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Features

4 Sunshine SundayASNE unveils an ambitiouseffort to increase publicawareness of theimportance ofopen governmentBy Andrew Alexander

10 Sunshine Sundayin the Sunshine StateBy Barbara Petersen

11 Tips on conductinga public records audit

12 InternationalCuba Spring followedby yet another winterBy Edward Seaton

16 The courtsCourts side with PGAon scoringBy Kevin Goldberg

18 ConvergenceWhat, exactly, doesconvergence look like?By Lori Demo

Departments

DesignA small paper with a

radical approachto the front page

By Scott W. Angus

An American editorKen Paulson, one of the

original staff membersat USA TODAY,

is back in the newsroom,bringing fresh ideas

and energyto the newspaper

after a difficult timeBy Judy Pace Christie

Small newspapersGoing 15 rounds

with Muhammad AliBy Don Huebscher

ASNE newsA calendar of events

Photography in focusEditors face tough choices

with tsunami victim photos

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re we always journalists, or, attimes, do we put our notebooksaside? m m m m m m m m m mmWhat about picking up story

ideas? When I worked as a reporter, I likedto go to a nearby restaurant. Many newspa-per people went there as did an assortmentof people from city and county government.On any given day you might see hospital offi-cials, educators, attorneys and police officersthere.

You didnt have to snoop to hear conver-sations that were going on over lunch. Thatwas the way I learned one of our senior gov-ernment officials was in trouble. It turnedinto a major news story.

In addition to the gossip of the day, the din-ers would give their insights about the issues ofthe day. This provided an overview of whatfolks thought about the happenings that affected them.

This also is the case of parents at a high school footballgame. Frequently the conversation would turn to the newscheduling system, the principal who recently was hired or

thoughts about a levy that would be onthe ballot. These discussions could lead tostory ideas and angles.

Oh, and there was the awkwardmoment at a basketball game when someparents and I were talking about a student

who had brought a gun to a high per-forming, suburban school. When the prin-cipal heard about the incident, the studentwas called to the office and sent home.

The couple sitting beside me at thegame felt there was more to the story.They thought the treatment was harsh. Itturned out that they were the studentsparents.

Are we always journalists? Its a goodquestion because if we vary on ourbehavior, it can lead to questions about

our ethics. If you heard something at a game or social gath-ering about a wrongdoing by an official and didnt take itback to the office, you could be creating a problem for your-self and your newspaper.

Another question that comes up in my newsroom has todo with what groups, agencies or service clubs you can join.Or, is it OK to become an officer of any organization?

I have always been a proponent of staff getting involved insome community activities. Its better that we take an activerole than stand on the sidelines. We can sit in our ivorytower and pass judgment, and no one can blame us for anewsworthy action that had a negative effect on the organi-zation. Or should we roll up our sleeves and contributesomething to our community, being careful not to overshad-

ow the role of the newspaper?Its one thing to support

our schools and assist them asvolunteers. Its quite anotherto become advocates, leadcampaigns and sit on contro-versial committees. Ive alwayshad an interest in becomingan advocate and making myviews known. The trouble isthat after you haveunabashedly spoken out onan issue it becomes impossibleto write about it in a mannerthe community would viewas objective.

What if a staff memberwants to become involvedwith the Right to Life orPlanned Parenthood? As part

of our newsroom regulations, we tell staff to talk with themanaging editor before making a commitment. We want toavoid conflicts and preserve our credibility as journalists. Ofcourse, its easier for columnists who are e xpected to espousea view than for a reporter who is expected to present allsides. It can be done, but we need to be careful about howits handled.

One area that is wrought with conflict is political contri-butions and joining someones campaign. While I might com-ment through our editorial page, I would not get on a plat-

form.We frequently say that this profession is a calling, and toan extent it is. We are expected to have certain values andmake sound judgments. We need to be highly regarded if weare to be credible and respected. Thats no small matter.Thats not to say that we do not make mistakes, but weshould try to guard against them.

Just as we question the credibility of sources, the publichas a right to question us. This is a special position to hold,and we should treat it as such.

Are we journal ists a lways? You bet . And pl eased to beso.

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A N O TE F RO M T HE P RE SI DE NT

By Karla Garrett Harshaw

Are we alwaysjournalists?

Harshaw, ASNEpresident, is editorof the Springfield(Ohio) News-Sunand senior editorCox Community

Newspapers.

Choosing between sitting on the sidelinesor participating in the community

We frequently say thatthis profession is a calling,and to an extent it is. Weare expected to have cer-tain values and makesound judgments. We needto be highly regarded if weare to be credible andrespected. Thats no smallmatter.

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Jan uar y-Fe bru ary 20 05 The Ame ric an Edi to r4 Th e A me ri ca n E di to r J an ua ry- Fe br ua ry 20 05

ASNE unveils an ambitious effort to

increase public awareness of theimportance of open government

Sunshine Sunday

By Andrew Alexander

When editors get together and talk turns tofreedom of information, two things typical-ly happen.

Someone argues that government secrecy has never beenworse.

Then everyone wrings their hands and insists thatSomething Must Be Done.

These are dangerous times for opengovernment (but not the worst; more onthat later).

Something must be done and it is.ASNE is spearheading the first-ever

national Sunshine Sunday-SunshineWeek, an ambitious effort to increasepublic awareness of the frighteninggrowth of government secrecy.

On March 13 and the following week,news organizations across America daily and weekly newspapers, magazines,television and radio stations, online sites will focus on freedom of information.

Some will publish editorials, columnsand cartoons. Others will carry storiesabout the state of the publics right toknow. A number are expected to disclosethe results of audits they will have con-

Alexander is chairof the ASNEFreedom ofInformationCommittee andWashingtonBureau Chief forCox Newspapers.

ducted to gauge compliance with local and state FOI laBroadcasters will air news and feature stories. Online sites wcarry blogs and sponsor chats about government transparcy. Some news organizations even plan to host commudiscussions.

If it is successful, the weeklong effort will have raised plic consciousness of an issue critical to democracy. And it have started to turn the tide away from an acceptance of secy toward a presumption of openness.

Sunshine Sunday-Sunshine Week is arguably the most nificant FOI undertaking in ASNEs history.

Although several states, notably Florida, have organsuccessful Sunshine Sunday campaigns, the idea of a natioevent was first raised at the ASNE-led FOI Summit heldWashington in June of 2003 under the leadership of FCommittee Chair Doug Clifton.

That planted the seed, recalls Peter Bhatia, who wASNE president at the time. Months later, he remembers, mer ASNE president Tim McGuire urged him to call fonational Sunshine Sunday in his farewell address at the AS

Convention.I jumped at it, says Bhatia, as something that co

potentially have some impact.In his convention address, Bhatia sounded the alarm:There is no doubt what is happening in this country,

said. The avenues for the public to get vital informatabout the conduct of its government are being systematicshut down by a secrecy-obsessed administration. This, in thas emboldened equally recalcitrant state and local govements, which were on the nondisclosure bandwagon alread

Sunshine Week

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itate participation in Sunshine Week.Newspapers wanting to be involved

in Sunshine Week can participate inmany ways: Editorials, columns and editorial

cartoons are excellent ways to spur dis-cussion and educate readers to the valueof open government. Publish news stories on how free-

dom of information benefits real peopleand how denial of government infor-mation can hurt them (environmental

and health-related topics are good start-ing points). Spotlight individuals who have

used open government laws to obtainpublic records. Partner with your local library or

other civic organizations to sponsor apublic forum on open government issues. Speak to local groups about the

importance of freedom of information.

