Brett Favre. Jones also will discuss the progress in the National Football League’s negotiations over salary caps, revenue sharing and new stadiums.
The Newsmaker Press Conference will be followed by a 5:30 p.m. Meet The Milwaukee Press reception at the Newsroom Pub. Reporters and editors from the region’s newspapers, magazines, television, radio stations and Web sites will serve as celebrity bartenders at the event.
Media outlets committed to sending key personnel to the reception include the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Today’s TMJ 4, Channel 12, AM 620 WTMJ, the Milwaukee Community Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, The Business Journal, Key Milwaukee magazine, Vital Source magazine, MKE magazine, Small Business Times, OnMilwaukee.com and WisPolitics.com. Others will soon be contacted for participation.
The journalists will be joined by various other people from the community, including politicians and business people, who will be guests of honor.
In addition, the Milwaukee Press Club will honor the past presidents of the organization who helped the club sustain its mission through the years.
Proceeds from the event will go to the Milwaukee Press Club and the Milwaukee Press Club Endowment, a nonprofit group devoted to providing scholarships for minority students interested in pursuing careers in journalism and to promoting excellence in Wisconsin journalism.
The Press Club intends to commit to an ongoing series of Newsmaker Press Conferences.
The series will continue on Wednesday, Nov. 9, with a luncheon featuring Timothy Hoeksema, chairman and chief executive officer of Midwest Air Group Inc., the parent company of Oak Creek-based Midwest Airlines.
Hoeksema will discuss the strategies his company is deploying to avoid filing for bankruptcy. The airline industry has been grounded by steep discount competition and soaring fuel costs. Delta, Northwest and United Airlines each have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. How will Hoeksema and his executive team keep his company in the air?
The public is invited to both November Newsmaker Press Conferences and to the Press Club anniversary party. Additional information about the events will be forthcoming.
The events will take place at the Newsroom Pub, which features a collection of historic autographs. The treasure- trove of signatures, which dates back to U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, includes the autographs of dozens of political leaders, entertainers, athletes and other famous people throughout the past century.
The Milwaukee Press Club is eager to present other Newsmaker Press Conferences on important issues of the day to the community. Please send your ideas to Steve Jagler, executive editor of Small Business Times and the new president of the Milwaukee Press Club, at (414) 277-8181, ext. 116.
