The Medical Journalists’ Association (MJA) has today unveiled its new website, designed to make it easier than ever for members to access the full range of opportunities, resources and connections on offer.
This has been many months in the making with a huge amount of work behind the scenes by our volunteer executive committee members alongside our web developers.
It has been designed with members at the forefront of our minds, including easier navigation, automatic login, better event visibility, a smoother payment system and simple access to all our key resources.
While our old website had served us incredibly well over the years, it had started to creak a little and we knew it was time for a refresh.
In recent years, we have also brought you more benefits of being an MJA member, including our Annual Lecture and Symposium and we wanted to do more to showcase what’s on offer.
We will of course continue to provide expert insight and practical guidance to support high-quality reporting on health and medicine across national media, broadcast, specialist journals, trade press, magazines and digital platforms.
‘It’s your website’
Shaun Lintern, MJA chair said the team were delighted to have reached launch day.
“The website looks fantastic and most importantly will make it easy for our members to find what they need and see what’s coming up.
“We will be continuing to build new content and as you will see there is also an updated newsletter to reflect the new website design.”
He added: “You may find the odd snag, and if you do please let us know so we can rectify it and make the user experience as seamless as possible. We are also keen to hear feedback from our members, things you would like to see or suggestions for the future. Remember, this is your website.”
As part of the redesign, vice-chair Emma Wilkinson, will be taking up the role of web editor.
“It’s so exciting to get to this stage and I want to give a huge thanks to all the executive committee members who worked on this. A special mention should go to my fellow vice-chair Isla Whitcroft, who drove this project forward from the start and our administrator Rosalie Smith who has gone above and beyond.
“I would also like to say thank you to Jane Symons who has done such an incredible job as web editor over many years. We greatly appreciate how tirelessly she worked on the former website.
“So please come on it, look around and don’t be afraid to tell us what you think!”
Members area
Dedicated events, awards, news and resources pages are available for all with some content locked only for members.
Log in and you will also see a member’s area that includes your profile details, a new and improved membership directory and all the key documents you may need, such as benefits and MJA policy.
The first time you log in you will be asked to change your password to keep your details safe. Also please do edit your profile details and upload a photo so that you look your best on our membership directory.
You may spot we have changed how we take your membership subs which will be done directly through our website, and we will email you all with more detail about this.
As we move forward, we will be encouraging you all to contribute to the site, sharing articles on projects you’re working on, offering advice to peers, writing reviews or providing career updates.
The aim is to create a collaborative space that reflects the experience and expertise across the MJA network. Please contact us if you have any questions about this or ideas for articles that we can share in our news or resources sections.
Next year the MJA will turn 60. Over this time our purpose has always been to champion excellence in health journalism. As we pass this milestone, we will continue to support our members in what has become an incredibly a fast-moving media landscape.
We do have plans for further upgrades in the future, including a public directory for those of you who wish to take part. In the meantime, make yourselves at home!