ASNE offers a pair of newly revisedstump speeches as a resource for edi-tors. They can be found in the FirstAmendment section of www.asne.org.

Work with your state press associ-ation or your newspapers marketingdepartment to develop public serviceads on the benefits of open government. Find a way to recognize local open

government heroes, whether they areprivate individuals, members of civicorganizations or government officials.

Encourage staffers to visischools to talk with students aboopenness is the foundation of ouernment. Conduct an open public r

audit of your own city or coujoin with other news organizataudit a region or your entire stasidebar). Work with your Newspa

Education coordinators, as well tors responsible for in-paper cgeared toward younger readers, pare a segment on open goverissues.

Not all editors have emSunshine Week. Several at majorpapers declined on grounds thahave a policy against participatwhat they see as an industrywidcacy campaign. We leave thinthis to the editorial page, saiAnother insisted that those engnews coverage should not (The Sunshine Week initiative inno lobbying of public officials.)

The vast majority of editors ethe project and see it as a way toa spotlight on a critically imppublic policy issue whether tbalanced and accurate news storthrough editorials, columns or ca

The ASNE effort is a terrificsays Associated Press PresidenCEO Tom Curley, an open govechampion. Official secrecy seemgrowing at an epidemic rate (behooves the media to begin to mthe balls of our feet and becomaggressive in covering the issue.

But, he adds, its critical to cwhat we do with the public interto line up with the people and them how important it is that th

access to what their elected reprtives are doing.

RTNDA president Barbara Cagrees that a key to success is government openness as being tant to the people, not just the p

We need to do a better explaining to the public why thisimply an issue that affects jouexclusively, but it actually concerpublics) right to information abgovernment.

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SU N S H I N E SU N DA Y SU N S H I N E S U N DA Y

Before the convention had ended,ASNEs FOI Committee met and decid-ed a national Sunshine Sunday was itstop priority.

Within months, the Miami-basedJohn S. and James L. Knight Foundationhad weighed in with a critical $100,000grant. Two national co-coordinatorswere quickly hired and planning beganat breakneck speed.

It didnt take long to decide that theinitiative needed to be more than a sin-gle Sunday. The National NewspaperAssociation, which represents smallerpapers, noted that many do not publishon Sundays. Online publishers observedthat visitation rates are low on Sundays.And others argued that a multiday proj-ect would offer a greater opportunityfor panels and seminars to be held oncampuses or at local libraries.

Echoing that concern were broad-casters, who pointed out that televisionand radio stations could have greaterimpact if they could air stories duringthe week, when viewing audiences arelarger. That Knight Foundation recog-nized the importance of broadcast par-ticipation and soon provided anothersubstantial grant to the Radio-TelevisionNews Directors Association. The groupwill prepare video news packages thatcan be aired as is, or as part of locallyproduced broadcast stories.

So Sunshine Sunday quickly becameSunshine Week. And by the time it wasofficially announced to the press onDec. 14, a solid organizational frame-work was in place.

The backbone of the effort is a 54-person steering committee that includesprominent newspaper and magazineeditors, media company owners andexecutives, well-known columnists,

leading journalism educators and theheads of major industry organizationssuch as ASNE, the NewspaperAssociation of America, RTNDA, NNA,the Society of Professional Journalists,the Associated Press Managing Editors,Investigative Reporters and Editors.

The two national co-coordinatorshave been the key planners. One isDebra Gersh Hernandez, the formervice president of communications forNAA who also had been Washington

editor for Editor & Publisher magazine.The other was Ray Ollwerther, formervice president of news and executiveeditor of The Asbury Park Press inNew Jersey; he left the project inJanuary to take a top communicationsjob at Princeton University, his almamater.

Aiding them have been formerMiami Herald Managing Editor Pete

Weitzel, a passionate FOI championwho heads the Washington-basedCoalition of Journalists for OpenGovernment, and ASNE ExecutiveDirector Scott B osley.

By early January, they had puttogether key structures to make it easyfor news organizations to participate:A Web site, www.sunshineweek.org,

which will serve as a clearinghouse forSunshine Sunday-Sunshine Week. Itwill be a repository for editorials,

columns, cartoons, as well as news andfeature stories on government secrecy.A how-to tool-kit, available on

the Web site, that offers suggestions forhow news organizations can take part.Op-ed pieces on the importance of

freedom of information, written byindustry leaders and prominentAmericans.

Real people stories from citizens

who have fought for release of govern-ment-held information that has helpedthem or their communities.A partnership with the American

Library Association, which will play aleading role in setting up communitydiscussions about the importance offreedom of information at the locallevel. Sunshine Week regional coordina-

tors, chosen to oversee state coordina-tors, who will be to encourage and facil-

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The vast majority of editorsendorse the project and see itas a way to shine a spotlighton a critically important publicpolicy issue whetherthrough balanced and accuratenews stories, or through edito-rials, columns or cartoons.

We need to do a better job inexplaining to the public whythis is not simply an issue thataffects journalists exclusively,but it actually concerns (thepublics) right to informationabout its government.

Barbara CochranRTNDA president

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I think sometimes broadcasters(have) even more of a burden than ourcolleagues in the print media, she says,because we often run into situationswhere our cameras or our microphonesare excluded from public proceedings.

To NAA President and CEO JohnSturm, whose organization representspublishers and owners, the issue of gov-ernment secrecy is as important to theexecutive suite as it is to the newsroom.

Our success as a business enter-prise, he says, depends on the goodworks of our journalists, and journalistsneed to be able to get their job done.

Will Sunshine Week have anyimpact? Yes, but only if news organiza-tions enthusiastically participate.

In Florida, three years of SunshineSunday campaigns have producedstrong results, editors say.

The public was left with a betterunderstanding of the rights of the citi-zenry in our state. And the newspapersemerged as the peoples championagainst government abuse and decep-tion. In short, everyone walked away awinner, says Jim Witters, former man-aging editor of The Daily Commercialin Leesburg, Fla.

Floridas first Sunshine Sunday, inMarch 2002, took place with the Sept. 11terrorist attacks still foremost in theminds of citizens and with the furorbarely subsided over privacy issuesraised by the Orlando Sentinels attemptto obtain (but not publish) autopsyphotos of NASCAR legend DaleEarnhardt. In the state legislature, morethan 100 exemptions to the states opengovernment laws were introduced.

But through the leadership of theFlorida Society of Newspaper Editors,newspapers banded together to make

the case for open government throughnews stories, editorials, columns andcartoons. A common theme: publicrecords laws are there to preservedemocracy and open government foreveryone, not just journalists, saysTerry Eberle, executive editor ofFLORIDA TODAY.

Of about 300 bills introduced in theFlorida Legislature to restrict open gov-ernment in the past three years, nearlyall have failed.

In a 2002 address to a Pew Centergathering in Tampa, then-OrlandoSentinel Editor Tim Franklin (now theeditor of The Sun, Baltimore) outlinedthe challenge to define FOI issues as thepeoples issues:

We must educate our readers aboutwhy open government and publicrecords are critical to our way of life.We must show real-life examples ofhow public records benefit the public:How crime records can help makeneighborhoods safer. How hospital andnursing home records can be used to

protect our loved ones who are sick orold. How public health records canidentify and prevent the spread of dis-ease. How real estate records can helppeople when buying a home. And, howautopsy records can help experts andthe media to prevent future injuries anddeath. We cant simply espouse our con-stitutional right alone as the basis forgetting access to records. Weve got totell our readers why we want therecords and what the greater good is in

obtaining them. We need to engage inan ongoing dialogue with our readersabout the benefits of open government.

