I'm currently the Art & Design Editor at Time Out Chicago, a magazine I helped launch 16 months ago. I spent four years in between staff jobs freelancing during a period when the climate for cultural journalism was probably in as bad a shape as the American auto industry in the early 1980s. We're in trouble in print, but there are plenty of other options to pursue.

I would like to see NAJP evolve into an organization that can support art reporting through new media in a site that we control. I'd like to see NAJP issue an annual state of arts reporting awarding the good work, pointing out the ignored stories, and advocating for arts journalism in all media. Whether or not we can restore NAJP to the glory days remains to be seen but there is plenty to be done to further our work and support our ranks. I'd like to help find ways for us to do all of the things we feel collectively are the most important. --Ruth Lopez, 1998.