Meet SPJ Cleveland Board Member... Peter Chakerian

Peter Chakerian became a member of SPJ Cleveland, in his words, "to engage both the traditional and non-traditional journalism sects in Cleveland and stay abreast of issues impacting both."  Recruited to the board by SPJ's Steve FitzGerald, Peter stepped up his chapter involvement because of his interests "in networking and in helping to create meaningful SPJ programming for my peers."

He observes, "It's a much different landscape than it was when I started writing professionally."  Peter's experience as a "transitional journalist," having a print background and now working almost exclusively online, further inspires him to get involved.

Employed full-time as a Managing Editor with Cool Cleveland - a weekly e-mailed newsletter about arts, culture, technology and economic development - he also manages to freelance for Sun Newspapers, Scene, BlogCritics.org, and several local clients.

Peter recently authored a first book - The Browns Fan's Tailgating Guide - released by Gray & Company Publishers.  His next book will be a case-study of Cleveland's popular culture and is due out this summer.

SPJ Cleveland Board service, managing, editing, freelancing, authoring... whew, what does he do with all his "free" time?  Actually, Peter's also a work-at-home dad with two children, both under the age of three.

"It's the ultimate case-study in multitasking, time management and pivoting," he says.  "There are a lot of 18 to 20-hour days, and there's lots of coffee, but I love everything about what I'm doing."

After earning his Bachelor's Degree in Communication from Cleveland State University, Peter took on writing gigs with media based outside of Ohio... Pittsburgh City Paper, Denver Westword, Phoenix New Times and Boston Globe, to name a few.  Writing, he says, isn't just any vocation and SPJ isn't just any professional association.

"As long as there's been civilization, there's been a need to communicate effectively to the masses.  I love that SPJ's principles are sharply focused on continuing that with honesty, fairness, accuracy... and in the tradition of freedom of speech and information.  SPJ is a great forum and resource and I'm proud to be a part of it."

To learn more about SPJ Cleveland membership, email Second Vice-President & Membership Committee Chair Claudia Taller by clicking here.  Photo is courtesy of Layne Anderson.