South Carolina held its first SunshineSunday and Open Government Weekin October. AP bureau chief and stateFOI chair John Shurr says the effortwas part of an ongoing commitment byjournalists to keep the message (ofopen government) in front of the peo-ple and the lawmakers.

Shurr said South Carolina was thethird state to conduct a state FOI audit,and another is planned for next year.

You have to keep ringing the bell, hesays.

Shurr also stresses the importance ofwriting for the general public. Wenever lose sight of Joe Six-Pack, hesays. All our FOI materials are writtenwith citizens in mind.

More than 120 daily and weeklynewspapers participated in Missourisfirst Sunshine Week last February. DougCrews, executive director of the statepress association, says the effort was a

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plus in helping to improve the statesSunshine Law that was passed in Mayand took effect in August. Among thebills provisions are tougher penalties forviolations, a capping of copying fees ofpublic records, a requirement thatrecords be provided in the formatrequested if available, and extending thelaw to cover meetings and votes con-ducted by phone, video conference orthe Internet.

The widespread participation byMissouri newspapers had an impact inthe capital it brought Sunshine to the

front, Crews says.The impact of Missouris Sunshine

Week is also reflected in an increasedinterest by citizens in using the SunshineLaw, he notes. State Attorney General JayNixon conducted a series of workshopsaround the state on provisions of thenew law and sued officials of one town,saying they violated the law by approv-ing a higher salary offer for a city admin-istrator by telephone. The mayor agreedto pay a $100 fine in that case.

Alabama editors have been optimisticabout chances of the state Legislaturepassing a tougher Open Public MeetingsAct, the focus of the states SunshineSunday effort last March. We feel likewere about to close the loop, saysEdward Mullins, journalism chair of theUniversity of Alabama and formerchairman of the Alabama Center forOpen Government.

Mullins said two TV stations joinedhalf the states daily newspapers in par-ticipating in Sunshine Sunday. Becausewe knew the bill was going to be intro-

duced later in the year, we wanted tocall attention to it, especially in thesmaller towns, he said.

These are perilous times for thosewho believe in open government. In thewake of 9/11, Americas understandableobsession with national security pro-duced a mania for secrecy. And theBush administration, already one of themost secretive in recent history, set atone that emboldened the bureaucracyand the Congress to hide vast amounts

of information from its citizens. Tturn, has prompted state and locernments to wield the SECstamp with abandon.

For example, Attorney GAshcrofts famous October 2001tive on Freedom of Informatiorequests essentially reversed govepolicy and required citizens tothey should be entitled to inforkept by their government insthe onus being on the governmshow why it should be secret.

The Bush administration remore than 6,000 documents fromernment Web sites, making it harcitizens to ensure their safety anditor their public officials. The House also issued an order haltdeclassification of presidential ments (shortly before the schrelease of records from the termcurrent presidents father).

The Pentagon has forbidden of flag-draped caskets returningIraq as part of an effort to contimages of war.

The vice president refused to records from his energy task for

And now the Bush adminiwants to extend secrecy, makinggal for many federal employees close documents that are not clabut which government leaders dbe merely sensitive.

Bad times, to be sure. But the Abraham Lincoln, who shut

some 300 opposition newspaperswartime, was a secrecy fanatic. only kept vast amounts of inforfrom the press and the public, burefused to share information witof his top generals.

And Woodrow Wilson re

newspapers to operate under a War I censorship code that imrestrictions on publishing goverinformation.

Of course, all that was before of computers, which hold the pof making government informore accessible to the public. Ithere are fears that the electronwill allow bureaucrats to morehide entire databases.

Is the worst yet to come?

The Bush administration,already one of the most secre-tive in recent history, set atone that emboldened thebureaucracy and the Congressto hide vast amounts of infor-mation from its citizens. That,in turn, has prompted stateand local governments to wieldthe SECRET stamp withabandon.

These are perilous times forthose who believe in opengovernment. In the wake of9/11, Americas understand-able obsession with nationalsecurity produced a maniafor secrecy.

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SU N S H I N E S U N DA Y

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Exactly how open are the pub-lic records in your circulationarea? How much sunshineactually filters through the

protective arms of government work-ers?

The best way to answer that is toconduct a public records audit, adetailed reporting project thats beenundertaken in more than half thestates in the past seven years.

Typically, a newspaper (or group ofnewspapers) sends in auditors tocheck on the availability of basic pub-lic records of general interest suchitems as the police blotter, salaryrecords, overtime documents, budgetsand so on.

The auditors dont identify them-selves as working for a news organi-zation unless they are specificallyasked for identification. And the audi-tors simply record what happens totheir request.

Audits require careful preparation,extensive training of auditors andstrong coordination. Their strength isthat they offer a snapshot of how offi-cials are delivering on promises ofopen government and typicallysome colorful anecdotes to enliven thestatistics.

But, as the Society for ProfessionalJournalists points out, they can bemassive undertakings. They may well

be challenged by public officials interms of your motive and execution,so attention to detail is importantevery step of the way.

Statewide audits tend to get themost attention, but audits can be morefocused in scope: Your staff can testpublic agencies within a single city orcounty, for example.

SPJ offers an extensive tool kit foreditors planning a public records

audit. It offers tips on trainingand donts, sample work sresources and much more. Its able on the Web at:

www.spj.org/FOIToolkit.pdf.

Tips on conducting apublic records audit

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The idea for Sunshine Sundayemerged in the fall of 2001when board members of theFlorida Society of Newspaper

Editors discussed how best to impressupon the public the fundamentalimportance of access to governmentmeetings and records.

In the weeks and months following9/11, the Florida Legislature held a seriesof special sessions during which a largenumber of particularly egregious opengovernment exemptions were consid-ered. Any opposition to the proposedbills was summarily dismissed by spon-sors and lobbyists as a press problem,even though most of the proposalsraised serious constitutional issues andwould have curtailed the publics abilityto hold its government accountable. Apress problem?

Under the lead-ership of TimFranklin, then exec-utive editor of theOrlando Sentinel

and a vigorousadvocate of opengovernment, theFSNE board decid-ed to organize astatewide campaignthat would educateFloridians abouttheir right to over-see governmentthrough applicationof the states open

government laws.But, just as important, it also would

shine a light on the actions of legislatorsas they inappropriately tried to closegovernment meetings and records.

The plan was simple and ambitious:All of Floridas daily papers would runarticles and editorials about the impor-tance of government oversight and citi-zen engagement on the same day, theSunday before James Madisons birthday,which already had been designated asNational FOI Day. Weekly paperswere asked to run their articles and edi-torials the week after Sunshine Sundayto avoid diluting the impact of the cam-paign.

Submission deadline was the Fridaybefore, and all submissions were postedto the FSNE Web site. Participatingpapers were allowed to download anyarticle, editorial or editorial cartoonposted to the Sunshine Sunday site.

Organizing all the state papers wasdifficult and tedious at times, much likethe proverbial herding cats. Abouthalf of the states daily newspapers par-ticipated. Sunshine Sunday 2001, thefirst in Florida and in the nation, was a

huge success by any measure.Calls from citizens in response to an

op-ed I submitted overwhelmed mystaff, and requests for additional infor-mation and educational programs keptus busy for months. In the days fol-lowing Sunshine Sunday, there was asignificant increase in the number of let-ters to the editor, the vast majority ofwhich expressed strong support forpublic access laws.

