HOW TO BE A FUN WITH BETTER LEADER PODCASTING …€¦ · PODCASTING HIRING, USING FREELANCERS OPINION PAGES DRAW READERS JOSECONFERENCEINSIDE. Suki Dardarian is deputy managing editor

Winter 2006

IDEAS TO TRANSFORM YOUR PAPER

HOW TO BE ABETTER LEADER

FUN WITHPODCASTING

HIRING, USING FREELANCERS

OPINION PAGESDRAW READERS

SANJO

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CON

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COVERAGEIN

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Suki Dardarian isdeputy managingeditor of the SeattleTimes. She can bereached at 1- (206)464-2791 or by e-mailat [email protected]

A good story often begins with agood question.

That’s how the story ofAPME’s Katrina Aid Fund began, too.

‘‘How can we help?’’ some APMEeditors asked as they learned that manyof the journalists who were reportingon Hurricane Katrina were victims ofit, too, as wind and floods chased themfrom their homes and newsrooms.

APME’s officers and board memberstalked with each other, with editors inthe Gulf Coast region, with financialadvisers, and came up with the simpleidea: raise money and give it to the edi-tors of affected papers to distribute intheir newsrooms as they saw fit.

The APME board quickly created thefund, and the organizations and manyof the editors contributed. As word ofthe fund spread around the country,other journalists and friends con-tributed.

And now, $18,000 later, I am proudto join past APME President DeannaSands in thanking all of you for yourgenerosity. Checks went out inNovember to 15 stricken newspapers.The money came from individualdonors, from newsrooms and newspa-per companies. Individual donors’checks came in the amount of $10, $25,$100 — even $1,000.

‘‘What did surprise me was thenumber of people who wrote noteswith their contributions. Those stormstouched something that made peoplewant to reach out,’’ Sands told me. ‘‘Myfavorite note was from an older ladywho said her son was a journalist at aGulf Coast newspaper. It was his birth-day, and since he and his family were

OK, she thought she should help otherjournalists who weren’t as lucky.’’

One fundraising idea began inChampaign, Ill., while the storm stillraged. That’s when John Foreman, edi-tor and publisher of The News Gazette,got a call from one of his photogra-phers. ‘‘He said, ‘We’ve got to do some-thing to help,’ ” Foreman recalled.

The company has a long tradition ofraising money for those in need. Thistime would be no different — untilsome suggested part of their contribu-tions should go to the newspapers. Inaddition to their donation to theSalvation Army, they decided to targettheir donations to a New OrleansTimes-Picayune employee support fundand the APME KatrinaAid Fund.

Their creativitymatched their generosity.Photographers madesigned prints and auc-tioned them to staff andsold them to the public.The circulation directorauctioned his paintingservices for a day.Employees were allowedto wear jeans to work inexchange for $10; thecompany matched that.Even the man who serv-iced the pop machines contributed freerefreshments to the silent-auction party— then donated a weekend at hiscondo.

‘‘It was a combination of littlethings, big things and volunteeredthings,’’ a proud Foreman said.

‘‘A few thousand dollars doesn’tseem like much help,’’ he said. But hiscolleagues wanted to find any way tohelp their peers in the Gulf. ‘‘Thesefolks are suffering as much as the peo-ple they were covering.’’

Foreman said they initially weren’tsure how to get their contributions toother newsrooms — and then they dis-covered the APME fund. ‘‘I was gladsomebody stepped up to do it.’’

The last big contribution to the fund— $4,000 — came from donors at the

APME Foundation auction, held at theannual conference in October in SanJose, Calif. The money is being distrib-uted by editors and their papers in avariety of ways, to pay for housing,food, equipment. We’re sure they’ll beas thoughtful and creative as thedonors.

Peter Kovacs, managing editor at theNew Orleans Times-Picayune, waspleased to hear of his peers’ contribu-tions and their desire to help journalistsin his part of the world and his news-room, where the need continues.

‘‘Those who lost homes are livingwith relatives, renting apartments orstill commuting from Baton Rouge,’’where the paper first relocated, Kovacs

said. ‘‘In a handful ofcases, parents have senttheir children out of townto live with relatives.’’

He and his staff havereturned to their mainbuilding, though they’vebeen unable to reoccupytheir two flooded subur-ban bureaus. While little isback to normal, they hopeto see circulation rise again— it’s operating at 75 per-cent of its previous circu-lation — when a numberof schools and colleges

reopen.Kovacs and others came to the San

Jose conference to tell their newsrooms’stories. As the session wrapped up, oneeditor asked him what more we coulddo to help. He told them this: Come tomy city for the next APME conference.(It’s Oct. 25-28, 2006.)

A key reason I’ve stayed involved inAPME — beyond the practical tools itgives me to help run a newsroom — isthe fellowship of other editors. In theface of overwhelming challenges inyour newsrooms, you continue toinspire me with great ideas, great jour-nalism and great passion for what youdo.

Thank you for contributing to helpother journalists. And keep asking thosequestions.

APME PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Thank you for giving generously

2 APME NEWS WINTER 2006

‘‘Those stormstouched somethingthat madepeople wantto reach out.’’

Deanna Sands,past APME president

WINTER 2006 APME NEWS 3

INDEX

This issueEditor • Mark Bowden,The Gazette,Cedar Rapids,

Iowa / [email protected]

Designer • John Goodlove,The Gazette

Copy editor • Rae Riebe,The Gazette

Printing • Cedar Graphics,Hiawatha, Iowa

The Associated Press Managing Editors is a professional, non-profit organization founded in 1933 in French Lick, Ind. Its membership includes senior editors from more than 1,700 newspapers in the United States and Canada affiliated with TheAssociated Press. APME’s mission is to assist editors in coping effectively with newsroom management challenges, to monitorservice provided by The Associated Press and to support journalistic excellence. APME also sponsors the National CredibilityRoundtables Project, national Time-Out for Diversity and Accuracy and the NewsTrain. APME News is the quarterly magazine for APME members. For updates on APME activities and programs, go to apme.com, or write to [email protected] torequest an e-mail subscription to APME Update. Supporting memberships are $100 a year; details are available at apme.com.

About the cover creditsMark Tade has been the commercial photogra-

pher for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for 12

years, working on in-house advertising and promo-

tional projects as well as handling commercial and

editorial assignments for clients around the country.

John Paul Schafer is a staff artist at The Gazettein Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and also a professionalpainter with gallery exhibits in the United States andCanada.

Michelle Wiese is the features page designer atThe Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and has adegree in graphic design from Iowa State University.

Presidents’ columns2 Suki Dardarian, APME30 Glen Crevier, APSE31 Steve Gonzales, APPM

APME News editor4 Mark Bowden: New year, new ideas

AP Member Showcase photos32 September, Richard Alan Hannon,Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate33 August, Barbara Davidson, DallasMorning News33 October, Bill Siel, Kenosha News,Kenosha, Wis.33 November, Jason Hunt, Coeurd’Alene Press, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

AP coverage22 “Pressure cooker”: How TheAssociated Press covers Washington

Ethics5 Dr. Ethics pays a visit

APME conference26 “The Next Big Thing” conferencelooked back and looked ahead: theshrinking newsroom; covering the hip-hop beat; improving religion coverage;strengthening online; New York TimesManaging Editor John Geddes addressedissues facing the industry and the Times;a panel of “embedded” readers talkedabout connecting with readers.

Enter a brave new world

12 How podcasting canenrich your content, energizeyour staff and inspire fun

Great Ideas

Transform yournewspaper8 Try any or all of 12 greatideas to make your newspaper a “must read” in the coming year

Even more

14 How APME’s FOIRoundtableDiscussion projectcan help you16 Confused aboutusing freelancers?Here’s a guide: howto find them, andwhat to do next34 How mixing itup on your opinionpages can drive readership

How to be a better leader18 Nine former editors offer a straightforward strategyfor becoming a better leader in your newsroom

‘‘Many peoplelook forward tothe new year for anew start on oldhabits.’’ —Unknown.

I frequentlytell my news-room that

there are 365days in the year,and if we trysomething that

doesn’t work today, then we can trysomething different tomorrow, andkeep trying, if necessary, until we findsomething that works.

Yes, this no duh observation won’twin me a Nobel, but I express it to rein-force that we can’t wish ourselves tosuccess. We must try, and not be fearfulof failing, if we’re ever to find the con-tent that exceeds our readers’ expecta-tions.

In this issue of APME News, we’vepulled together some great ideas, adviceand insight that should be excellentfood for thought if you are contemplat-

ing New Year’s resolutions, or you arelooking for something to flesh out yourlist.

Lance Johnson has 12 ‘‘great ideas’’to pass along . . . Tom Eblenasked nine former editors tooffer some thoughts onwhat they would do differ-ently if they could returnto the newsroom today. . . Carole Tarrant tack-led podcasting —what’s working andhow your newspapercan use this technologyto reach new audiences. . . Scott W. Angusexplores a new newspa-per’s definition of‘‘essential news’’ . . .Rosemary Goudreau sharessome secrets on buildingreadership of the opinion page. . . and Logan Molen helps edi-tors wrestle with the issues of recruit-ing and using freelance writers.

● ● ●

THERE WAS much to learn at lastfall’s APME conference in San Jose. It

was an outstanding program. If youdidn’t attend, you can learn a lot by justreading the highlights of the conference

on pages 26 to 29 of the APMENews. These briefs are con-

densed articles from theAPME Gazette, which is

published daily duringconferences. Jan Touney,managing editor of theQuad-City Times,Davenport, Iowa, edit-ed the highlights.

● ● ●

WE ARE workingon a package of sto-ries about customerservice for the spring

issue of APME News.Articles will explore the

relationship an editor haswith his/her community

and look at newsroom poli-cies and programs that foster

customer service. Also, we are tryingto get a handle on what the state APMEorganizations are doing. Let me know ifyou have any ideas or thoughts on thesetopics.


Mark BowdenAPME News [email protected]

NEWS NOTES

New ideas for a new year

S uki Dardarian, deputy managingeditor of the Seattle Times, waselected president of the

Associated Press Managing EditorsAssociation at the group’s conferenceOct. 26-29 at San Jose, Calif.

She succeeds Deanna Sands, manag-ing editor of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald.

Karen Magnuson, editor and vicepresident-news of the Rochester (N.Y.)Democrat and Chronicle, was electedvice president.

David Ledford, executive editor ofthe Wilmington (Del.) News Journal,was elected secretary, and KarenPeterson, managing editor of theTacoma (Wash.) News Tribune, waselected treasurer.

Bobbie Jo Buel, executive editor ofthe Arizona Daily Star in Tucson,advanced to chairman of the JournalismToday committees.

A new committees’ vice chairmanwill be selected during the APME boardmeeting in January.

In elections for the APME board ofdirectors, three incumbents were re-elected and a former director wasreturned to the board. They will bejoined by five newcomers.

Re-elected to three-year terms wereRosemary Goudreau, editorial page edi-tor of the Tampa Tribune, and JenniferHoutman, managing editor of theMarietta (Ohio) Times. Donna Reed,vice president for news of MediaGeneral Inc. in Richmond, Va., was

returned to the board for a two-yearterm.

Former director Everett Mitchell,editor and vice president of TheTennessean in Nashville, was elected toa three-year term. Also elected to three-year terms were Tom Eblen, managingeditor, the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader; Hank Klibanoff, managing edi-tor, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution;and Hollis Towns, managing editor, theCincinnati Enquirer.

Joe Garcia, editor of the Farmington(N.M.) Daily Times, was elected to athree-year term representing newspa-pers of under 35,000 daily circulation.Jon Fortt, senior Web editor of the SanJose Mercury News, was elected to athree-year term as online representative.

APME officers, board members elected


Dorothy Abernathy:

Q:How comfortable are staffmembers with bringing ques-

tions to you? Do you get many ques-tions?

Dr. Ethics:

A:Questions tend to come tomembers of the committee

that revised (and re-revised) the ethics policy in 2003, 2004 and again in 2005.Questions are usually asked in privateas issues arise; many times, people want to know before something comesup whether they’re doing the rightthing.

Abernathy:

Q: Is it ever right to include ‘‘nocomment’’ from a source who is

providing information on backgroundor in an off-the-record basis? Or is thatdeception by any other name?

Dr. Ethics:

A:The Pilot’s policy states that wedo not quote a source as having

no comment when that person wasquoted anonymously elsewhere in thesame story. To do that would be deceiv-ing readers.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

ETHICS

Who/what is Dr. Ethics? Dr. Ethics has been part of the Virginian-Pilot staff

for about a year, but almost no one knows the good doctor’s real identity. In

addition to writing a column on ethics for the Virginian-Pilot’s monthly

newsletter, ‘‘Art & Craft,’’ Dr. Ethics is on call to answer staffers’ ethical

questions — anything from accepting a cup of coffee from a source to taking

freelance assignments or dealing with ethical conflicts arising from a spouse’s

career. In a recent interview with The Associated Press’ Virginia bureau chief,

Dr. Ethics described himself/herself as ‘‘a construct, which means that all of us

in the newsroom can play the part.’’

