Professional organizations provide much-needed community by bringing likeminded individuals together, fostering support within distinct sectors of media/communications and helping to push the industry forward.
Founded as a grassroots organization in 1946, Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) works to protect the rights of broadcast and digital journalists in the courts and legislatures throughout the country. It promotes ethical standards in the industry, provides members with training and education and honors outstanding work in the profession through the Edward R. Murrow Awards. RTDNA members help shape the future of the journalism profession by advocating on journalists’ behalf and lobbying in their interest. A firm defender of the First Amendment, RTDNA advocates for open government and freedom of information, and promotes diversity in newsroom staffing and coverage.
No, but members are organized into 14 regions, each represented by a Director on the Board.
Current Board Chair Scott Libin; Executive Director Dan Shelley
Dues are $199 per year or under, depending on the member’s job role.
Yes! RTDNA membership includes perks like discounts from educational partners Mediabistro, Poynter, the AP Stylebook and others, as well as on the annual Excellence in Journalism conference and entries to the Edward R. Murrow Awards.
RTDNA is an organization for news leaders. That means news managers and executives, but more broadly it means our members are the best in the broadcast & digital news business, and we recognize journalism excellence each year with the Edward R. Murrow Awards, the most prestigious in the industry.
Absolutely! RTDNA members get continuous legal support through our Voice of the First Amendment Task Force, continuing education through in-depth webinars and bite-sized Ed Talks tips, and constantly updated ethics and leadership resources.
RTDNA was founded in 1946 as the Radio News Editors Association. As you can imagine, we’ve changed and adapted as the industry has, now serving broadcast and digital journalists. Currently, RTDNA is undergoing a renaissance. Under the leadership of new Executive Director Dan Shelley, a longtime radio, television and digital news executive, RTDNA has launched the Voice of the First Amendment Task Force. Its aims are proactively supporting journalists facing threats to their press freedom and educating the public about the importance of a free press to our democracy.
Journalism is under attack. In the past decade, the primary threat to the news business has been just that—business models and economic disruption. Today, though, the news industry is increasingly under verbal and sometimes even physical assault by, in the recent words of our 2017 John F. Hogan Award recipient, CNN’s Jake Tapper, “lying Twitter trolls and hostile foreign governments and juvenile officials in our own country.” The vitriol ostensibly against “fake news” is too often directed at responsible media, who, far from being “enemies of the people,” are fulfilling a Constitutionally-protected duty to keep the public informed and the powerful held accountable.