Perhaps most important, though, wasthe effect on our state Legislature. Forthe first time in many years, we sawactual debate on exemption bills, partic-ularly in the House, with opponentsciting statistics and anecdotes fromSunshine Sunday editorials. A joint res-olution making it more difficult to cre-ate exemptions to Floridas access laws,which had been languishing in commit-tee, suddenly gained new support andbreezed through both chambers with anear unanimous vote. The proposal,which was placed on the ballot in the2002 general election, was approved bya huge majority of voters, and today anybill that places limits on the publicsright of access must have a two-thirdsvote in each chamber.

In March 2004, participation by thestates daily newspapers increased sub-stantially, with nearly all of the dailiessubmitting articles, editorials, and myfavorite editorial cartoons. The num-ber of guest editorials also increased,with Floridas Attorney General CharlieCrist writing a great piece extolling thevirtues of open government. Floridasbroadcasters also participated, many ofthem running editorials and a publicservice announcement featuring well-known Florida columnist and authorCarl Hiaasen, which was provided free

via satellite feed.The annual Sunshine Sunday publicawareness campaign continues to have adramatic impact in Florida. Almost allof the roughly 300 open governmentexemption bills introduced in theFlorida Legislature over the past threeyears have failed. Legislators and otherkey government officials have begun torealize that being tagged as a supporterof open government is a good thing,and we have developed a growing num-

By Barbara A. Petersen

Sunshine Sunday inthe Sunshine StateWhat started out as a frustrating exercise in herding catshas become a successful public education effort that hasmade a huge impact on state politics

Petersen is presi-dent of the First

AmendmentFoundation inFlorida.

ber of highly visible champions withinthe system.

Citizen engagement remains strong:

In the last general election, a constitu-tional provision guaranteeing access tohospital adverse incidents reports wasapproved by a whopping 81 percent ofvoters.

Organizing a statewide campaign isnot easy, and maintaining the mediasinterest year after year is even harder.But as weve proven here in Florida, thedividends of Sunshine Sunday bring usever closer to the democratic ideal ofgovernment for the people.

... As weve proven here inFlorida, the dividends of

Sunshine Sundaybring us ever

closer to thedemocraticideal ofgovern-mentfor thepeople.

A public records auditstep by step

1. Recruit.

2. Select records to survey.

3. Prepare training handout.

4. Create a survey tally site on

Internet and forms for audit

in field.

5. Test it in trial surveys.

6. Conduct in-person training

each site.

7. Survey.

8. Make a tentative report.

9. Have a writers conferen

unveil the tentative rep

assign stories.

10. Publish the stories and the n

ratives.

11. Post them on the Internet.

Contributed by Tom Benn

Atlanta Journal-Constitut

SPJ Georgia Sunshine Ch

From SPJs FOI Audit to

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first independent general-interest publi-cation in Cuba since consolidation ofthe revolution.

While listed in the first issue only asadviser, Ral Rivero was the magazinesintellectual father. Long a reporter forCubas official media, Rivero is not onlyCubas best-known independent jour-nalist, he is the countrys leading poet.In 1991 he broke with the regime bysigning a Letter of 10 Intellectuals call-ing for the release of political prisoners.He was the only one of the 10 who had-nt taken asylum outside Cuba. In 1995he founded the independent newsagency Cuba Press.

Rivero told me at a breakfast that theimprovements for independent journal-ists were just show. He laid out theplans for the magazine. We are goingto provoke them, he told me. Hedetailed the stories planned for the firstissue and said they would be straight,unbiased news coverage of events andtopics that had not appeared in the statemedia.

When published a month late inDecember, De Cuba consisted of 50 pho-tocopied pages and included an exami-nation of racism in Cuba, a piece ondiffering views of political reform, a fea-ture on Cuban Rastafarians and a cryp-tic essay by Rivero about making astatement. The project was underwrit-ten by a Spanish foundation.

The 250 copies were distributedthrough the 100 independent librariesthat had been permitted as part of theCuba Spring. There was just one prob-lem. Private mass media are prohibitedby the Cuban constitution.

Rivero, of course, knew this. He toldme there would be consequences afterthe first issue, including confiscation of

their equipment and a few nights in jail,but he thought Castros charm offensiveinsulated them from show trials andlengthy prison terms.

He was 180 degrees wrong. Whenthe Cuba Spring came to an abrupt endthe next March, we realized our meet-ing had been the beginning of eventsthat landed not only three of the fourdissident leaders, but 71 other dissidents,including 29 independent journalists,with prison terms of six to 28 years.

Imprisoned were not only journalistsbut other nonviolent dissidents, includ-ing human rights activists, librarians,economists, doctors and teachers. Theircrimes ranged from writing for publica-tions and Web sites based abroad to col-lecting signatures to petition for a refer-endum and setting up independentlibraries that included books by promi-nent dissenters like Vaclav Havel andMartin Luther King Jr.

Ral Riveros punishment was a 20-year sentence. He spent the first 11months in solitary confinement and wasfinally released after nearly two yearslast Nov. 20 on a medical parole alongwith a few of the others. The parolecan be revoked at any time. He lost 65pounds while confined.

Shortly after our visit to Cuba,President Castro accused Washington oftrying to invent an opposition on theisland.

What triggered the move againstthe independent journalists and otherdissidents? Believing that internationalpublicity offered protection to them, Ispoke publicly just weeks after leav-ing Havana about the plan for DeCuba, including Riveros belief thatpunishment would be minimal. Irepeated this in a cover story for TheAmerican Editor, which came outthat December.

It is doubtful the regime learned any-thing it didnt know from my revela-tions, but I may have focused theirattention by giving the project interna-tional exposure especially of the factthat the dissidents were telling foreignjournalists they expected to get little orno punishment.

Ill never know for sure. What I doknow is that the 75 dissidents were

arrested the next March 18, just twodays after The Associated Press movedits first article about the magazine,which published its second issue in lateFebruary. Was that the trigger?

Undoubtedly, there was more tothe crackdown. Early in March 2003six prominent activists announced ahunger strike, and opposition leadersurged that Cubas application for pref-erential trade treatment and assistancebe rejected by the European Union.

The crackdown, with the wattention focused on the raBaghdad, followed.

Within weeks all 75 dissincluding the 29 independent jists, had been convicted in summals closed to the media. There dozen government spies at theamong them some of the most nent dissidents.

Two reporters, Manuel Davidand Nestor Baguer, who had spenworking alongside Rivero in thpendent journalist movement, tagainst him, saying he and the were paid by the U.S. Interests SThe 80-year-old Baguer latereporters he began working fsecurity police in 1960. He said not been allowed to tell even hisabout his true work in the 43 yhad done it.

He said he had known Riverchildhood and had been a closeof Rals mother. I consider friend and I am very sad, bdeserved it because he chose the treason, Baguer said.

Upon his release from prisoNovember, Rivero said he did noto emigrate. At 58, he said he hobe able to write in Cuba, althomay spend a year in Spain if perI have never wanted to leave hetold reporters. I am thinkinglooking for a place to go workdo something so that I can wrbooks I have to write. Among tsaid, would be a book about hisexperience.

Although he said hed lreturn to journalism, he admitdidnt want to work with the of Damocles over my sho

threatening me with prison because this has been an imfamily tragedy.

He saw little hope for the djournalists movement. Objectcant now recreate what is desthe said. There is no one to rendream of an independent press.are in prison, and the free ones wemigrate.

Castro had won. The Cuba was past. Winter has returned.

Jan uar y-F ebr uary 200 5 The Ame ric an Edi tor

I N T E R N A T I O N A LI N T E R N A T I O N A L

Whether the ASNE boardand I share any blamefor the death of whattoday is known as

Cuba Spring will probably never beclear. But its certainly possible. Weundoubtedly have learned that dealingwith dictators and dissident journalistsis serious business. And so, amongother sobering lessons of this episode,we may want to be wary of it in thefuture.