A conversation with the mysteriousand knowledgeable Dr. Ethics

Q&A: Ethics

Editor’s note: Dr. Ethics of theVirginian-Pilot conducted aconversation with members of theVirginia Associated Press ManagingEditors last fall. The following ispart of that exchange, which wasconducted via speaker phone inorder to keep Dr. Ethics’ identity asecret. Dorothy Abernathy, APVirginia bureau chief, posed thequestions on behalf of the editors.

ETHICS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Abernathy:

Q:But what if someone providedinformation for the story — a

document or other information? Thencould you quote this person as a sourcehaving no comment?

Dr. Ethics:

A:Say you have a city managerwho gives you a document, and

then you turn around and ask the citymanager about it, and that person says‘‘no comment.’’

In this case, you wouldn’t have to saywhere you got the document, and youare being truthful that the city managerhas no comment.

But, if the city manager gives you anoff-the-record explanation, you can’tsay ‘‘no comment.’’

Abernathy:

Q:Should reporters ever interviewsomeone they have an outside

relationship with — for instance, theirformer English teacher, their doctor,their lawn maintenance guy?

Dr. Ethics:

A:Like a lot of ethical questions,it depends. Your former doctor

may be a great source about an medicalprogram you’re writing about. Thequestion is: Can you detach yourselffrom the relationship in order to writeabout it?

If the relationship makes you feeluncomfortable, or it appears inappro-priate to readers, don’t do it.

We’re making the assumption thatneither party would benefit from aninterview (like getting free publicity or afree checkup).

Just because you know someonedoesn’t mean they’re not smart anddon’t have something to tell your read-ers. Don’t discount people automatical-ly because you know them, but thinkabout it.

Abernathy:

Q:What advice do you have forjournalists trying to get at the

truth with confirmed information when surrounded by other media andbloggers publishing unconfirmedrumors?

Dr. Ethics:

A:As professionals, we have stan-dards and safeguards to ensure

accuracy. Despite the pressures of speedand unethical competition, do not com-promise your standards. All you have isyour credibility. That said, Dr. Ethicsdidn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday.We often report rumors in politicalreporting — and we call them rumors.Reporting rumors in other contexts canbe dangerous and expose you to legalrepercussions.

To quote Frank Batten (retired chair-man and CEO of LandmarkCommunications), ‘‘Instead of, ‘Get itfirst and get it right,’ let our rule be,‘First, get it right.’”

Abernathy:

Q: Is the copying/duplication ofone photographer’s idea by

another photographer in a photo theequivalent of plagiarism?

Dr. Ethics:

A: Is the copying of one writer’swords by another writer plagia-

rism? Of course it is. Stealing good ideasis a time-honored tradition in journal-ism. Taking a good idea and simply put-ting your name on it is not. Taking agood idea, deconstructing to see why itworked and coming up with your ownapproach: priceless.

Abernathy:

Q:Kerry Sipe (news online coordi-nator at the Virginian-Pilot)

suggested that the online media(including readers) has different ethicsthan traditional journalists do. Is thistrue? How?

Dr. Ethics:

A:The premium online is on theindividual. Most generally share

a set of values and rules for collectingand disseminating information. Thesevalues and rules are at the core of ourcredibility.

Online journalists include peoplewho share those values, and many peo-ple who don’t. Their focus is on speed,entertainment, outrage and just tryingto grab the attention in a crowded andnoisy marketplace. Online media is thewild, wild West. Gotta watch who’sshooting at whom.


‘You Make theCall’ wants yourquestions

“You Make the Call,’’ APMENews’ popular Q&A feature on jour-nalism ethics, takes a break this issuebut will return in the spring.

Donna Reed, vice president fornews of Media General, Richmond,Va., who has edited ‘‘You Make theCall’’ for several years, is handingover the reins of the feature to RickHall, managing editor of the DeseretMorning News in Salt Lake City.Reed, meanwhile, has been namedprogram chairperson for the 2006conference in New Orleans.

If you have ethical questions you’dlike explored in ‘‘You Make the Call,’’or if you’d like to be a part of thediscussion, contact Hall at (801) 237-2110 or by e-mail at [email protected]

“Stealing good ideas is atime-honored tradition injournalism. Taking a goodidea and simply puttingyour name on it is not.Taking a good idea,deconstructing to see whyit worked and coming upwith your own approach:priceless.”

Dr. Ethics

NICHE PUBLICATIONS

By Scott W. AngusEditor of the Janesville (Wis.) Gazette and chairman of APME Readership Committee

W ho in her right mindwould start a newspaper inthis day and age, what with

circulation dropping, investors whiningand analysts forecasting doom?

Lori Childers would, and she thinksshe just might have a formula for suc-cess.

‘‘Essential news,’’ she calls it, andthat’s the key ingredient in her weeklyUlster County Press in northeast NewYork state.

In her words, the free broadsheet is‘‘a quick, easy, well-done survey’’ ofwhat’s going on throughout the county.

‘‘I created it to fill a niche. We pickout the interesting stories that happenthroughout theweek and packagethem well. Whatare people arguingabout? What arepeople talkingabout?’’

Childers ownedand ran a twice-a-month paper, theBlue Stone Press,that covered a fewcommunities before she launched theweekly in late October. Other weekliescovered other communities, but nopaper covered the entire county except anearby daily. She thought she could dobetter.

She chose to go broadsheet to setherself apart from the other weeklies.And she chose to go free because noother paper was.

‘‘That was the open niche,’’ she said.‘‘And when I looked at the success of

other free papers, it just made sense.When I look at how much money Imake from charging 50 cents, it’s clearthat all the money comes from advertis-

ing. It ends up costing you money tocharge money.’’

The free paper is ‘‘good for readers,and that’s good for advertisers,’’Childers said.

2-section newspaperThe Ulster County Press is two sec-

tions each week. One covers news, andthe other has features. The sectionswere 10 pages each originally, butChilders got ‘‘realistic’’ and scaled themback to eight pages.

She worked with Creative CircleMedia Consulting of Providence, R.I.,on the design, which features sectionfronts that she likens to posters.

‘‘The cover really kind of brings peo-ple in. It’s sort of a mix with somethingto read, some promotion, briefs, a quoteof the week,’’ she said.

The inside pages are more tradition-al, except for a map page that pinpointswhere news happened in the county inthe past week.

The paper covers all kinds of news,Childers said, from crime to personalityprofiles. But she judges it all to beessential, and the approach and formatensure easy reading and a useful, time-saving summary that people can’t getanywhere else.

Childers started by printing about8,000 copies. She quickly bumped upthe press run to 9,000, and she’s nowprinting 11,000. She plans to keepprinting as many as people will read.

The paper is available at stores andoutlets throughout the county. It has nohome delivery.

The Press also has a Web site featur-ing a community blog where area resi-dents can contribute calendar items,stories, opinion and photos, and anonline classified entry system for plac-ing ads.

So far, so good, Childers said aboutthe reaction to the newspaper.

‘‘The feedback has been amazing,’’she said. ‘‘People are just, like, ‘Wow.’ ”

Lori Childers

Defying the odds


New weekly focuses on easy-to-read ‘essentials’

GREAT IDEAS

Lance Johnson isthe managingeditor of The Dayin New London,Conn.He can becontacted [email protected]

Stop the hand-

wringing. Block out

the doomsayers. Take a

break from Romenesko.

If the overabundance

of bad press about the

press has not made you

lapse into catatonia,

there’s still time to

develop a winning news-

room strategy for 2006.

Many papers are going on the offensive to reshape their operations to reflect today’s changing market, andsome excellent work is being done thatcould reap sound results once ourindustry gets its feet on the ground.

Sree Sreenivasan, dean of students at the Columbia University GraduateSchool of Journalism and a PoynterInstitute visiting professor, put it thisway in a recent writing: ‘‘The analogy I always return to is the failure of rail-road companies to realize that theycould have been in the transportationbusiness, rather than the railroad busi-ness.

‘‘As journalists, if we can figure outwhat business we are really in — thenewspaper business, the TV news business, the magazine business or the-getting-people-news-and-information-in-all-kinds-of-formats business — wemight just survive this revolution.’’

So let’s see what the ‘‘getting-people-news-and-information-in-all-kinds-of-formats business’’ might look like, basedon some of the best practices in the2005 Great Ideas exchange of contentand newsroom management strategiesfrom print and online operationsthroughout the United States andCanada.

1Look at the newspaper, the Website and custom publications as atriad, not triage. Make them all

work together, with resources goingfrom one to another based on topic andaudience.

San Jose (Calif.) Mercury NewsJon [email protected](408) 278-3489

Why it’s worth doing: A+EInteractive, according to the San JoseMercury News, is true convergence forthe newspaper and the community. Ithas the immediacy of news and infor-mation and gets people’s voices onlineand into the paper.

What it’s about: The weekly printsection has a corresponding blog thatfeatures channels in such hot genres asgaming, music and movies, and offersstories, insights and reviews by the crit-ics.

But what’s unique about the site isthat the San Jose Mercury News activelysolicits reader reviews as responses tocritics’ takes, or asks readers opinionson recent pop culture events.

If readers simply want to commentor weigh in on a discussion, that’s wel-comed, as well.


How to transform your paper

1. San Jose Mercury News

2. Lexington Herald-Leader

GREAT IDEAS

2Strengthen watchdog reportingand improve storytelling on theprint side, as more breaking news

and information transfers to the Website.

Lexington (Ky.) Herald-LeaderTom [email protected](859) 231-1415

Why it’s worth doing: With staffingcuts and a trend toward feel-good news,journalism that makes a difference issometimes forgotten. Could it be that,in part, this is why we’re losing reader-ship?

What it’s about: The Kentuckyprison system posted a Web site withinformation about its inmates, includ-ing a link to those wanted by the systemfor escaping or never reporting toprison.

The Lexington Herald-Leaderlaunched an investigation into the oneescaped murderer the police had neverfound. And — you guessed it — itfound him.

3Cultivate young readers in printand online by writing about topicsthat genuinely interest them.

Develop young journalism talent fromthe high schools on up.

Modesto (Calif.) BeeDaniel [email protected](209) 578-2332

Why it’s worth doing: Because itgets them to our door. Because it’s fun,interactive and a subject teens are inter-ested in and talking about.

What it’s about: The feature runsweekly in the ‘‘Buzzz’’ section, which isproduced by high school journalistssupervised by regular editors.

The kids came up with a ‘‘favoriteoutfit’’ concept. The portraits, taken bystaff shooters, are sassy and colorful.The illustrations give readers usefulinformation on where to buy things andhow much to spend. It’s not all designerstuff; many items are from secondhand

and discount stores.The feature gets lots of faces — both

girls and boys — from Modesto’s ethni-cally and racially diverse populationinto the paper.

4Keep diversity center stage, so thatthe paper’s content and staffreflect the changing community.

Roanoke (Va.) TimesCarole [email protected](540) 981-3210

Why it’s worth doing: This three-part multimedia series introduced newpeople to Roanoke Times readers,increasing community understanding ofrecent immigrants and their cultures.

What it’s about: ‘‘An UnlikelyRefuge’’ focused on the recent influx ofSomali Bantu to Roanoke. They havesettled in an apartment complex that,unbeknownst to many Roanokers, haslong been home to refugees fleeingpolitical persecution.

The online version of the series pro-vided context, telling the stories of therefugees who preceded the SomaliBantu — immigrants from Vietnam,Cuba, Liberia, Kosovo and other coun-tries.

Other links allowed readers to hearsome of the 12-plus languages spokenat the Terrace Apartments.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10


3. Modesto Bee

5. Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune

4. Roanoke (Va.) Times

GREAT IDEAS


5Give readers more of what theycan’t get anywhere else: high-qual-ity community news that has ener-

gy and is focused on people.

Casper (Wyo.) Star-TribuneSally Ann [email protected](307) 266-0500

Why it’s worth doing: Because it’sinteractive, touches the heart and putssmiles on the faces of readers. Withwhat’s going on in the world, they needa break.

What it’s about: ‘‘How we met’’ is asimple idea: Have readers submit shortstories and photos about how they met.The stories — 45 of them — gavewomen and men the chance to relivethe feeling of falling in love, whether itwas 59 years ago, ‘‘just after the war,’’ ormore recently.

6Provide leadership on major issuesand bring the community togetherto problem-solve.

Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionLea Donosky and Richard [email protected]@ajc.com1-(404) 526-5342

Why it’s worth doing: Journalistscertainly know the value of open gov-ernment and access to records, but ifthese rights are to be preserved, it’sequally important for our readers toknow about them and the threatsagainst them.

What it’s about: As private citizens,AJ-C editors submitted requests to 66police departments in the Atlanta areaasking for statistics on serious crimes,reports police are required by law tomaintain.

