Mitsu Klos

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MAKES HISTORY AS THE FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN AND THE SECOND WOMAN TO LEAD NSPA/ACP.

DIANA MITSU KLOS made history when she became the executive director in 2013. Not only was she the first woman to have the job since Jeanne Buckeye was executive director in 197578, she was also the first Asian American.

“I remember thinking hiring me was a bit of a milestone for the organization,” she said. “I was so humbled to be in that position at that time. Student journalism is so important to the survival of American democracy.”

Journalism faced transition and change, and National Scholastic Press Association, Associated Collegiate Press and the Minnesota High School Press Association had to meet those changes. Mitsu Klos said change defined her time as executive director.

“It was a time of financial reckoning for the profession and for journalism education,” she said. “We really needed to focus on bringing resources to students and advisers and celebrating their successes with them.

“It was a time when we recognized you have to meet people where they are, and that wasn’t just hard-copy.”

One of the first projects Mitsu Klos directed was updating the organization’s websites and adapting to a more modern content management system to bring NSPA/ACP into the new century.

“We streamlined registration for conventions, workshops and contests,” she said. “We wanted to make it easier for members and others to connect with us.”

Their efforts were rewarded as contest and convention numbers grew and communication with schools increased significantly. Mitsu Klos said the staff was realigned when financial tracking, information tracking and other mechanical responsibilities were outsourced so more time could be spent on building relationships and expanding the reach of the organization.

“We listened to all of the feedback we could gather. As a result, we focused on engaging in social media because that was where young people and advisers were going for information,” she said. “We sought out various news organizations on social networking and how to connect. The organization now has a strong on-going social media presence.”

The board of directors played a key role in Mitsu Klos’ tenure. She lived in northern Virginia through her tenure and both worked remotely and flew frequently to Minneapolis. She said it was novel then, but this approach to work is likely going to be far more common in the American workforce post-pandemic.

“There was an energy and passion from the new board members to build on significant contributions from previous directors,” Mitsu Klos said. “It was a time of significant challenges in establishing how to work with longtime convention partners, and the board was a great resource. Those partner relationships continue to evolve and at some point may come to a place where there is increasing consolidation.”

Mitsu Klos said some of her favorite memories are from the ACP midwinter conventions, usually on the West Coast.

“David Carr, The New York Times media columnist, was scheduled to be a 2015 keynote speaker in Los Angeles,” Klos said. “But a week before he was to speak, he collapsed in the newsroom and died.

“I immediately turned to Brian Stelter, who was close to David Carr and had worked with him at The New York Times before he moved to CNN. I also knew Stelter had been editor of the Towson University student newspaper, The Towerlight, and after graduation served on their board. He agreed to come to L.A. and CNN covered his expenses.

“Brian was honest, candid and funny and totally focused on the students,” she said.

As it turns out, Stelter had attended an ACP convention when he was a college student. Mitsu Klos said his commitment was eye-opening.

“I understood that conventions could be life-changing experiences,” she said. “It was such an honor to be part of that work.”

In March 2014, University of Southern California professor Robert Hernandez was the closing keynoter at the ACP conference in San Diego. Traveling from a speaking engagement in the East, his flight was delayed in Chicago due to bad weather. Hernandez quickly prepared a brief introductory video and then live tweeted with the students — while airborne.

“Everyone in the audience had their phones out and the hashtag #ACPressAMA briefly trended on Twitter on that Sunday morning,” Klos said. “It reinforced the increasing necessity of building ample wifi options into convention hotel contracts.” n

Elisia

NSPA/ACP PRESIDENT FROM 2017-2020 LEADS THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE BOARD AND ITS BYLAWS.

SHE IS AN AGENT OF CHANGE, but not for the sake of change.

Elisia Cohen, director of the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, came to the Minnesota position from a strategic communications background.

She said she had little experience with student media, but that didn’t stop her from leading the NSPA/ACP board of directors.

In three years as president — from 2017 to summer 2020, she guided the board through an introspective look at the organization’s purpose and the board’s role. The result was a restructuring of board makeup and organization policies.

“My mother was a high school journalism teacher in Louisville, Kentucky, but I had little direct experience with scholastic journalism,” Cohen said. “I tried to learn as much about NSPA/ ACP and the relationship with the School of Journalism as I could.

“I discovered there was no formal statement about NSPA’s relationship to the school or that the director of the school would serve as president of the board. The bylaws hadn’t been updated in a long time,” she said. “It seemed the right time to solidify what had been practice for so long.”

Additionally, university policies had changed. While there was always a strong conflict-of-interest policy for board members, Cohen said, the board needed to modernize the policy to align with the university and to clarify the relationship between NSPA/ACP and the school.

After working on the bylaw revisions for more than a year, a committee led by Chuck Clark, board member and student-publications director at Western Kentucky University, approved a document that called for revised board composition, affiliation agreements and investment policies.

“The board wasn’t making changes just for change’s sake. The document called for changes that really made a difference and benefited the organization,” Cohen said. “The membership of the board is more secure and gives the board an opportunity to think about the leadership of the organization as new members are invited to the board,” she said.

“The new document keeps the good parts of the relationship with the school — offering support when needed, finding volunteers to help — and eliminating conflict-of-interest issues.”

While the bylaws and policies were being reviewed, Cohen and the board faced other challenges.

“I was president when the pandemic began. We navigated the ACP summer Mega Workshop online, and it was online again in 2021 before returning in person in 2022.

“We had to cancel the face-to-face National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville and develop a virtual event. The ACP convention also became a virtual event, and then all of the conventions in 2020 and 2021 were virtual,” Cohen said. “Those changes had a negative effect on our finances.”

As part of the organization’s review, a new financial management firm changed investment strategies. That, Cohen said, was a lifesaver.

“They changed our investment strategy to a more conservative approach so we invested more securely,” Cohen said. “That helped us get bids for supplies and services and helped us secure federal Payroll Protection Program funds after the pandemic hit.”

Training for advisers and staffs and new contests were developed to serve constituents and bring in additional revenue, and Ron Johnson was hired to focus on external relations, which became vital during COVID-19, she said.

But Cohen said perhaps the biggest change to happen while she was president was relocating the office.

“I found a pro bono lawyer to help with the new lease agreement. We located a beautiful space just a few blocks from where the office had been,” Cohen said.

The timing was right to step down as president in 2021, she said.

“I wanted to be sure I understood both organizations and the board,” Cohen said. “The board has always been a collaborative board believing in shared governance.”

She credited current president Jeanne Acton and president-elect Elizabeth Smith for their leadership.

“The mixed leadership, with high school and college representation, gives stability for the board to think about who would be in leadership positions over the long term.”

Cohen predicted the board will continue to act as an agent of change.

“It’s critical that NSPA/ACP serve as an independent, member-based, studentfocused organization recognizing and awarding the best of student journalism across the country. Because of its strong focus on students and recognizing their accomplishments it is special and different from any other organization,” Cohen said.

With strategic planning, she said, there is an opportunity to grow by reaching rural, inner-city or any schools who can’t afford to travel but could attend low cost or free virtual sessions and submit their work for competition.

“There’s growing interest in journalism,” Cohen said. “And, the racial change happening in our country right now provides an interest level and opportunity to grow.” n

COHEN, president of the board from 2017-20, welcomes student journalists and advisers to the University of Minnesota for the College Media Mega Workshop.