The term Cuba Spring refers to theflourishing of independent journalismand easing of state controls in Cuba thatbegan several years earlier and reachedits height in the months leading up toits tragic crushing that began March 18,2003.

Dozens of self-described independentjournalists had worked outside Cubasstate-run media for several years, pub-lishing abroad and facing periodicharassment, including confiscation oftheir rudimentary equipment. Manywere political activists writing polemics

and seeking asylum abroad. After 1997, aparticularly difficult year, the harass-ment lessened and by the CubaSpring at least 100 independent jour-nalists were working, many producingfairly balanced reporting.

Prior to a 1998 trip to Cuba I organ-ized for the ASNE board, we were toldwe might meet with Fidel Castro if webehaved by not making a big publicissue out of the dissidents. We met withthe dissidents privately, interviewed

Castro for six hours and paved the wayfor the opening of bureaus of theAssociated Press and U.S. newspapers.

In October of 2002, at the request ofthen ASNE President Diane McFarlin, Iagain organized a fact-finding trip forthe ASNE board. This time we wereassured we would see Castro andwerent warned to behave. We alsohoped to interview other leaders, hearfrom U.S. diplomats, quietly contact dis-sidents and perhaps pave the way foradditional U.S. newspaper bureaus.Instead, we did not see Castro andwound up in a web of intrigue anddiplomatic games.

Because of continued economic woesin 2002, the Cuban government at thetime was on a charm offensive to attracttourists, foreign investment and subsi-dized trade. Cuba had recently alloweda live and provocative televi-sion address by formerPresident Jimmy Carter and aCastro interview with BarbaraWalters, which aired on

ABCs 20/20 the day beforeour arrival. These develop-ments clearly encouraged dis-senters, who four years earlierhad been docile and obvious-ly intimidated. At that timefour dissidents had onlyrecently received lengthyprison sentences for insult-ing President Castro by say-ing Cuba wasnt living up toits international agreements.

Although not so apparent to us in2002, our success in getting the APbureau approved in 1998 had made thesituation for dissidents riskier. Justweeks before approval of the APbureau, a new felony went on thebooks with punishment up to 30 yearsin prison for supplying information toor collaborating with foreign newsmedia or aiding a foreign nation againstthe interests of socialist Cuba.

Despite this threat, four dissidentopposition leaders willingly met withour 2002 delegation. A total surprise,they joined us midway through an on-the-record meeting at the official resi-dence of James Cason, essentially theU.S. ambassador. Cason told us it wasthe first time anything similar hadoccurred.

Later I came to feel that by pairingus with the dissidents, Cason and theU.S. government had used us to push perhaps even test Castro bymaking a public show with the dissi-dents. The Bush administration hadabandoned the Clinton approach (ineffect on our earlier visit) of respond-ing to incremental improvements inhuman rights and the rule of lawwith incremental improvement s inrelations. The new policy was all ornothing. And we were being used. Asit turned out, Castro pushed back.

Vladimiro Roca, who had beenreleased only the previous May from aprison sentence for insulting Castro,told us at Casons residence they werewilling to assume the risk. We are

accused (of cooperating withWashington) even if we dontcome here, he said. He andhis colleagues believed theregimes campaign to present

a positive face to the worldgave them some protection.The international celebrity ofthe leaders, who had wonhuman rights prizes through-out the world, also protectedthem, they said.

An intriguing developmentunfolding then in Cuba wasthe work being done tolaunch an independent maga-zine, De Cuba. It would be the

By Edward Seaton

Cuba Spring followedby yet another winterWas ASNEs meeting with independent journalists a testof Castro?Lessons in the serious business of dealing withdictators and dissidents in Cuba.

1 2 Th e A me ri ca n E di to r J an ua ry- Fe br ua ry 2 0 05

Seaton is editor-in-chief of TheManhattan (Kan.)Mercury and a

former ASNEpresident.

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Jan uar y-F ebr uar y 200 5 The Ame ric an Edi tor

D E S I G ND E S I G N

1 4 Th e A me ri ca n E di to r J an ua ry- Fe br ua ry 2 0 05

takes an editor about an hour. Forstraight stories, the editor often simplycuts and pastes. Other stories take morework, but the key is to not leave read-ers hanging. That wouldnt be fair afterthe commitment weve made.

The three items promoting upcom-ing stories run across the bottom of thefront. During the redesign, we ques-tioned using that much valuable space

for promotion, but the Impact Studysstrong recommendations convinced us.

To be honest, Coming Attractions,as we call them, are a work in progress.Like most papers, particularly smallerones, we struggle to plan stories days inadvance. Thats particularly true withharder news. To date, many of our pro-mos have been on centerpieces for fea-tures pages, and they occasionallyrepeat. We need to do better, and wereworking on it. If we cant, we might cut

back on front-page space devoted topromotion.

The last key element out front iswhat we call The Window. Its a four-column-by-12-inch space under the flagon the left. Our original intent was touse that hole much like a tabloid coveras often as possible big art, big head-lines, some text when appropriate. Wedo that several times a week, and were

pleased with the results.The big revelation and relief

about the window is how flexible it is.When news or circumstances dictate,we design it much like a traditionalpage, only smaller, and it works fine.Combined with the 10 ministories inthe Glance, it makes for a lively andnewsy front page.

The relief is that we dont needexceptional art every day. We shoot forit as often as possible, but the page

works without it.Many of us had more than

sleepless nights leading up tredesign. And some of us still ocally wonder what weve done. Bfrom tradition is scary, and its hamostly, were excited to be part othing new, and were heartened early response.

We will do a reader survey in

that will update our Reader BeScore. That should give us some tion of our success. But the real ttake much longer, perhaps yearsmodify as we see fit, but were cted to seeing this through.

Were not naive enough to thiapproach is the ultimate answer. hope it makes a difference here apositive step as newspapers everycontinue to seek ways to build ship.

Its been three months since TheJanesville Gazette, a 25,000-circula-tion daily in southern Wisconsin,launched what many agree is a

bold attempt to increase readership.Did it work?In many ways, yes. Reaction has

been overwhelmingly positive. Readers

are using the new paper just as weintended. And Gazette editors are gen-erally happy with how theyve beenable to adapt to the new format.

But when it comes to the mostimportant measures of success circu-lation growth and Reader BehaviorScore its too early to tell.

What is this radical approach?We scrapped our traditional front

page and filled our new front withsummaries of inside stories, promos of

upcoming stories, and a big window tobetter display our lead story and art.

That was by far the most significantchange, but we made otherimprovements inside to com-plement the new front orsupplement our readershipefforts.

The Gazette did most ofthe redesign in-house, basedlargely on the ReadershipInstitutes 2001 Impact Study.The paper also updated itstypefaces and made other cos-metic improvements, but thebiggest changes tied directly tothe readership recommenda-tions.

The Gazette at a Glancehas attracted the most atten-

tion and praise, and thats no surprise.The Glance runs two columns downthe right side of the front and containssummaries of about 10 inside stories.These arent teasers; they are sum-

maries. Thats critical becausewe promote the front page asa five-minute read that canbring readers up to date onthe days most important sto-

ries.Besides helping time-

starved readers, the Glancemakes it easier to navigate thepaper. Many readers have toldus they spend more time withthe Gazette. That surprisedus, but we surmise that theGlance prompts people toread stories they may haveoverlooked.

Compiling the Glance

By Scott W. Angus

Angus is the edi-tor of The

Janesville (Wis.)Gazette. His emailis sangus@gazette-extra.com.