The story demonstrated how, evenwhen required, some government agen-cies make it difficult or impossible toget basic information. It set a provoca-tive backdrop for a series of stories

showing real people who have usedrecords to make their communities bet-ter and some legislation that wouldchange those laws.

7Give readers more of a voice in thepaper and on the Web site.

Savannah (Ga.) Morning NewsSusan [email protected](912) 652-0327

Why it’s worth doing: Newspaperssometimes get bogged down in tradi-tional governmental and education cov-erage.

Often we forget that communitiesare made up of real people who live andwork there.

What it’s about: The SavannahMorning News series ‘‘Around EveryCorner’’ profiles city neighborhoods.The stories incorporate traditional sto-rytelling and reporting methods; a‘‘voices’’ component that lets real peopletalk about places they live; a double-truck photo spread; and a strong Webcomponent.

The series is expected to continuethrough 2006, producing an overall pic-ture of the city for the people who livethere and those who might want to.

8Strengthen the paper graphicallyand, in doing so, respect the five-minute reader.

Richmond (Va.) Times-DispatchLouise [email protected](804) 649-6301

Why it’s worth doing: More thanever, we have occasional readers andbrowsers who must be valued andaccommodated.

What it’s about: The Times-Dispatch recently started a weekendsubscription package. But the newspa-per’s popular ‘‘Weekend’’ tabloid pub-lishes on Thursdays, meaning the three-day subscribers miss it. So the featuresdepartment added a two-page weekend


6. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

7. Savannah (Ga.) Morning News


calendar pullout to the Friday lifestylesection to align content with the newsubscription package.

With the Friday ‘‘Weekend Update,’’the Times-Dispatch is offering readers‘‘a second bite at the apple.’’

9Get a bigger bang from the photoside through better visual story-telling, both for the big story and

community news.

Arizona Daily Star, TucsonBobbie Jo [email protected](520) 573-4217

Why it’s worth doing: Because ittells a story in a new way, it showsrespect for the subjects, it’s interestingto look at and it showcases the work ofthe photo staff.

What it’s about: Faces is a newphoto feature at the Star. This particularone was of the rodeo, a big annual eventin Tucson, and the Star found it diffi-cult to find new angles.

The photographer on this page ini-tially resisted the idea to take a whitebackdrop to the rodeo grounds, and tophotograph the diversity of the cowboysand fans.

In the end, even the photographeragreed this was one of the best elementsof 2005 coverage. Each shot includes asmall bio and a quote — all gathered bythe photographer.

10Challenge the newsroom tosharpen skills.

Richmond (Va.) Times-DispatchLouise [email protected](804) 649-6301

Why it’s worth doing: Because weare increasingly under attack for sloppi-ness, lack of balance and depth, andother shortcomings our readers increas-ingly fail to forgive us for.

What it’s about: The copy desk atthe Times-Dispatch has an annual sub-

scription to Quia, a Web-based applica-tion that lets it create online quizzes (onstyle points, grammar, etc.).

Usually twice a week, copy editorstake brief quizzes (five questions) thattouch on such matters. The Times-Dispatch thinks it is a constructive,interactive way to address the smallpoints of editing without harping onsuch matters in critiques or other set-tings.

11More transparency: Let read-ers know what you’re allabout.

Tampa TribuneRosemary [email protected](813) 259-7142

Why it’s worth doing: Because themore that readers understand how wework and why we make certain deci-sions, the more they’ll come to trust us.

What it’s about: The Tribune islooking for ways to make its work moretransparent to readers. To that end, it isemphasizing devices that explain howstories were done as part of its coverage.

A good example: A graphic preparedfor a shuttle launch explained how thepaper took the remote photographs.

12Bring the world to your read-ers’ doors.

Anniston (Ala.) StarTroy [email protected](256) 235-3540

Why it’s worth doing: It’s importantfor readers to understand the world andhow it affects them, so they can makebetter decisions in their lives and in thevoting booth.

What it’s about: The Anniston Star’s‘‘Our World’’ front is a weekly pagededicated to a global issue with localconnections, such as Cuba and itspotential for trade with the local agri-cultural community.

GREAT IDEAS

9. Arizona Daily Star (Tucson)

12. Anniston (Ala.) Star


TECHNOLOGY

By Carole TarrantManaging EditorRoanoke (Va.) Times

S eems like it was just yesterdaythat we first heard of ‘‘podcast-ing’’ and confused it with a new

Sci Fi Channel show.In fact, it’s been less than a year since

this idea of portable audio started bub-bling up in our newsrooms.

And it has bubbled up. Podcastingis one new newspaper venture that hasnot started with focus groups or capitalbudget requests.

Credit that to two facts:• It’s cheap.• It taps into what we already do,

which is talk to people.Those are my observations after

working in one of the handful of printnewsrooms that dipped toes in the pod-cast pool in 2005.

Here at the Roanoke (Va.) Times, welaunched our first podcast — a spinoffof our weekly entertainment tab — inMarch.

Since then, we’ve added five more,covering college sports, news and week-end events. The latest, produced bylocal teens who write a weekly youthpage, debuted with a critical discussion

of ‘‘Harry Potter and the Goblet ofFire.’’

Our podcasting experience has hadits expected ups and downs, andprompted me to explore how thisnewest new thing has fared at othernewspapers in the past year. A few inter-views with some podcasting pioneerspoint to a few common themes.Newsrooms get it

A few years ago, the rage was toplunk a print reporter in front of theTV camera of a local affiliate and ‘‘con-verge.’’ Understandably, this didn’t godown so well in some newsrooms. Butpodcasting appears to have made amuch softer landing — embraced, even,by the grizzliest technophobes on staff.

‘‘Although I have come across a vet-eran reporter/editor or two who havepretty much said to me, ‘I have nodesire to ever podcast,’ by and large, thenewsroom (especially our top-level edi-tors) has been very supportive,’’ saysMarcus Chan, technology editor of the

San Francisco Chronicle. The paper ishome to what’s likely the largest selec-tion of newsroom-produced podcasts,with programming focused on suchlocal interests as tech coverage, wineand the 49ers.

Rivaling the Chronicle in terms ofoverall audio content is the PhiladelphiaInquirer, which looks to the city’s histo-ry of sports Phanaticism for its podcastscovering the Sixers, Phillies, preps andEagles.

Like at the Chronicle, podcastsreportedly are going down well at theInquirer.

‘‘This staff is eager to participate atall levels, and is doing so,’’ says ChrisMills, deputy managing editor foronline and multimedia.

Similar positives come from theSeattle Post-Intelligencer, which pro-duced its first podcast in April.

‘‘Quite a few reporters seem veryinterested, if not thrilled, by theprospect of expanding their storytelling

Podcasting enriches yourcontent, energizes yourstaff and lets you have fun

BRAVENEWWORLD

Roanoke Times podcaster Tad Dickens readies for anotherpodcast. (Roanoke Times, Sam Dean)

toolboxes,’’ says P-I senior online pro-ducer Brian Chin.

These comments echo what I heardin the Roanoke newsroom — reportersand editors volunteering to getinvolved.

‘‘We have folks who basically onlyknow how to turn on their computersand log in, who are now recording pod-casts — folks who have been at thispaper for 20-plus years,’’ says SethGitner, the Roanoke Times’ multimediaeditor. ‘‘This is progress. This is huge.’’

Why the open arms for podcasting?My thoughts: Enough of us listen to

National Public Radio or sports radio tounderstand that podcasting is doable —it’s not quite the same professionalstretch as doing a live standup duringthe 6 p.m. news. We can recut our flubsand we don’t have to shave or wearmakeup. Essentially, all we do is tapewhat we’re already doing — havinginteresting conversations.Still way experimental

While we might look to NPR forinspiration, we ain’t there yet.Remember that reference to cheap?Those crisp Terry Gross interviewscome about with expensive equipmentand well-trained audio folks.

The typical print-side podcast beginswith more humble roots. It likelyinvolved a few newsroom ‘‘earlyadapters’’ talking about this hot newthing. Then the conversation drew insomeone with a TV or radio back-ground. Then it tapped into a pirate-radio ‘‘we don’t need the stinking FCC’’vibe. Voila! Overnight we had a RadioFree (fill in your city’s name) podcast.

‘‘So that’s how it started — withcheap microphones and really no ideaof what we were doing,’’ says Jeri Rowe,editor of www.gotriad.com, affiliatedwith the Greensboro (N.C.) News &Record.

‘‘A laptop and a pair of AKG micro-phones borrowed from a rock band Iplay in’’ — those were the tools that gotthe PhillyFeed, the Daily News’ weeklyvariety show, started in May, says pro-ducer Mills.

Lucky for us, podcasting was so newin 2005 that we had room to experi-ment, sometimes with growing pains.Case in point was the ‘‘Go Radio’’ pod-cast that debuted in February on

Greensboro’s www.gotriad.com. Theshow, initially conceived as a 20-minute‘‘barroom yak’’ between Rowe and anonline content producer, quickly grewand grew.

Modeled after NPR’s ‘‘Day to Day,’’ itincluded studio interviews, music, bookreadings — all content that extendedwhat the site offered elsewhere. It alsoran an hour.

‘‘Tooooooo long,’’ Rowe admits. ‘‘GoRadio’’ is now closer to 25 minutes, withmore emphasis on shorter (three min-utes) taped interviews. The off-the-cuffchats meander no longer than five min-utes.

‘‘I felt it needed to move fast so wecould keep a listener’s attention, andquite honestly, I wanted to save my san-

ity by not trying to scramble to createan hourlong program every week,’’Rowe says.Find your niche

Keep it local.Tap into an obsessive audience.The early paper podcasters generally

followed one or both of those ideaswhen lining up content.

At the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, abusiness copy editor and an informa-tion technology employee got to talkingabout video games and podcasting —and ended up with ‘‘GameOn!’’ Theweekly podcast, which launched inFebruary, complements the gamereviews written for print.

‘‘We wanted to see if there was a wayto give readers of the newspaper andWeb site something extra online,’’ saysco-host/copy editor Chuck Nelson.

Seattle’s first podcast tapped anotheravid audience — foodies. The paper’sfood editor, Hsaio-Ching Chou, inter-views famous chefs, cookbook authorsand others in the culinary arts, drawinglistening fans from across the country.

A Chronicle podcast plays off thefact that San Francisco is one sceniccity.

‘‘Given that tourism is SanFrancisco’s biggest industry, why notexperience our fine city through theexpertise of our newsroom, whose job itis to know the city?’’ asks Chan. Thuswas born www.SFGate.com’s ‘‘audiotour’’ podcasts, some of which areenhanced with photos.How to get started

Want to get started? Ask yourself:What do you cover in your newsroomthat’s uniquely local and attracts aParrothead-like following?

Well, in Roanoke, I’ll give you a clue.As I write this, I hear music — the fid-dles and harmonizing of a bluegrassjug-band jam — coming from thebroom closet-turned-podcast recordingstudio next to my office. Since we start-ed podcasting, our newsroom has beenfull of local musicians and thespianswandering in for their tapings. Theirperformances sometimes seep out ofthe closet/studio and into the news-room, bringing to it the energy ofsomething new.

That, alone, has made this venture allthe worthwhile.


TECHNOLOGY

PodcastingWhere to tune in

• Columbus Dispatch ‘‘GameOn!’’http://www.dispatch.com/reports-story.php?story=dispatch/gameon/gameon.html

• Greensboro News & Record/Gotriad.com: http://www.gotriad.com/go/radio

• Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News:http://www.phillyfeed.com/

• Roanoke Times: http://www.roanoke.com/entertainment/insideout/podcasts/wb/xp-index

• San Francisco Chronicle: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/indexn?blogid=5

• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/podcast/

Search engines• Podzinger: http://www.

podzinger.com/• blinkx: http://www.blinkx.com/

overview.php• From Wired News: ‘‘Two

new search engines . . . (let) userssearch podcasts by keyword to singleout audio that suits their interests.”Blinkx offers a sort by date or rele-vance. Slide the bar toward one endor the other, depending on yourpreference. Podzinger not only showsyou excerpts of your search terms,you can start an audio stream right atthat point.


By Steve SidloDayton (Ohio) Daily News managingeditor and chairman of the APME First Amendment Committee

I n Dayton, Ohio, the conversationinvolved whether the publicshould know who gets permits to

carry concealed weapons.Readers in Albany, N.Y., expressed

dismay about long delays in gettinginformation from state agencies.

In Phoenix, they tackled a toughquestion: When does an individual’sright to privacy trump the public’sright to know?

Government secrecy sparked a vig-orous but civil debate among citizens,journalists and public officials inWilmington, Del., where the stateLegislature exempted itself from pub-lic records and open-meetings laws.

All four of those conversationsinvolving journalists, readers andgovernment officials came courtesy ofAPME’s new Freedom of InformationRoundtable Discussion project,launched in 2005 in partnership withfive newspapers in four locations. Thetopics were tailored to each commu-nity, but they centered on the public’sright to know and access to govern-ment records.

The FOI project builds on the suc-cess of APME’s CredibilityRoundtables program. Supportedwith a grant from the APMEFoundation’s Lou Boccardi Fund, thenew project provides training and atemplate for newspapers to engage inconversations with readers and othersin their communities about FOI top-ics.

The goal is to help newspapers doa better job of explaining how free-dom of information matters to every-body, not just journalists. At the sametime it’s designed to help journalists

gain a better understanding of citi-zens’ concerns about privacy, securityand how newspapers use governmentrecords.FOI a public issue

‘‘The First Amendment doesn’tbelong only to journalists, eventhough we often act like it does,’’ saidDeanna Sands, APME past presidentand managing editor of the Omaha(Neb.) World-Herald.

‘‘That’s why the FOI Roundtableproject is important to us as well asto our readers. We must find a way toreach common ground on our viewsof these precious rights. If we don’t,we all lose.’’

Five newspapers helped kick offthe FOI project: the Albany (N.Y.)Times Union, the Dayton Daily Newsand the Wilmington (Del.) NewsJournal sponsored their own discus-sions. In Arizona, the Arizona DailyStar of Tucson collaborated with theArizona Republic to organize aroundtable in Phoenix.

The FOI Roundtable project wasmanaged by Rosalie Stemer, a news-room coach with editing and report-ing experience at the San FranciscoChronicle, New York Times, ChicagoDaily News and Kansas City Times.

In each roundtable, papers select-ed topics linked to their news cover-age of FOI issues. There was follow-up coverage of the roundtables them-selves.In Phoenix

The Phoenix topic — how to bal-ance individual privacy with the pub-lic’s right to know — was selected asa follow-up to a statewide accessaudit Arizona newspapers conductedfor the second time in late 2004, saidBobbie Jo Buel, executive editor ofthe Arizona Daily Star.

‘‘The comments from the audiencewere the main things that stood out

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

FOI Roundtableopens dialogue

‘‘We must find a wayto reach commonground on ourviews ofthese preciousrights. Ifwe don’t, we all lose.’’

Deanna SandsAPME past president andmanaging editor of theOmaha (Neb.) World-Herald

To request a copy of thisbooklet, send an e-mail [email protected]


for me,’’ Buel said. ‘‘Several averagecitizens talked about their frustra-tions in trying to obtain publicrecords. Some of them didn’t evenknow where to start.’’

An idea that came out of the dis-cussion was for the papers to publishan annual guide to public records.The guide will tell people where to goto get them, what’s public and what’snot, how to make a request and howto write an appeal, Buel said.In Dayton

The Dayton discussion sparkedpassionate debate about privacy ver-sus public access to records. Ohio’slaw is unusual in that it allows jour-nalists access to lists of people whoget permits to carry concealedweapons, but not ordinary citizens.

Gun rights advocates expressedanger that some newspapers pub-lished listings of local people whoobtained permits. One panelist saidpermit holders were treated as if theywere on some government list of sex-ual offenders.

‘‘This was a great entry point for adiscussion that tested the tensionbetween the public’s right to knowand our rights of privacy,’’ said JeffBruce, editor of the Dayton DailyNews. ‘‘There were a lot of mixedemotions, even from among partici-pants who ordinarily are very pas-sionate about the First Amendment.’’

The Dayton paper also collaborat-ed with the Ohio Attorney General’sOffice to sponsor a well-attendedpublic records workshop for readers.In Delaware

The roundtable on access to gov-ernment records in Delaware was agood first step toward creating a dia-logue between the paper and gate-keepers of information, said DavidLedford, executive editor of the NewsJournal of Wilmington.

‘‘The News Journal already hasagreed to sponsor a joint session inMarch of 2006 on the Freedom ofInformation Act with the statewidechapter of theLeague of WomenVoters,’’ Ledfordsaid.

‘‘Our APMEroundtable alsoprompted a morevigorous discussionbetween the state’sattorneys, judgesand journalists,talks we hope will lead to betterphoto access in the state’s court-rooms.’’In Albany

Albany’s roundtable explored whathappens when values collide over thepublic’s right to know, the rights ofminors and federal privacy laws thatapply to hospital records. The papersought to help readers understandhow the state FOI law is sometimescircumvented or ignored.

The Albany discussion was tapedand broadcast on WNYT-TV, thelocal NBC affiliate, in a time slot thatgenerally has 150,000 viewers.

‘‘What we learned is that readerswere often outraged over the state’snegative response to FOI requests,’’said Mary Fran Gleason, managingeditor of the Times Union.

‘‘We also learned that readersexpected us to be tough and to fulfilla watchdog role on their behalf.While some readers understood thestate FOI law, many others realizedthey had many misconceptions orincomplete knowledge of the law.’’

Gleason said the Times Unionplans to hold annual FOI forums andworkshops to inform the public.DVDs of the discussion are being dis-tributed to classrooms and teachers.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

APME seeks funding for projects in ’06

Suki Dardarian, APME presi-dent and deputy managing edi-tor at the Seattle Times, saidAPME is seeking funding tocontinue and expand theFreedom of InformationRoundtable Discussion projectin 2006.

‘‘It’s pulling readers and gov-ernment officials together withjournalists to explore the value,purpose and importance of ourFirst Amendment freedoms,’’Dardarian said. ‘‘We think thiseffort has created an extremelyvaluable project.’’

DavidLedford

‘‘What we learned isthat readers wereoften outragedover thestate’snegativeresponseto FOI requests.’’

Mary Fran Gleasonmanaging editor of theAlbany Times Union

freelance (fre-lans ) n. a writer,

musician, artist, etc. who is not

under contract for regular work

but whose writings or services

are sold to individual buyers.


By Logan MolenManaging EditorBakersfield Californian

A s editors deal with tighteningbudgets, staff cuts and greaterexpectations of thorough cov-

erage, their safety valve often is the useof outsiders such as freelancers and cor-respondents.

But publishing submitted contentcan be a minefield. You have to dealwith recruiting, tryouts or testing, thepay scale, contract issues and tax forms.And that’s before you touch any rawcopy.

Let’s break down those challenges.

Recruiting Because freelancers are motivated by

many different things, finding talentedcontributors often is a crapshoot.

Some surface by word-of-mouth orthrough contacts, while others surfaceout of the blue, wanting to share theirexpertise for a bit of spending money.

Other newspapers have had greatsuccess recruiting retired professionals,such as accountants, schoolteachers andothers who have strong communicationskills and enjoy getting out and meetingpeople.

‘‘Some people don’t want to be afull-time staffer,’’ said Joe Garcia, editor

of the Farmington (N.M.) Daily Times.‘‘They have other things going on intheir life. They want to do it piece bypiece. And that’s fine.’’

Others tap former interns or stu-dents by building relationships witharea colleges.

Robert Zizzo, sports editor at theFresno Bee, works closely with journal-ism teachers at California StateUniversity, Fresno, to find aspiringjournalists who can cover prep sportsand fill in for vacationing staffers.

He finds students to be ideal candi-dates.

‘‘You have motivated people who are

RESOURCES

Your guide to freelancers: How to find them and what to do next [ ]


trying to get into the business,’’ Zizzosaid of journalism students. ‘‘They’rehungry. They have a huge upside. Youcan teach them and they’ll learn. Whenyou go away from that, people are lessmotivated or less inclined to take onassignments. We’ve even had highschool students who have shown aninclination.’’

Many papers use freelancers for spe-cialty topics, such as arts coverage orniche columns.

‘‘We’re looking for expertise andknowledge of subject matter, not neces-sarily fantastic writers,’’ Garcia said.

The Erie (Pa.) Times-News publish-es a weekly Showcase entertainmentsection whose editor uses freelancecolumnists to cover theater, music,movies, restaurants and more. Thosefreelancers provide the bulk of the sec-tion’s local content.

‘‘These are people who have special-ties we couldn’t find on staff,’’ saidTimes-News Editor Rick Sayers.

Sayers also works to ensure exclusiv-ity for the work he buys.

‘‘If they’re writing for other outlets,it’s not fresh, not really yours,’’ he said.Money

Pay can vary widely according togeography, circulation and expertise.

Some editors benefit from amateursmore interested in the ego boost of abyline than a big paycheck. Other edi-tors gladly pay decent money inexchange for reliability and higher-quality content.

A recent exchange among a half-

dozen editors on the ReadershipInstitute list server detailed story payranging from $25 to $150. Editorsinterviewed for this story reported sim-ilar ranges. Just how much is paid usu-ally depends upon the assignment’scomplexity.

Zizzo, for example, has a slidingscale for live game coverage. A completegame story and box score will earn $75,while a call-in of a box score and high-lights will earn $25. A six-inch storywith a quote and box score will pay$50.Legal issues

Written contracts are a must in thisdigital world. The Tasini lawsuit againstthe New York Times put electronicrights in the spotlight, charging that the Times was violating copyright lawby reusing freelance work for any pur-pose beyond one-time print publica-tion.

Typical newspaper freelance con-tracts these days call for one-time printuse and give the paper rights to poststories online and in digital archives.Digital resale rights typically stay withthe newspaper.

Some editors require contracts to bere-signed annually, not only for legalconcerns but also to remind the free-lancers of the expectations. Thatincludes policies restricting use of com-pany equipment and property.

‘‘You need protections so both sidesknow who owns what and how it canbe displayed,’’ Garcia said. ‘‘You need tobe perfectly clear.’’

It’s also a good idea to discuss ‘‘kill’’fees, if any, on the front end. Somepapers pay kill fees (a percentage ofthe original story fee) if assigned free-lance content isn’t suitable for publica-tion. Others adopt a pass-fail approach.

‘‘We pay for the article and not forthe assignment,’’ Garcia said. ‘‘If thestory isn’t up to standard, we don’t paythem.’’Working relationship

Freelancers are independent con-tractors and can’t be treated likestaffers. But that doesn’t mean editorsshouldn’t nurture the relationship withregular feedback.

‘‘They need to have some guidance,like any reporter, before, during andafter stories,’’ Garcia said. ‘‘It helps themgrow. You have to look at them in someways as a regular staffer. If they’re writ-ing for you, you want to make sure it’sdone well and there’s improvementover time.’’

That investment in time can pay offin more ways than one. Garcia hired alongtime freelance writer to edit hispaper’s business journal. And several ofZizzo’s freelancers have moved on tofull-time jobs at feeder papers, includ-ing area papers in the McClatchy chain.Those writers in turn, tout the Bee tofriends still in school, further expand-ing the recruiting.

And when you’ve found yourself akeeper, don’t forget to share yourappreciation.

‘‘A ‘thank you’ now and then doesn’thurt,’’ Garcia said.

RESOURCES

• Require all freelancers to sign a contractstipulating print and digital online and archivingrights. Consider renewing those contractsannually.

• Work with your finance department todetermine whether freelancers should fill outtax forms before beginning work.

• Look for self-motivated people who areresponsible and ethical.

• Seek market exclusivity for the content.

• Tap local schools for prospects. Meet withdepartment teachers and encourage them tospread the word among their students.

• Be clear about pay scales and kill fees.• Start prospects out slow with non-dead-

line assignments. Find out what they can han-dle, and then layer on challenges.

• Clearly define story expectations anddeadlines.

• Deliver constructive feedback regularly.[ ]Tips for working with freelancers


NEWSROOM MANAGEMENT

HOW

9 former editorsoffer a strategy:

Know yourcraft

Know yourreaders

Know yourstaff

By Tom EblenManaging EditorLexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader

W ith experience comes wisdom, and with distancecomes perspective.

So I asked nine former newspaper editors whatadvice they would give to us, their colleagues still in the business.

It was an open invitation. They could offer thoughts on edit-ing, leadership, mentoring, motivating, or whatever was on theirminds.

The advice that came back was as varied as the former editorsthemselves, some of whom have been out of the newsroom onlya few months, some for more than a decade. Some are retired.Others remain active in academia or professional organizations.

Many stressed the importance of nurturing talent, setting pri-orities and preserving the credibility that makes newspapersvaluable to readers.

Like current editors and managing editors, many of themhave been thinking a lot about the uncertainty that seems tothreaten newspapers, if not the character of American journalismitself. When it comes to facing the challenges of these uncertaintimes, their advice is remarkably consistent: Stay focused onbasics, and keep the faith.

Here’s what we can learn:

TO BE A

BETTERLEADER


Keep journalism values above business values

John Carroll was editor of the Los Angeles Times (2000-2005), the Baltimore Sun (1991-2000) and the LexingtonHerald-Leader (1979-1991).

With newspapers in transition, which is a euphemism for ‘‘onthe ropes,’’ owners of newspapers will face a choice. They will (a)keep margins high and sacrifice the future for short-term earn-ings or (b) accept lower returns and rebuild their business forthe future.