A small paper with a radical approach to the front page

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Statistically, any request that theSupreme Court review a lowercourt decision is only slightlymore likely to finish successful-

ly than Kevin Costner's 250 yard carryover water on the 18th hole of the U.S.Open in the movie "Tin Cup." So noone should really have been surprisedwhen, in October, the Supreme Courtdenied certiorari in the case of Morris

Communications, Inc. v. Professional GolfAssociation.Still, defeat stung all the same, as it

signaled the end of a valiant and justi-fied eight-year fight by Morris and othermembers of the media to report on golfscores in real time and jeopardizes cov-erage of other sporting events.

Beginning in 1996, MorrisCommunications, which among otherholdings owns 26 daily newspapers, 13non-daily newspapers, and 23 free com-

munity papers, began publishing real-time scores from PGA tour events on itsjacksonville.com and augustachroni-cle.com Web sites, which allowed it togenerate revenue via subscriptions andadvertising. The PGA reactedalmost instantly to protectwhat it believed was a propri-etary ownership interest inthe scores themselves, by issu-

ing credentials to reporterscovering PGA events thatmandated that members ofthe press would only beallowed to transmit real-timescores on their Web sites ifthose scores were obtained atthe on-site media center ateach tournament; however, aplayers score could not beupdated sooner than thirtyminutes after the actual occur-

rence of any given shot. In January2000, the PGA also prohibited the saleor distribution of any scoring informa-tion to a third party without the priorwritten consent of the PGA.

These credentialing restrictions wereintended to protect the PGAs Real-Time Scoring System (RTSS).According to the PGA, it had investedin excess of $26 million in the develop-ment of RTSS. The system itselfinvolves a series of volunteers known ashole reporters, who follow each groupof golfers around the course and calcu-late the scores of each player at the endof each hole. The scores are then col-lected by other volunteers located ateach green on the course. Those vol-unteers use wireless radios to relay thescoring information to a remote pro-duction truck staffed by PGA person-nel. All scores are then processed at aremote production truck and transmit-ted in real time on the PGAs website,pgatour.com, as well as at the on-sitemedia center.

In August 2000 the PGA agreed towaive the restriction on the sale of real-time golf scores to third parties, as longas any scores sold by Morris for syndi-cation were collected solely from pga-tour.com. Unfortunately, Morris foundthis process unreliable due to repeateddelays and inaccuracies. Morrisinformed the PGA that it wished to becredentialed to syndicate scores fromthe on-site media center. This requestwas denied.

Morris filed a complaint in UnitedStates District Court for theMiddle District of Florida,seeking a preliminary injunc-tion to allow it to publishscores in real time from the

on-site media center. Becausethe PGA is not a governmententity, Morris could not allegea First Amendment violation;instead it based its claim on astate and federal antitrust lawand the Florida Deceptive andUnfair Trade Practices Act.

Specifically, Morris allegedthat the PGA possessedmonopoly power over accessto its golf tournaments and

that the PGA unfairly used that powerto stifle competition in the market forsyndicated real-time golf scores. Inresponse, the PGA argued that what itpossesses is a property right in RTSSand that its restrictions are a reasonablesafeguard against would-be free ridersseeking to unfairly capitalize on itsproduct.

The District Court denied Morrismotion for preliminary injunction,holding that Morris could not provethat the PGA had violated any level ofantitrust law. It found the PGA had alegitimate business justification forrefusing to grant a media credentialunder the terms desired by Morris.Morris tried to counter the PGAs argu-ment by citing the United States Courtof Appeals for the Second Circuits 1997decision in National Basketball Association

v. Motorola, Inc.In that case, the Court of Appeals

held that a defendant cannot have aproperty interest in real-time scoresbecause scores are factual informationexisting exclusively in the publicdomain.

However, the District Court distin-guished Motorola because in the presentcase, the PGA was not protecting thefacts (the scores) themselves, but thesystem of collecting those facts (RTSS).It agreed with the PGAs claim that theentity had invested too much time andmoney into RTSS to allow Morris, orany other organization, to free ride offthe PGAs invention.

Key to the District Courts holdingwere the distinctions between coveringgolf events and other sporting events. Itnoted that Motorola was able to obtainits information regarding NBA gamesby simply tuning in to a publicly-aired

television or radio broadcast. There isonly one score to be obtained per game.This is not possible with regard to

coverage of PGA tour events. PGA tourevents involve multiple scores spreadout over a vast expanse. Perhaps themost frustrating aspect of the decision isthat the District Court did not find thepublic interest would be served by issu-ing this injunction. Although the courtagreed that increased access to newsand information is in the public inter-

est, the District Court believed there isalso a strong public interest in ensuringthe existence of fair and effective com-petition in the marketplace. This inter-est would be disserved if one competi-tor is allowed to free ride on the effortsof another which it found woulddestroy the incentive to collect news inthe first place.

On appeal, the United States Courtof Appeals for the Eleventh Circuitessentially partnered up with theDistrict Court, adopting the lowercourts rationale in a manner thatappeared to offer copyright-type protec-tion for these fact-type scores, despiteearlier judicial precedent from theUnited States Supreme Court that factu-al data (in the form of telephone num-bers) were not capable of copyright pro-tection because they lacked any elementof originality (ASNE had joined an ami-cus brief supporting Morris in theUnited States Court of Appeals).

Like the District Court, the EleventhCircuit put a premium on the existenceof a business rationale for protecting thescores and reporting system.

In supporting Morris petition for theUnited States Supreme Court to hearthe case, the media brought out the bighitters. Former Solicitor General andIndependent Counsel Kenneth Starrdrafted and submitted an amicus briefsupporting Morris arguments.

ASNE joined with 16 other parties,consisting of press associations andmedia companies, on this brief, whichargued that the Eleventh Circuitsrationale could be exported to non-sporting contexts in a way that wouldhamper the coverage of important newsevents, such as political conventions.

It also argued that the decision below

was contrary to the very purpose of theInternet, the medium that best presentsthe ability to transfer massive amountsof factual information in real time. Theattempt sliced into the rough, as onOctober 4 the Court decided that thecase did not present a novel issue wor-thy of its review.

This case will have a major impacton the ability of credentialed reportersto transmit golf scores in real-time. TheDistrict Court left open the possibility

that publications could transmitin real time it did not dispuholding of the United States CAppeals for the Second Circuthere exists no property interestfactual scores themselves if thlication can devise its own systaccumulating the scores.

However, given the strict reston the use of electronic transmdevices such as telephones and coers from the golf course itself, itbe practically impossible to tscores in real time via the Interis unlikely that these credenrestrictions can be attacked imeaningful way.

The real issue is the impact thsion will have on the coverage oand events other than golf. Mocations are that this impact will bimal. Because neither court helthere is a property interest in thethemselves, it seems likely that ptions may continue to transmit screal-time, given that real-time coof sports other than golf is extpracticable.

Golf tournaments are held nsingle area, but over a large exBecause the sport of golf has traally involved the silence of spethe prohibition of cell phones isessary restriction.

However, this is not trueregard to other sports, such aketball, which are held in largevenues. Thus, it appears likethis decision will not have a impact on the coverage of othersporting events.

If these restrictions are impothose sports, however, the media carefully plan its next shot in co

major drawback of this case was that most golf courses, as well PGA itself, are private venues, ping a constitutional challenge torestrictions.

Change the facts to a Major Baseball game in a new publicly stadium in Washington, or, bettecollege football game on a publversity campus, and the media wly hit the sweet spot with the stforce behind its swing.

Jan uar y-F ebr uar y 200 5 The Ame ric an Edi tor

TH E C OU RT S

By Kevin Goldberg

1 6 Th e A me ri ca n E di to r J an ua ry- Fe br ua ry 2 0 05

Goldberg, anattorney at Cohnand Marks,Washington, is

ASNE legalcounsel.

TH E C OU RT S

Courts side withPGA on scoring

Newspapers eight-year fight ends in the rough,with possible implications for other sports

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newspapers point of view. Most editorsindicate they are willing to share at leastsome of their planning budgets withtheir partner, but they appear leery ofsharing too much. Editors were askedwhich of a series of statements bestdescribed how they share informationwith their partners. Their responses:

16 percent never share.44.3 percent are selective in what

they share. 17 percent share most stories but

request that they run some storiesbefore their partner runs them.

12.3 percent share most stories buthold back stories on which they have acompetitive advantage over their part-ner. 10.4 percent said they shared all

stories with their partner.Those results are supported by other

findings in the study. At least once aweek, a fifth of newsrooms share videoor photographs if one of the partnersmisses or chooses not to cover a story.Although more than half of respondents 51.4 percent never share the cost ofspecial projects or investigations withtheir partners, 3.8 percent do so once amonth and 16.2 percent do so at leastfour times a year.

The results indicate some editors arehaving trouble defining just what con-vergence means and how to practiceit in their newsroom.

Certainly the definition of conver-gence has evolved over time.Thankfully, the backpack journalist diedan early death as editors realized thatwriting for print and for broadcastrequires different skills and (often) dif-ferent temperaments. Those editors try-ing to figure out how to bring more col-laboration and interaction to their part-

nerships might consider theConvergence Continuum.The continuum assumes that conver-

gence can happen at five levels of inter-action and cooperation, each associatedwith a range of expected behaviors.

This research suggests that mostpartnerships are practicing convergenceat one of two levels. The first is cross-promotion, which is self-explanatory.The other is cloning, in which partnersdo little collaboration and generally fill

their Web sites with shovelware.The research also suggests that some

partnerships might be practicing coope-tition, a natural stage at which newsstaffs both cooperate and compete.Here, the news outlets promote andshare information about some stories onwhich they are working. Still, years ofcompetition and cultural differencescombine to create mutual distrust thatlimits the degree of cooperation andinteraction. For example, a newspaperreporter might appear as an expert orcommentator on a television stationsnewscast to discuss a current issue, butthe two staffs are careful not to divulgeany information that might be exclusiveto their news products.

But the true benefits of convergencemight happen if the partners considerthe final two stops on the continuum.In content sharing, partners might sharestories, but do not publish them untilthey have been repackaged by their staffmembers. They also might share newsbudgets; attend their partners planningsessions; or collaborate on a special,investigative or enterprise piece. In gen-eral, however, news organizations pro-duce their own stories without helpingeach other.

Full convergence takes advantage ofthe strengths of each media, for exam-ple, the context of newspapers, theimmediacy of television and the interac-tivity of the Web. Partners cooperate inboth gathering and disseminating thenews. They might create hybrid teamsof journalists from the partnering organ-izations to work together to plan, reportand produce a story, deciding along theway which parts of the story are toldmost effectively in print, broadcast anddigital forms. The teams gather and pro-

duce content for specific projects andthen disband. New teams form as addi-tional projects present themselves.

This research suggests some partner-ships might be practicing some aspectsof full convergence: 12.2 percent have acommon assignment desk or editor and8.4 percent have a common manager oreditor who determines how to use thestrengths of each medium to give themost meaningful story to the audience.

The benefits of a common desk are

reflected in one editors responspartnership worked really wellwe had a coordinating editor fgroup who kept in regular contathe newsrooms and the TV That position went dark late laand the partnership went wellwhile but has faltered of late.

The continuum suggests a cocourses of action for editors wgrappling with where to go fromThe first is to decide which level vergence works for their partners

They can try a common assigdesk or more formalized budgecontent-sharing routines. They csome short-term projects in whicassignments reflect the strengthsdifferent media involved. The nethey have a breaking news storycan work together to make sure evision station coverage reflects diacy while the newspaper offecontext of what the big event m

The changes do not have to bmanent or daily. A partners plthe continuum is not fixed; move back and forth dependthe nature of the news and themitment to convergence by wand managers.

A partnership is built onearned over time, one editor wus. This partnership worksbecause we respect each otherand professionalism.

One question remains tanswered here: Is a partnership the effort for your newspaper?

As academics like to say, the to that question requires more One thing is clear from editors res: For convergence to work evinvolved must win: the newspap

television station and especithe reader. Many editors who have partnerships said the reasotheir feeling that the arrangementbenefit the television station moit would benefit the newspaper.

Until we see more exampconvergence practiced at a level and whether those effortduce better journalism that serves the audience and growaudience, we wont know.

Jan uar y-Fe bru ary 200 5 The Ame ric an Edi to r

CO N V E R G E N C ECO N V E R G E N C E

So go the contradictory opinionson television-newspaper part-nerships. On one side is the edi-tor who is an obvious champi-

on of convergence: This partnershipworks well because we respect eachothers work and professionalism, theeditor wrote.

On the other side are editors forwhom a partnership with a televisionstation is as attractive as a partnershipwith the advertising department. Thesepartnerships raise anti-trust issues andcontribute to the publics impression ofhomogeneity among news media,wrote one. TV stations are competitorsnot partners, wrote another. And theaward for succinctness: TV bad newspaper good!

Those responses come from a surveyof daily newspaper editors that myresearch partners and I conducted. Ourgoal was twofold. First, to identify thetypes of activities that have become rou-tine in newspaper-television partner-ships. Having the right digital camera or

lightweight computer certainly allowsjournalists to concentrate on newsgath-ering rather than technology, but wewere more interested in whether newroutines create better content. Second,to try to answer questions that havepuzzled journalists and perhaps led toconvergence paralysis: What, exactly,does convergence look like; is there oneright way to practice it; and should weeven bother?

The results of the survey both sur-

prised us and confirmed some thingswe had suspected. On the one hand,partnerships are performing many ofthe functions often considered to reflectconvergence: sharing of daily newsbudgets, cross-promotion of partnerscontent and appearances by newspaperstaff members on partners broadcasts.On the other hand, many of those func-tions are performed by a relatively smallnumber of partnerships, suggesting thata few newspapers are relatively com-mitted to their convergence efforts whileothers either are still trying to definetheir efforts or have adopted partner-ships in name only.

The obvious lede here is that 29 per-cent of the 372 editors whoresponded to our nationwidesurvey reported they had apartnership with a televisionstation news operation, and

those newspaper-televisionpartnerships exist at all circu-lation levels.

Because the early adoptersand high-profile practitionersof television-newspaper part-nerships tended to have com-mon ownership, some peopleconcluded convergencerequired corporate bloodlines.Not so. Of the 108 editorswho reported having partner-

ships, 86.8 percent said they and theirpartner had separate owners.

Anecdotal evidence suggests mediapartnerships are abuzz with cross-polli-nation: Designated newspaper peopleare in constant contact with their tele-vision partner to plan cross promotions,the partners help each other out whena big story breaks, they form specialteams to work on projects. Results ofour survey suggest the anecdotal evi-dence is true to some degree.

A small group of newspaper editorsappears to be relatively committed tocross-promotion efforts and see theirbenefits. As one editor who gives a tel-evision partner budget lines and head-lines for use on the late-night newswrote: They are too late in the cycle toreport the stories we give them but itadds to their story count on the news-cast. We both win. But we win bigger.