Most large newspaper-owning companies so far have chosenoption (a), which has put the industry on a course that eventual-ly leads to zero content and zero readers.

If they choose option (b), they will have to recognize that they have only twoassets left — the skills of their newsrooms and the public’s unfortunately dwindlinghabit of reading the paper.


NEWSROOM MANAGEMENT

Seek out those whoshare your values

Benjamin Bradlee was managingeditor and executive editor of theWashington Post (1965-1991).

My first advice to any journalistwould be to find a newspaper ownerlike Katharine Graham, and PhilGraham before her — people whorun as honest, fair and entertaininga newspaper as is possible.

Second, look for young and tal-ented journalists, share with themyour values and hopes and princi-ples, and work as hard as anyoneelse on the paper.

John Carroll

Benjamin Bradlee is the former managing editor and executive editor of the Washington Post. (Bill O'Leary)


NEWSROOM MANAGEMENT


Aggressively building these assets —journalism and reputation — will meana 180-degree turn by most companies.And while this reversal is taking place,they will have to move very aggressivelyto the Web.

For those of us who work in news-rooms it could be an exciting, stimulat-ing time. No longer will the paper suc-ceed or fail on the fact that it owns theonly printing press in town. With theWeb, that monopoly is gone.

The key to a newspaper’s success —in print and online — will be its con-tent. (It will help, too, to have a nimblebusiness side to master new revenueopportunities.)

I’m hoping that companies willrecover from their current punch-drunkdaze and make clear decisions to savetheir newspapers — or at least to savethe kind of journalism that one getsonly from newspapers — by investingin the future.

It’s the only responsible answer tothis crisis. If they get it right, journalismcould embark on a new, exciting era inwhich content truly is king.

In the meantime, it’s important forpeople in newsrooms to preserve thebest of journalistic culture against anonslaught of business values (do weserve the reader or the shareholder?)and to give the reader proof every daythat newspaper journalism is thebedrock of journalism itself.

Set priorities, pay attention to people

Tim J. McGuire is former editor ofthe Star-Tribune in Minneapolis (1992-2002). He recently was named to thefaculty of Arizona State University’sWalter Cronkite School of Journalismand Mass Communication.

If I ever entered another newsroom,two things would top my agenda.

The first is priority-setting. It iscomical and sad at the same time howmuch time I wasted on the ‘‘daily crises’’that in the large scheme of things meantvery little. I urge every editor to developa list of the five things you want to read

or hear in your eulogy about your lead-ership of the paper. Make the list grand.Make it vital to the success of yournewspaper and your people. Centeryour life, your behavior and your activi-ties on that list. Don’t be waylaid by themeaningless garbage. Stay focused anddo the great things.

The second is justas important as thefirst. Recognize thatevery person youdeal with today isthe most importantperson in theirworld. Do not blowoff anyone, no mat-ter how busy or pre-occupied you are.

If you commit yourself to makingevery encounter an inspired, even holy, encounter that makes a differencein your life, in the life of the personyou’re engaged with, and in your workproduct, you will have an incredibleimpact.

I believe we are called to developpersonal relationships that allow eachparty to grow.

If we genuinely invest ourselves inevery encounter in our work and in our families, we would make a pro-found difference in the lives of staffers,customers and peers, and even yourboss.

Filter the noise,stay the course

Edward Sears retired in January2005 after 20 years as editor of thePalm Beach Post.

When I started atthe AtlantaConstitution a cou-ple of centuries ago,the underlying news-room grumblingswere mostly rumorsabout officeromances, how lousythe editing was, whomade how muchmoney, how come only idiots and suck-ups got promoted and so on.

While I’m pretty certain those

Tim J. McGuire

Edward Sears

Good journalismmeans verification

Bill Kovach, former Washingtonbureau chief of the New York Timesand editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1986-1988), is chair-man of the Committee ofConcerned Journalists.

When the new generation of com-munications technology arrived inthe newsroom, the role of the copyeditor began to change. Copy editorscame to be seen as part of themechanical production process.Their role as internal watchdog waseroded. The same technology simplyreplaced most librarians andresearchers as computer databaseswere considered sufficient for thejob.

Demeaning these resources willprove to be a disaster in a world inwhich everyone is her or his owneditor and publisher; a world inwhich the sources of news — peopleand institutions of social, economicand political power — have theirown channels of communicationswith which we must compete.

The blogosphere already has cre-ated a wildly proliferating source ofinformation that is predicated on theimpulse to publish in the hope thatverification will follow. A journalismthat fails to set itself apart by the carewith which its work is verified surelywill die in such an atmosphere.

Bill Kovach is chairman of theCommittee of ConcernedJournalists.


endearing interests survive, here comesRomenesko serving up an enormousdaily dose of layoffs, buyouts, circula-tion declines, advertising slumps andthe inevitable piece titled, ‘‘Is the print-ed word irrelevant?’’

I’m not complaining aboutRomenesko. It’s a great Web site. Mypoint is that there are enough distrac-tions as it is to keep people focused onquality reporting and editing withouthaving to compete with the Internet’sbrass band playing, ‘‘You’re all doomedanyway.’’

But as editors, that’s your challenge.You need to filter out the noise and staythe course.

And forget all the focus group crap.Readers really do still want newspapersthat are timely, interesting, carefullyedited and courageous, and the vastmajority has absolutely no interest ininternal newsroom debates.

But if they did, I can promise youthat they would be puzzled and amazedby the industry’s gloomy fascinationwith its own demise.

Nurture and reward talent on your staff

Gregory Favre, managing editor andeditor of several newspapers, includingthe Sacramento Bee (1984-1998), anda former president of the AmericanSociety of Newspaper Editors, is a distinguished fellow at the PoynterInstitute.

The caring forand feeding of talentis a highly personalthing, and it shouldtake on as manyshapes and forms asthere are writers in anewsroom.

Who needs to bepushed and whoneeds to be pulled? Who needs realhugs and who needs psychic hugs? Whoneeds a soft touch and who needs ahard edit? Who is organized and whoisn’t? Who can deliver on time and whocan’t?

Always remember that the fun of thisbusiness is working with journalists to

do quality journalism. Making sure thateveryone knows you not only value tal-ent, but reward it. Getting involved andmaking sure that you have input on allsignificant work without usurping theline editor’s role or moving people outof the way.

Your fingerprints should be invisible,but your thoughts and ideas should notbe.

Newsrooms needthoughtful editors

Roy Bode, the last editor of the Dallas Times Herald, is vice president for public affairs at theUniversity of Texas SouthwesternMedical Center and breeds longhorncattle at his Bar 30 Ranch in Palmer,Texas.

There’s always a little anarchy in thebest newsrooms, but it never rules.

While the greatest reporters aresometimes creative, eccentric characters,the greatest editors recognize thatundermanagement can destroy a joyfultalent as readily asmicromanagement,an axiom that hasbeen unfortunatelyand repeatedly veri-fied over the pastcouple of years.

Whenever I hearof reporters beinggiven free rein onthis story or that, Ialways think every-thing probably would be better if some-one were driving the wagon.

Without thoughtful, fully engagededitors to provide neutral guidance aswell as encouragement and an occasion-al tap on the brakes, all kinds of prob-lems with sources, ethics, balance, fair-ness, accuracy and — in a word, credi-bility — can arise from exuberanceabsent perspective.

I encourage you to do two things:First, get out of the newsroom moreand spend time talking to ordinary peo-ple. Second, really get to know the peo-ple inside your newsroom.


NEWSROOM MANAGEMENT

Explain decisions to readers

Geneva Overholser, former edi-tor of the Des Moines Register(1988-1995) and a former ombuds-man at the Washington Post, is ajournalism professor at theUniversity of Missouri.

Be as forthcoming with readers asyou possibly can be. If you’re aboutto publish a story that you’re prettysure is going to be unsettling to read-ers, write an explanation yourself asto why you’re running the piece andwhy you’re running it now. It’sremarkable how much better readerswill feel if you tell them beforehand,rather than justifying yourself after-ward.

Gregory Favre

Roy Bode

Geneva Overholser is ajournalism professor at theUniversity of Missouri.


AP COVERAGE

A s a World War II correspondentinterned by the Japanese in Saigon, atwo-time Pulitzer Prize winner, a noted

author on Asia and a Washington bureau chieffor The Associated Press, Relman ‘‘Pat’’ Morinknew his way around the globe. Yet it was thenation’s capital thatamazed him the most.

‘‘Washington is onegigantic news factory,’’ hecommented. ‘‘It generatesnews and is the reposito-ry for news from across the Seven Seas. Moreinformation, solid, half-solid and half you-know-what, emerges in Washington than anyother capital in the world.’’

So it was at the start, when LawrenceGobright, AP’s first Washington correspondent,covered Abraham Lincoln and a Congress tornby divisions that spilled into Civil War.

‘‘The political furnace was in full blast,’’ wroteGobright, a craggy-faced man once mistaken forLincoln when the two stood on a stage in theirtall hats.

And so it is today. AP’s largest operation out-side New York headquarters also is the

largest news bureau in the capital andproduces a quarter to a third of

the service’s national reportevery day.

Pressure cooker

By Cal WoodwardEditor of the AP’sWashington enterprise team

How AP’s bureauin Washingtonkeeps on top of ahotbed of news

AP/Khue Bui


More than 140 reporters, editors,photographers, technicians and supportstaff fill the bureau, the AP’s WhiteHouse press room cubbyhole, the frontbenches of the congressional gallery andsatellite offices where beat reporterschase breaking news and the storybehind the story.

Over the decades,competition haschanged but theneed for speed has-n’t. Driven by the 24-hour news cycle ofthe digital age as wellas by newspaper andbroadcast deadlinesaround the world,the Washingtonbureau is in the thick of a familiar fightto sort the solid from the you-know-what in a hurry.

‘‘Our mission is still to be first, beright and provide news on a competi-tive basis to all the members of ourcooperative,’’ said Sandy Johnson,bureau chief since 1998.

The daily menu is varied.

Always, these days, there is Iraq, thedrumbeat of insurgency sounding inthe Oval Office and the halls ofCongress. The Supreme Court is intransition like it has not been for a gen-eration. Presidential politics is fastreawakening, never really asleep, andthe congressional elections of 2006 areshaping up in a competitive and ran-corous environment not seen for years.

Almost everything that happens inWashington has a political motive orconsequence, and keeping on top ofthat becomes a priority for more thanthe political writers.

‘‘For the first time in decades, therace for the presidency in 2008 remainswide open,’’ said Donna Cassata, APpolitical editor. ‘‘The possibility that theDemocrats might retake control of theSenate increases the pressure. It’s hardto find a comparable situation in recentmemory.’’

As Morin observed after winningPulitzers for coverage of the KoreanWar and school desegregation riots inLittle Rock., Ark., Washington not onlymakes news, but confirms and often

influences events that have happenedfar away.

First word of the Confederate marchon Gettysburg came from a sidewalkconversation Gobright had with a mili-tary officer in the capital. On Dec. 7,1941, Washington editor Bill Peacockfiled the flash, ‘‘White House says Japsattack Pearl Harbor,’’ with tremblingfingers.

‘‘Every major story in the world isgoing to make a twist or a turn throughWashington, whether it’s a questionableUkrainian presidential election or TerriSchiavo,’’ Johnson said.AP spread out in D.C.

About half the bureau’s reporterswork directly from the places theycover, including four at the WhiteHouse, six on Capitol Hill and two eachat the State Department, the Pentagonand the Supreme Court.

The 11 a.m. news meeting shapes aday already in motion. After the bureauchief ’s morning conference call withNew York managers and other key


AP Washingtonby the numbers

• The bureau is run by a chief, with

three assistant chiefs and five news edi-

tors.

• The Washington reporting staff of 45

is organized into about 20 beats. Within

these beats are subspecialties such as a

tax writer at Congress, a polling specialist

in politics, a Food and Drug

Administration writer in the science beat

and a Securities and Exchange

Commission reporter in the economics

beat. In addition, general assignment and

enterprise writers cover a full range of

topics.

• A core group of a dozen editors

handles copy from 66 national and region-

al writers and files directly to the wire

around the clock.

• Twelve photographers and five

photo editors cover Washington.

• One political editor is responsible

for coordinating coverage of campaigns.

• Sixteen regional reporters cover

Washington news of specific interest to

33 states.

• Five reporters and editors are devot-

ed to World Services, writing and filing

news from the capital of interest overseas

and reporting to a supervisor in

Washington.

• One news editor for multimedia

oversees development of news for the

Internet.

• Two graphic artists and a multimedia

editor provide layering for top stories and

enterprise projects.

• Ten technicians report to the chief

of communications.

• Two librarians do research.

• Three editorial assistants support the

work of editors and reporters.

• Seven administrative employees and

office assistants support the bureau.

AP COVERAGE

Sandy Johnson

AP political writer Ron Fournier confers with Washington Chief of BureauSandy Johnson on election night, Nov. 2, 2004, in the AP Washington Bureau.


AP COVERAGE


bureaus, Washington editors discussstory lines and photo, multimedia andgraphic arrangements, and make initialchoices on which stories to offer for thedigest, AP’s menu of top news.

Editors regroup after 5 p.m. to take asimilar look at the night and overnightahead.

Big stories moving under a reporter’sbyline are almost certain to include thework of other reporters, as well as thehands of the copy editors.

When a federal air marshal shot deada mentally ill man believed to have beencarrying a bomb at the Miami airportin December, three Washingtonreporters worked their homeland secu-rity, transportation security and FBIsources to feed information to theMiami bureau. Such collaboration is aconstant within the bureau as well asbetween Washington and other parts ofthe AP. It helps explain why AP scoredbeats on all three of President Bush’sSupreme Court nominations in 2005.

‘‘We were first with all those storiesbecause we had a core group ofreporters who were working sources atthe White House, in the advocacygroups and on Capitol Hill,’’ Johnsonsaid.

‘‘In a lot of Washington bureaus,people very jealously guard their beatsand their territory. Here, teamwork is anecessity. It’s a real strength of thisoperation, as well as the AP at large.

‘‘If we smell a story, we go after it fullbore and use all assets that the AP hasto try to break it.’’Reporting the local angle

The cross-beat pollination expressesitself in other ways, too. The 16 regionalreporters, digging for Washington newsspecific to the 33 states they cover, oftenjoin with the national operation tobuild a story with impact across thecountry.

Generalists on the enterprise teamtap into beat expertise for in-depthpieces, profiles and analyses. So, too, theinvestigative reporters on the specialassignment team, as they track unfold-ing tales of ethical lapses and corrup-tion in Congress.

Multimedia integration is a growingphenomenon in the bureau, as in theAP generally, in response to the needs of

newspaper and commercial Web sitesfor a continuous flow of spot news andenterprise. The special assignmentteam, for example, now must ensurethat every project it does includes everyAP format — print, television, multi-media, photos and graphics.

It’s a world the AP man with the tallhat would not recognize. Other essen-tials, though, would seem familiar toLawrence Gobright. He was a pioneer inobjective journalism, declaring, ‘‘Mybusiness is merely to communicatefacts. My instructions do not allow meto make any comments upon the facts

which I communicate.’’That ideal has always underpinned

the AP. It was expressed perhaps mostcolorfully by bureau chief Charles A.Boynton, who took charge of the opera-tion in 1892 and instructed staff:

‘‘If anybody should ever come to youand ask for the publication or suppres-sion of anything on the ground of somealleged acquaintance or relationshipwith me or with any other official orperson supposed to be influential inThe Associated Press, throw him out thewindow and report the case to the coro-ner.’’

White House reporters Deb Riechmann (left), Nedra Pickler, Jennifer Loven andAP White House correspondent Terence Hunt at the White House on Dec. 15.(AP, Ron Edmonds)

Associated Press senior White House photographer Ron Edmonds at the WhiteHouse on Dec. 13. (AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)


QIs The Associated Pressmonitoring network andcable television news shows

for news developments? CNN’sLarry King, for example, may havean exclusive interview with acelebrity or public figure. Does thegist of that interview get turnedinto a story for distribution in theAP? And what about AP’s coverageof broadcast investigative stories,such as those developed by CBS’‘‘60 Minutes’’?

AWe are better equipped thanever to monitor TV news 24/7.News channels play in every AP

newsroom and are monitored closely byprint and online editors at the New YorkSupervisory Desk, at New York Photos,at the Broadcast News Center inWashington, D.C., and the Washingtonbureau. A system at the Broadcast NewsCenter puts the closed-captioned text ofkey broadcasts on an internal Web pagethat AP editors can call up for a quicklook at the broadcasts’ contents.

In addition, a video server systeminstalled last fall in New York makesaround-the-clock video recordings of sixtelevision channels — ABC, NBC, CBS,CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. Severaleditors can access the server at once,playing back parts of different recordingssimultaneously.

Finally, we have a 125-channel internalcable system in our New York news-room linked to the New York mastercontrol room of AP Television News.Through the system, our editors can seelive feeds from across the United Statesand the world.

Shows like ‘‘60 Minutes’’ and ‘‘LarryKing Live’’ are usually good about notify-ing us in advance when they’re going tohave newsworthy broadcasts, and we areglad to pick up their material on merits.We reported, for instance, on PrinceCharles’ exclusive interview with CBS’‘‘60 Minutes’’ ahead of his trip to theUnited States, and on Larry King’s inter-view with Vice President Dick Cheney onconditions at Guantanamo.

Questions?If you have a question you’d

like The Associated Press toanswer in APME News, let usknow. E-mail questions [email protected] or callMark Bowden, APME Newseditor, (319) 398-5869.

QWhat preparations has TheAssociated Press made forimmediate coverage (obitu-

aries) for high-profile Americanswho die? Do AP members haveaccess to an ‘‘archive’’ of prewrittenobituaries for celebrities, digni-taries, public officials, sports figuresand so forth?

A The AP has more than 1,000prewritten obituaries ready toroll, covering notables from all

walks of life and all corners of the globe—world leaders, politicians, actors, ath-letes, tycoons, innovators and just plaininteresting people of every stripe.

For example, a look at the last nameBaker gives a sense of the breadth of ourpreparedness: We have former Secretaryof State James Baker, actress CarrollBaker, journalist Russell Baker, Medal ofHonor winner Vernon Baker, former Sen.Howard Baker and, well, Tammy FayeBakker (now Messner).

And we’re adding fresh prewrittenobituaries all the time. Of late, we’veproduced obituary prep on actress JulieAndrews, jazz trumpeter MaynardFerguson, former astronaut FrankBorman and W. Mark Felt, unmasked asWatergate’s Deep Throat.

Many of these prewritten obituariesare accompanied by bio boxes, chronolo-gies, filmographies, book excerpts andother pertinent sidebars.

AP members do not have access to anarchive of our obituaries, though we’vediscussed whether and how to make thatpossible. For major figures, we’vereleased parts of our preparedness early.When Pope John Paul II was near death,for example, we transmitted many of ourprewritten sidebars on a hold-for-releasebasis so members could get them readyfor print. That’s definitely something we’llbe doing more of in the future.

QWhat is The AssociatedPress doing to limit the useof anonymous sources in

news stories? Beyond the reporterand, perhaps the bureau chief, do APnews executives (executive editor,managing editor) know the identitiesof the anonymous sources in signifi-cant national and international news?When it comes to distributing mem-ber copy with anonymous sources,does the AP ascertain that the mem-ber’s guidelines for using anonymoussources are at least as strong as theAP’s guidelines?

AWe have updated our anonymoussource guidelines and distributedthem to the staff as part of our

recently published News Values andPrinciples. We asked news managers lastsummer to hold workshops for the staffabout the dos and don’ts of anonymoussources, emphasizing our strong preferencefor on-the-record reporting. Our corerules are not new — we’ve been usingthem for a decade. Here they are:

1. The material is information and notopinion or speculation, and is vital to thenews report.

2. The information is not availableexcept under the conditions of anonymityimposed by the source.

3. The source is reliable and in a posi-tion to have accurate information.

Reporters typically vet their sourcematerial with their direct supervisor. If it isparticularly sensitive, a more senior manag-er may be brought into the vetting to makesure the anonymous source material meetsAP standards — and yours.

But those cases should be rare. Themore people who know the identity of theanonymous source, the greater the chancesthat the identity will be mistakenlyrevealed. Or, in a worst-case scenario,ordered by a judge to be revealed.

Our spell-check software halts on varia-tions of the word ‘‘anonymous’’ to give thecopy desk one last chance to make surethe information has been properly vetted.

When member copy uses anonymoussources, we start by applying the first twotests outlined above. If we conclude that itis vital information and unobtainable on therecord, we do our best to determine No.3, based on what we know about the mem-ber policy as well as the track record ofthe publication and the reporter involved.

We also require staffers to do theirown reporting to try to match the material(if we succeed, we’ll credit the member inour copy for breaking the story) or at leastget some guidance from our own sources.

QUESTIONS FOR THE AP

Questions forthe AP are

answered by MikeSilverman,

Associated Press managing

editor


APME CONFERENCE

LOOKBACK,LOOKAHEAD

APME at San Jose: Highlights of a successful conference

I nspiring stories of journalists who perseveredin the face of Hurricane Katrina and its after-math, and insightful challenges by readers to do

better — those are a few of the scenes that emergedfrom the 72nd annual Associated Press ManagingEditors conference, ‘‘The Next Big Thing.’’

Held Oct. 26-29 at the Fairmont Hotel in SanJose, Calif., the conference drew more than 500 edi-tors, students and guests, about 30 percent moreparticipants than in 2004.

Dealing with the changing face of the newspaperbusiness, economic concerns, the year’s biggestnews stories, coverage of the Iraq war and gettingback to the basics of good editing and planningwere of prime concern to participants. Scheduledworkshops reflected that.

Editors could choose from an array of seminars.Here’s a digest version (thanks to the staff of theAPME Gazette) of what they heard, in big groupsand small:


APME CONFERENCE

What’s new? What’s next?Panelists Tony Ridder, chairman and

CEO of Knight Ridder, Bill Ostendorf,founder of Creative Circle MediaConsulting, and Vivienne Sosnowski,executive editor of the free daily SanFrancisco Examiner, addressed competi-tion in an increasingly niche-basedmarket. The session raised some point-ed discussion about staff layoffs, bettermarket research and whether newspa-pers can change a ‘‘dull’’ image amongyounger readers.Coverage of Katrina

Editors and reporters who foundthemselves in the middle of HurricaneKatrina’s devastation shared their sto-ries, accompanied by dramatic video.

Peter Kovacs, managing editor of theNew Orleans Times-Picayune, said page

views on the paper’s Web affiliate,www.nola.com, zoomed from 1 milliona day to as high as 30 million during theheight of the crisis. ‘‘The only thing thatstood up was the Internet,’’ Kovacs saidin a panel discussion.

Stan Tiner, editor of the Sun Heraldin Biloxi, Miss., said, ‘‘Katrina wouldbecome the all-consuming story of ourlives.’’

Mary Foster, a reporter for the NewOrleans bureau of The Associated Press,spoke of spending days in the LouisianaSuperdome with Katrina evacuees. Shedispelled rumors of crimes being com-mitted inside the Superdome.

Kovacs assured APME members thecity would be ready to play host to the2006 APME conference, as planned, atthe New Orleans Astor Crowne Plaza

Hotel. ‘‘If people want to show supportfor New Orleans, the best they can do iscome to the convention,’’ he said.Building a winning team

The bonds forged between formerSan Francisco 49ers Coach Bill Walshand safety Ronnie Lott were evident asthe duo led a discussion on ‘‘WhenWinning is the Only Thing.’’

Walsh and Lott encouraged editorsto take the time to develop eachemployee’s skills to create a betterorganization. Education of employees isone of the keys to developing a winningteam, they said.

Walsh said one-on-one time he spentdeveloping a player’s expertise was partof his ‘‘grass-roots approach’’ to leading


Tony Ridder Bill Ostendorf

Peter Kovacs Mary Foster Stan Tiner


the 49ers to three Super Bowls. Lott said each individual and team needs tohave a ‘‘signature skill’’ or specific tal-ent.The shrinking newsroom

Fewer staffers, fewer readers. Thedilemma was addressed in a panel dis-cussion featuring stakeholders frommany parts of the newspaper industry— investors, publishers, editors, indus-try analysts and online news entrepre-neurs.

Change is a top priority, panelistsagreed. But how to bring it aboutbrought different responses.

Lynn Dickerson, publisher of theModesto (Calif.) Bee, said changingcontent won’t change the fact thatyoung people aren’t interested in tradi-tional news. ‘‘They trust Jon Stewart,’’she said, referring to the host of ‘‘TheDaily Show’’ on Comedy Central.

Ann Morris, editor of theGreensboro (N.C.) News & Record, hitupon listening to readers. ‘‘What wouldbe a revolution in newspapers is toanswer the phone,’’ Morris said. ‘‘Wehaven’t given (readers) a reason to trustus.’’

David Donald of InvestigativeReporters and Editors argued againstcutting journalists from newsrooms.‘‘People are our main source,’’ he said.Training, not higher salaries, is whatjournalists need most, he added.

Attracting more readers — andadvertisers — online is crucial, somepanelists said. ‘‘We have to manage thetransition to become online-centric,’’said Walter Baer, senior policy analyst atRand Corp.

Covering the hip-hop beatEditors more in tune with the rock

’n’ roll generation received an educationon covering hip-hop from two journal-ists and a young reader who hit atstereotypes they see in the mainstreammedia.

‘‘Hip-hop’s demographic used to bedefined as 18- to 30-year-olds who areAfrican-American or Latino American,’’said Ryan Ford, deputy editor of TheSource magazine. ‘‘However, it hasevolved into popular culture. Thedemographic can be defined as youngAmericans.’’

Ford and Marian Liu, pop musiccritic for the San Jose Mercury News,said editors need to think outside thebox and continue to look for non-tradi-tional sourcing for stories.

Using breakouts and informationboxes that define hip-hop terms canhelp bridge the gap between youngreaders and those unfamiliar with hip-hop culture.

Nashwa Emam, a college sophomoreand one of the embedded readers forthe APME conference, said reportersneed to go to high schools and middleschools and talk to students to findgood stories that will interest youngpeople.

Matters of faithImproving religion coverage is one

way to become connected to more read-ers, panelists told editors. Two-thirds ofAmerican newspapers don’t have a reli-gion section, said panelist DebraMason, executive director of theReligion Newswriters Association.

‘‘Religion affects how people vote,who and where they marry, how theyraise their children, where they areexposed to the arts, how they spendtheir free time and where they give theirmoney. No other topic is more impor-tant and touches people more,’’ Masonsaid.

Deborah Caldwell, managing editorof the online religion publicationBeliefnet, reminded the audience ofinterest by young people in religion andspirituality. Robert Mong, editor of theDallas Morning News, said religionreporting can be strengthened by seek-ing out reporters who are experts ondifferent religions.

APME embedded reader LeslieHoover, 58, of Kansas City, Mo., saidnewspapers don’t provide enough reli-gion coverage.Strengthening online

In workshops on ‘‘News on the Web’’and ‘‘Convergence,’’ panelists sharedinnovative ideas to strengthen onlinenews gathering and presentation.

Geri Migielicz, director of photogra-phy at the San Jose Mercury News, tout-ed the benefits of video podcasting.‘‘When we put local, community-relatedcontent on (the Web site), we get thou-sands of page views,’’ Migielicz said.Some of that interest is coming fromyoung readers newspapers are scram-bling to attract.

Still, many journalists have been slowto shift to new ways of bringing infor-mation to the public. ‘‘Some people area little afraid,’’ said Richard KociHernandez, staff photojournalist/multi-media producer at the San Jose MercuryNews. ‘‘They’re afraid because there’s anew learning curve. Now, in a sense, weare asking them to be something new. Ibelieve it’s a new kind of journalistwe’re asking, especially photographers,to become.’’

During the ‘‘News on the Web’’ pres-entation, Tom Mallory, San DiegoUnion-Tribune breaking news editor,


APME CONFERENCE

Ryan Ford Marian LiuLynnDickerson

Ann Morris

Robert Mong

said one challenge he faced was gettingreporters accustomed to dealing withthe faster pace of online publishing. Hesaid some newsroom staffers wereunhappy after being scooped, in theirview, by the breaking news staff.

Robin Henry, deputy managing edi-tor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’swww.ajc.com, said big, breaking storiesare what her team does best, citing herWeb site’s coverage of the Atlanta court-house shooting in March. ‘‘We hadrecord-breaking audiences,’’ Henry saidof the coverage, which won the Journal-Constitution the APMEOnlineConvergence Award. The award waspresented at the conference.N.Y.Times editor speaks

As events surrounding the case ofNew York Times reporter Judith Millerreached fever pitch, Times ManagingEditor John Geddes acknowledged theinteresting timing of his keynoteappearance at the conference, the invi-tation for which had come months ear-lier.

Geddes kept the luncheon audiencein full attention as he spoke not only ofthe issues facing the Times, but theentire industry.

‘‘Miller and the Times believed thatif she identified her confidential sourceto a prosecutor without the express per-mission from the source, no futuresource would have confidence in ourwork and pledge of confidentiality,’’ hesaid.

Geddes advised: ‘‘Jump in with bothfeet to defend a reporter, but beabsolutely sure about what you’redefending.’’

A day later, Geddes led a workshopfor frontline newsroom editors duringAPME’s NewsTrain. He stressed thatcommunication between a reporter andan editor is all-important and thatissues should be addressed directly andnot allowed to fester.Embedded readers speak

A panel of APME embedded readersgave editors a road map for making bet-ter connections with readers.

Addressing diversity, reaching out to

young people, paying attention to inter-national news that affects people intheir communities as well as doing abetter job on local news — all thoseissues were addressed by the panelists.The panel represented a cross section ofages, occupations and ethnicities.

Nashwa Emam, 19, of Oakland,Calif., a Muslim, said she turns to Al-Jazeera television and the BritishBroadcasting Corp. to find more com-prehensive treatment of internationalissues. ‘‘Every time I open the paper, Ifeel like it’s all about terrorists,’’ shesaid.

Recent immigrants and their chil-dren turn from American media tointernational news sources, she said.‘‘You still feel like a visitor because yourpeople and your culture aren’t beingcovered,’’ she said.

Ernesto Barnett, 65, of Tucson, Ariz.,expressed similar views. ‘‘Try to find outwhat each one of us contributes to thecountry,’’ he said. ‘‘Find out what eachone of us wants to give to make ourcountry great.’’

Helen Healy, 38, of Mankato, Minn.,said new reporters and editors needmore solid grounding in local historyand the community in which theywork. ‘‘They come out of college andthey’re well-educated, but when theymove into your community, they knownothing about it. When the communityknows the newspaper staff, they tend totrust them more.’’

The readers were involved in paneldiscussions throughout the conference,and editors had a chance to speak withmany of them individually.


APME CONFERENCE

Tom Mallory Robin Henry

John Geddes

Embedded readers panel: Erik Duane, Veronica Huapaya, Patricia Scanlan, Tyler Hillman, Helen Healy, Thomas Lee,Nashwa Emam, Nathan Yan and Ernesto Barnett.


Glen Crevier,assistant managingeditor/sports at theMinneapolis StarTribune, is presidentof the AssociatedPress Sports Editors.He can be contactedat 1-(612) 673-4748 ore-mail [email protected]

W hile on a trip to the WestCoast recently, I picked upa sports section from a

newspaper I long had held in highregard for its breadth of coverage andrich content.

I was stunned by what I was holding.The sports section bore little resem-blance to what once was one of the bestin the country. It was a classic case oftrying to fit 60 columns of news into anewshole half that size.

Too many stories were crammedonto the cover, photos were too small,inside pages too gray, a major nationalsports event was taking place but nostaff writer was in attendance, and sto-ries that deserved good play in a majormetropolitan section — and a competi-tive newspaper market — were relegat-ed to briefs.

And we’re shocked readers are turn-ing away from us?

Because I know the sports editor, Iwas aware of some issues he faced: ashrinking newshole, a slashed travelbudget, too few people to cover toomany stories, and decisions being madeby corporate headquarters with WallStreet in mind.

It’s the same tale of woe with virtual-ly every sports editor I know, regardlessof the newspaper’s circulation. We areall affected in some way by the gloomand doom that envelops our business.

We scratch our heads over a businessmodel that gives the product away freeonline. We write memos to our editorsthat criticize decisions to cut news outof the paper or to freeze a key staffposition. In some cases we wonder howwe can concentrate on our jobs while

worrying if our jobs will exist if thecompany is sold or more downsizingoccurs.

I am fortunate to work for a manag-ing editor (Scott Gillespie) who is sym-pathetic to the changes taking place inour section. He lets me vent, and when Ileave his office, I am ready to take onthe challenge, as unpleasant as that issometimes.

He also lets me innovate, which iscrucial to the success of our section.

We have moved content exclusivelyonline. We have dispensed with sometraditional stories and instead producewhat we call ‘‘charticles’’ (half stories,half charts) that provide key informa-tion in a quick-read format. And weoften display them as centerpieces.

We’ve made some changes out ofnecessity, others because of the chang-ing profile of our readers.

I have spoken to enough sports edi-tors to know that as a group we aremore than ready to have the importantconversation about the future of sportssections and how we distribute news.

It’s been a slow process. Most of usgrew up aspiring to break the big storyin the morning edition. Putting a break-ing news scoop online at 2 p.m. hastaken some getting used to for manyeditors (not to mention our writers).But we accept it now.

We have little choice in a worldwhere readers want news on demandand where the score of last night’s gameis etched in their memories long beforethey pick up the morning newspaper. Ifwe want to stay competitive, we have tochange and innovate.

We live in a 24/7 news cycle, and oursections are just one venue for reportingthe news.

Sports editors with vision are care-fully auditing their sections and comingup with interesting conclusions: Goodwriting still matters, sports fans cravecommentary, analysis and enterprise,and no one can cover local sports andprovide that unique content like we do.

As we continue to discuss what oursections will look like in a year, threeyears, even five years — and be assured,

these will be discussion points at thewinter meeting of the Associated PressSports Editors — it’s important thatsports departments be allowed to takerisks, to discern what’s important ineach local market and to offer readersnew and different story forms to sup-plement that coverage.

That might involve cutting back onstaples. Maybe it’s event coverage. Ornational roundups. Or scoreboardagate. Maybe it’s eliminating some long-standing beats. Readers may voice theirdispleasure.

But something must compensate fortighter newsholes and shrinking staffs ifwe want to offer stories that matter:enterprise, investigative reporting andthoughtful commentary that is exclusiveto our sections and Web sites.

We owe it to our readers to ventureinto new areas and take some chances.Maybe a staff-written blog is a goodidea, where writers can stretch theboundaries of a traditional news reportand offer more insight and interpreta-tive analysis. Or a weekly podcast. Ormaybe audio and video from projects.

Try a roundtable discussion onlinewith beat reporters, columnists ornewsmakers. Hire a reporter who worksexclusively online. Promote an editor todo the same.

Or try something really radical likeputting some stories — such as our tra-ditional 18-inch advances — onlineonly while freeing space in the printsection for other things. Shift theemphasis and train our print readers toexpect more coverage on our Web sites.

These decisions will be unique toeach market. What we do inMinneapolis might not make sense inIndianapolis. But it will make sense toour readers.

Sports editors are quickly adaptingto a new readership in a swiftly chang-ing business environment. We maystruggle along the way, and we mayneed a morale boost at times from ourmanaging editors as we figure it out.

But we get it. We know we’re in afight for survival and it’s no longerbusiness as usual.

APSE PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Think outside the box score


Steve Gonzales isdirector ofphotography at the HoustonChronicle. He can be reached at 1-(713)362-7444 or by e-mail at [email protected]

I t is with great pride and honor thatI assume the presidency of theAssociated Press Photo Managers.

Following the footsteps of the foundingboard and past presidents, I am hum-bled to be part of this great organiza-tion.

I cannot express in words the admi-ration I have for Chris Stanfield,APPM’s president this past year. Hisleadership and dedication guided theAPPM to a successful conference in SanJose, Calif.

I look forward to a year of hardwork as we prepare for a historic con-ference in New Orleans. As NewOrleans rebuilds from the devastationof Hurricane Katrina, we look forwardto celebrating the rebirth of this greatcity. And in the spirit of building andrebuilding, I plan to lead the APPM toretain and add photo managers to ourmembership.

In October we held our annual con-ference with the Associated PressManaging Editors. The conference was

outstanding. Our sessions dealt withethics and access, video and still pho-tography convergence, crisis manage-ment, lessons learned from photo-graphic successes, and coverage ofKatrina’s aftermath in New Orleans. Allsessions were powerful and informative.

I have always enjoyed theAPME/APPM annual conferencebecause the workshops and ‘‘couchtime’’ with fellow managers providevaluable information that I take back tomy newsroom.

This year, the crisis management ses-sion hit home with many editors whohave had to review images of death anddestruction, most recently fromHurricane Katrina. A panel discussioninvolved photojournalists who coveredwars and two photo editors who weredisplaced from their homes byHurricane Katrina. Many editors cameto this session seeking information onhow to help staff members who hadcovered horrific news. It was shockingto see the number of editors who werestruggling with how trauma affectednot only their photographers and fellowphoto editors but themselves.

Too often photo editors and man-agers do not take the time to check inwith our colleagues who are exposed toterrible events as they edit daily fromthe wires and staff-produced images.The APPM will address this issue dur-ing my term.

Five new members were elected tothe board: Charles Borst, the

Fredericksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star;Randy Greenwall, the San FranciscoChronicle; Robert Miller, the Raleigh(N.C.) News & Observer; KatePatterson, USA Today; and JohnRumbach, the Jasper (Ind.) Herald.These talented journalists will comple-ment our board.

We are honored to have NaomiHalperin of the Allentown (Pa.)Morning Call move to vice president.Mike Fender of the Indianapolis Starbecame treasurer, and Charles Borstwas elected secretary. I am looking for-ward to working with each of these out-standing journalists this year.

As my term begins, I have to go backto the mission that the handful ofphoto managers came up with at thebeginning. They wanted to share theirknowledge and concerns with otherphoto managers. They hoped to makeour profession stronger by bringingother photo managers in to have frankdiscussions regarding photojournalism.Now we are bringing photo managerstogether from staffs of one to severaldozen.

Hence, I have asked our members tomake my term the year of growth andretention. I recently mailed letters toeditors of Associated Press-membernewspapers in the United States, askingthem to invest in the visual leaders oftheir newsrooms. As newspapers cutexpenses while trying to retain andgrow their circulation, we need toensure that visual editors are sharinginformation with other photo editorsfrom across the country.

APPM is dedicated to giving photomanagers the tools they need to be suc-cessful newsroom leaders.

This will be an active year as we con-tinue to grow and prepare for our con-ference in New Orleans. I encourageyou to become active in the APPM. Iam rolling up my sleeves and ready togive my all.

I am honored to be a member of theAPPM. I hope you will honor me alongwith the members of the board and joinor renew your membership with theAssociated Press Photo Managers.

PHOTO MANAGERS

Our 2006 goals: Retain and gain

Doug Parker, photo editor of the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, tells an APPMconference session in San Jose, Calif., how his paper covered Hurricane Katrina.


MEMBER SHOWCASE PHOTO

SeptemberMember Showcase photo of the month

Richard Alan Hannon

has been a

photographer for the

Baton Rouge (La.)

Advocate for the past

five years. Previously,

he worked at The

State at Columbia,

S.C., the Casper

(Wyo.) Star-Tribune

and the Mansfield

(Ohio) News-Journal.

Richard AlanHannon

A Hurricane Katrina evacuee is attended to outside the Louisiana Superdome inNew Orleans on Sept. 1. Shortly afterward, police carried the woman away andsaid she had died. (AP Photo/The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., Richard AlanHannon)

B aton Rouge (La.) Advocate

photographer Richard Alan

Hannon captured this image

about 7:30 a.m. Sept. 1 as he pho-

tographed Hurricane Katrina evacuees

in and around the Louisiana

Superdome in New Orleans. Shortly

afterward, police carried the woman

away and said she had died.

‘‘I shot the photograph through a

window inside the Poydras Plaza, a

glassed-in building filled with high-end

shops. The Louisiana State Police, only

a handful of them, were on the inside of

the building with me.’’ They insisted

that Hannon and another photogra-

pher, Charlie Varley, stay inside ‘‘since

they were concerned that if we went

outside to photograph the scene of the

dying woman, that the huge crowd

gathered outside the building waiting to

get in would react negatively.’’

‘‘I shot a series of photographs,

which show the man kneeling at the

woman’s side giving her mouth-to-

mouth resuscitation, praying over her

and then carrying her away with the

help of the Louisiana State Police officer

whose shotgun is seen on the left in the

photograph.’’


A bald eagle snatches a salmon out of Lake Coeurd'Alene near Higgens Point on Nov. 15 in Coeurd'Alene, Idaho. About a dozen eagles were flyingnear the area of Beauty and Wolf Lodge bays. (APPhoto/Coeur d'Alene Press, Jason Hunt)

MEMBER SHOWCASE PHOTOS

AugustMember Showcase photo of the month

NovemberMember Showcase photo of the month

Peace activists gather Aug.25 near crossesrepresenting militarymembers who have died inIraq. The crosses are nearPresident Bush's ranchoutside Crawford, Texas.(AP Photo/Dallas MorningNews, Barbara Davidson)

Energized by spawning season,two Chinook salmon leap whiletwo anglers fish in the Port ofKenosha, Wis., on Oct. 4. (APPhoto/Kenosha News, Bill Siel)

OctoberMember Showcase photo of the month


By Rosemary GoudreauEditorial Page Editor Tampa Tribune

I f your editorial page focuses on thecommunity, gets excited aboutthings and executes at the highest

levels, your opinion pages will helpdrive readership and increase yournewspaper’s influence.

If your editorial page is gray, pre-dictable or, worst of all, boring, it’s notdoing its part in making your paper amust-read every day.

The challenge is clear: Editorial pagesmust increase their appeal if they wantto stay relevant and grow an ever-changing audience.

At the Tampa Tribune, changes madeover the last two years have significantlybuilt readership and made the editorialpage a destination spot. People regularlytell us, ‘‘After scanning page one, I goright to your page.’’

Readership is up by 30 percentbecause we are focusing on interestingissues, engaging in crusades that com-mand attention and paying attention tovisual presentation, including photoeditorials.

Probably as much as anything, we’veincreased editorial page readership bygetting excited about things, writing ina conversational voice and meticulouslypolishing headlines. Also, during plan-ning sessions, we ask ourselves: ‘‘What’sinteresting? What are people talkingabout? What’s important — in the newsand not in the news?’’Local, local, local

We have a strong bias toward localissues, writing about interesting thingsthat matter to people’s lives, providinginsight readers can’t get anywhere else.

Editing a consistently good editorialpage starts with a mastery of the paper’svalues and a strategy for championingthem. It thrives on smart ideas andgood planning. It stays flexible, yet notoverly reflexive. It embraces the reader-ship tools that newsrooms have used foryears: graphics, pullouts, tips boxes andbriefs. It stretches every day.

Photos are a big part of our success.Not just mug shots of people or build-ings, but photos of events or situations.Photos bring an extra entry point to theeditorial page and a new dimension fortime-starved readers: captions thatcarry opinion. Television and magazinesregularly marry photos with commen-tary. Publishing a photo, complete withpunchy caption, can draw readers to theeditorial page, too.

In fact, editorial pages can learnmuch from magazines, cable televisionand online forums. People, especiallyyoung people, are flocking to opinioncontent because it helps them makesense of things, think things throughand hear what people are talking about.The best forums are visual, interesting,flavored with personality, sometimessober, sometimes funny.

Magazines feature people on theircovers because editors know people pic-tures drive readership. There’s a lessonthere for opinion pages. Our staff wasespecially proud of getting ParisHilton’s picture on the page with aneditorial about cell phone security. Thehacking of her high-tech wireless phonewas the hot topic among young peoplethat week, and we wanted to reflect

their issue and icon on our page.Graphics are essential

Graphics also are helping draw newreaders to the editorial page. We likegraphics that illustrate a key fact essen-tial to the editorial. For example, in aneditorial about the state attorney’s officeasking for more lawyers, we published agraphic showing the steep increase incaseloads over the last five years.

If interesting enough, graphics canmake people stop and pay attention.

Our op-ed page has grown reader-ship, too, by offering a greater variety ofvoices and tighter editing of syndicatedcolumnists. We’ve created a Board ofCommunity Columnists, whichincludes a Teen Board. Readers say theyfind these local writers fresh and unpre-dictable. We also regularly hold round-tables for folks to talk in-depth aboutlocal matters. And we hold Q&As withlocal newsmakers.

We’ve grown readership by increas-ing our relevance and engagement. Atthe same time, we’ve grown the newspa-per’s leadership role.

Our opinion pages define themselvesas the place to be seen and heard ingreater Tampa.

And that draws readers.

Samples of a photo feature of the Tampa Tribune's editorial page, which hashelped drive readership at this Florida newspaper.

READERSHIP

Opinion pages: Mix it up


THE JUMP PAGE

LeadershipCONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

Encourage them to experience the real world also.

Stimulate creative thinking, not justabout the news of the day, but aboutevery aspect of the newspaper. Create aregular roundtable where all kinds ofinformation and ideas can be exchangedfrom bottom to top. Have lunch withthe clerks and new reporters as often aswith your key editors.

Open everything to review but thecore values of journalism. Those values,which are given special consideration in the Constitution, distinguish legiti-mate journalism from all competitorsand ultimately will ensure its survival.

Keep the faith; be a leader

Pam Luecke, former editor of the

Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader (1996-2001), is the Reynolds Professor ofBusiness Journalism at Washington andLee University.

Your company’s up for sale, circula-tion’s skidding, pro-fessional heroes arefalling from theirpedestals. What’s abeleaguered manag-ing editor to do?

Go back tobasics.

Focus on goodjournalism, servingthe public, givingreaders the newsthey need to make decisions about theircommunity and nation. Reread afavorite book about why journalismmatters. Explain the First Amendment

to a sixth-grade class. Invite a collegeclass to suggest ways to make yournewspaper more appealing. SkipRomenesko for a day.

Sure, times are tough for our indus-try. If you must curse the Wall Streetanalysts who think you manufacturewidgets, do so behind closed doors,with just a few close colleagues. Or finda buddy at another newspaper withwhom you can rant.

For public consumption, remindyour staff that there are great stories tobe uncovered and told; that they’relucky to have fascinating jobs thatchange every day; that there’s nothingto prevent any one of them from writ-ing something tomorrow that mightchange the world.

If you say it often enough, they —and you — just might believe it. That’swhat leadership is all about.

Pam Luecke

ASSOCIATED PRESS MANAGING EDITORS Board of Directors

DIRECTORS (Terms expiring in 2006)

Ellen Foley, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wis. Chris Kelley, dallasnews.com, the Dallas MorningNews Andrew Oppmann, the Post-Crescent, Appleton,Wis. Karen Peterson, the News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Laura Sellers-Earl, East Oregonian Publishing Co. George Stanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Calvin Stovall, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghampton,N.Y.Ken Tuck, the Dothan (Ala.) Eagle

(Terms expiring in 2007)Scott W. Angus, the Janesville (Wis.) Gazette Mark Bowden, Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Mike Davis, Journal Interactive, Milwaukee JournalSentinel Lance Johnson, The Day, New London, Conn. Donna Reed, Media General, Publishing Division,Richmond, Va.Otis Sanford, the Commercial Appeal, Memphis,Tenn. Steve Sidlo, Dayton (Ohio) Daily NewsTroy Turner, the Anniston (Ala.) Star

(Terms expiring in 2008)Tom Eblen, the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader Jon Fortt, San Jose Mercury News Joseph Garcia, the Daily Times, Farmington, N.M. Rosemary Goudreau, The Tampa Tribune Jennifer Houtman, the Marietta (Ohio) TimesHank Klibanoff, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Everett Mitchell, The Tennessean, Nashville Hollis Towns, the Cincinnati Enquirer

APME News accepts paid advertising, and reserves the right to accept or decline advertising at the discretion of theeditor. To inquire about rates and the publication schedule, contact Mark Bowden at [email protected] or 1-(319) 398-5869.

OFFICERSPresident: Suki Dardarian, the Seattle Times Vice President: Karen Magnuson, Rochester(N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle Treasurer: Karen Peterson, The NewsTribune, Tacoma, Wash.Secretary: David Ledford, The News Journal,Wilmington, Del. Journalism Today Chairman: Bobbie Jo Buel,Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Ariz. Journalism Today Vice Chairman: to beselected

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE(officers above plus)

Past President: Deanna Sands, Omaha (Neb.)World-Herald AP Senior Vice President/ExecutiveEditor: Kathleen Carroll, New YorkAP Vice President/Managing Editor: MikeSilverman, New York APME News Editor: Mark Bowden, TheGazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Conference Program: Donna Reed, MediaGeneral, Publishing Division, Richmond, Va., andAndrew Oppmann, the Post-Crescent, Appleton,Wis. Regional Programs: Lance Johnson, The Day,New London, Conn.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORMark Mittelstadt, Associated Press, 450 W.33rd St., New York, N.Y. 10001www.apme.com

COMMITTEESAPME/APPM/APSE Liaison: Otis Sanford,the Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.Contest: Laura Sellers-Earl, East OregonianPublishing Co., and Christine McNeal, MilwaukeeJournal SentinelCommunications: Laura Sellers-Earl, EastOregonian Publishing Co. Marketing: Richard Luna, Ventura County Star,Ventura, Calif.Membership: Ken Tuck, the Dothan (Ala.)Eagle, and Ellen Foley, Wisconsin State Journal,Madison, Wis.Nominating: to be namedProjects Steering: Deanna Sands, Omaha(Neb.) World-Herald

JOURNALISM TODAY COMMITTEESAP Sounding Board: Rosemary Goudreau, theTampa Tribune, and John X. Miller, Detroit FreePressCredibility: Rick Hall, Deseret Morning News,Salt Lake City, and Steve Shirk, Kansas City StarDiversity: Calvin Stovall, Press & Sun-Bulletin,Binghampton, N.Y., and Marisa Porto, the NewsJournal, Wilmington, Del.First Amendment: Steve Sidlo, Dayton (Ohio)Daily News, and Otis Sanford, The CommercialAppeal, Memphis, Tenn. Multi-Media: Mike Davis, Journal Interactive,Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Readership: Scott W. Angus, the Janesville(Wis.) Gazette, and Brad Dennison, CommunityNewspaper Holdings Inc., Birmingham, Ala.

APME News c/o The GazetteP.O. Box 511Cedar Rapids, IA 52406

Documents

HOW TO BE A FUN WITH BETTER LEADER PODCASTING …€¦ · PODCASTING HIRING, USING FREELANCERS OPINION PAGES DRAW READERS JOSECONFERENCEINSIDE. Suki Dardarian is deputy managing editor