Most newspapers, however, are nottaking advantage of the cross-promotionopportunities: 26.9 percent of newspa-pers designate a staff member to appearon their partners newscast at least oncea week to promote stories in the nextdays newspaper.

Instead of designating an on-air pro-motion person, newspapers are morelikely to have a staff member who hasexpertise on a beat appear on their part-ners broadcast to explain a story although only 19.4 percent say they doso at least once a week.

Newspapers are most likely to pro-mote their partners by running theirlogos in the news columns and often

that logo appears on theweather page, where the news-paper can take advantage of theaudience recognition of thelocal broadcast meteorologists.

An overwhelming majorityof newspapers 70.1 percent do not spend time duringtheir news meetings dis-cussing how to promote theirpartners content.

Cross promotion is onething, but sharing informationis another. The traditionalcompetitive spirit remainsintact at newspaper-televisionpartnerships at least from

By Lori Demo

What, exactly, doesconvergence look like?Survey finds that almost a third of editors report some typeof cross-media partnership, but many remain wary of itand only a few are strongly committed to it

1 8 Th e A me ri ca n E di to r J an ua ry- Fe br ua ry 2 0 05

Demo is an assis-tant professor inthe Department of

Journalism at BallState University,Muncie, Ind.

An executive summary of this study

is available at: http://web.bsu.edu/mediasurvey/summary

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be the executive director of the FirstAmendment Center? What led youaway from editing initially?

A. I left my job as executive editor ofGannett Suburban Newspapers to takethe job of a lifetime. I had an extraordi-nary opportunity to study, explore andwrite about First Amendment issues,and not worry about newshole. The jobled in time to a syndicated newspapercolumn and a weekly television showcalled Speaking Freely. It was amongthe most satisfying work Ive ever done.

That work involved talking to peopleall across this country about their per-ceptions of the press, as well as candidconversations with the nations newspa-per editors. Throughout that time, Itried to make the case for more respon-sible journalism, including reducing ourreliance on anonymous sources andstriving to publish newspapers thattruly serve their communities. WhenUSA TODAY publisher Craig Mooncalled and invited me to interview forthis job, I recognized that this could bemy second job of a lifetime and Ineeded to see if I could practice what Ihad been preaching.

Q. What lessons from those yearsoutside the newsroom did you bringback into the newsroom with you?What did you learn that might be ofhelp to other editors?

A. I heard firsthand from readerswho felt that their local newspaper hadlost touch with their community. Someblamed corporate ownership; some just

saw their home-town newsrooms asbeing disengaged. Ithink all newspapereditors can benefit

from doing moreoutreach, bringingtogether readers forregular conversa-tions about content,responding to eachand every readerinquiry, correctingthe record when wemake a mistake andexplaining clearly toreaders why we do

what we do.

Q. You took the new job withintensely public controversy swirlingaround the newspaper. How did thataffect your approach to your role?

A. During my years away from thenewsroom, I found myself reading andenjoying USA TODAY every day. Itvery quickly became my favorite news-paper. Experienced editors will relate towhat a gift I was given: the chance tocome in and edit a newspaper that did-nt need to be overhauled or revamped.That meant that I could come into thenewsroom and simply listen and learn,talking to a wide range of staff membersabout both their concerns and their cre-ative ideas for the future of the news-paper. It gave us time to heal and tobuild a foundation for the future.

Q. What did you learn from thattransition that might help other edi-tors in a crisis situation?

A. A new editor should bring freshideas and energy to a newsroom, butyoull also find a lot of wisdom and per-spective in the newsroom if you takethe time to listen.

Q. In what ways did the very publicreport on problems at USA TODAYinfluence how you dealt with yourstaff members and readers? How hasit influenced how you covered thenews these past six months or so?

A. I think the way USA TODAYhandled the Jack Kelley scandal wasright on the money. The task forcereport was certainly comprehensive andit served to clear the air. By the time Ijoined the newspaper, the slate wasclean and the newspaper could have a

fresh start.As for lessons learned, the task forcereport was a helpful blueprint. We hadto take steps to ensure that any ques-tions about our credibility are commu-nicated to senior editors and immedi-ately investigated.

To that end, weve established anaccuracy hotline, which we promoteeach day on the editorial page. ReaderEditor Brent Jones meets with me andother senior editors every morning to

give us a sense of what readers ing about the newspaper and tany ethical or accuracy concercomplaint goes unexamined forthan 24 hours.

Q. What are the biggest challenyou face as editor of The NatioNewspaper? How do the challefor you and your staff differ frothose at community newspapersas those you edited earlier in yocareer? And, how are they sim

A. To some extent, we have thchallenges as any newspaper. Wincreasing competition from media and need to generate readamong a generation that increturns to the Internet for newinformation. Beyond that, therescial challenge in aspiring to bnations newspaper. That means ing and respecting the interests ancerns of Americans in all 50 stamaking sure we move beyonBeltway in assessing and reportwhat this nation truly cares abo

Q. What half dozen words wouyou use to describe USA TODAa new year gets under way?

A. Innovative. Energetic. Ftouch. Fair. Growing.

Q. If you could make changes inewspaper and add a word to list, what would it be?

A. Essential.

Q. What do you really love abothe paper?

A. Were not snobs. We reporsively about Congress, American policy and economics, but bri

same enthusiasm and ambition terage of Desperate Housewivesnew Nintendo game platform. Wabout what our readers care abo

Q. What sorts of changes will ers notice in USA TODAY undyour editorship?

A. You wont see anything drYou should see more enterpriinvestigative work, an area in whnewspaper has made consi

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Ken Paulson is editor of USA TODAY, thelargest daily circulation newspaper in America.He was named to his position in April 2004 asthe newspaper was recovering from a scandalthat drew national attention. PreviouslyPaulson was executive director of the First

Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.In his role there, he relied on his background asa journalist and lawyer to promote a greaterunderstanding of the First Amendment.

He believes that editors need to demon-strate consistently that we protect the publicand that were on their side and that newspa-

pers need to do a better job of reporting onshield laws, access to public information andother free speech and free press issues. Heexpresses his dismay at secrecy at the federal andlocal level that has gone unchallenged for toolong and encourages journalists to confrontthat issue.

Before he left the newsroom for the FirstAmendment Center, Paulson was an editorand reporter for 18 years, including roles as vice

president/news and executive editor of GannettSuburban Newspapers in Westchester County,N.Y., and executive editor of FLORIDATODAY in Brevard County.

Answering a wide range of questions,Paulson discusses what he learned during his

years out of the newsroom and his approach tohis new job. He is married, the father of twochildren and is an avid music and baseball fan,

still hoping for a Chicago White Sox win in theWorld Series.

Q. You were one of the foundingstaff members of USA TODAY. Howhas the newspaper changed sincethose early days?

A. USA TODAY has grown in both

depth and sophistication since thoseearly days, but it hasnt lost its innova-tive spirit or its willingness to tacklefamiliar subjects in new and differentways.

Q. How have you changed sincethose early days?

A. Im much grayer.

Q. What brought you back to editingafter leaving for about seven years to

2 0 Th e A me r ic a n E d it o r J a nu ar y- F eb r ua r y 2 0 05

Christie is presi-dent of JudyChristieConsulting

Services, LLC inShreveport, La.

By Judy Pace ChristieBackto the

beginningKen Paulson, one of the originalstaff members at USA TODAY,is back in the newsroom, bringingfresh ideas and energy to thenewspaper after a difficult time.

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keep readers at arms length in order toensure your absolute objectivity. I still

believe that editors need to fiercely pro-tect their independence, but that doesntmean I couldnt have been my kids soft-ball coach or served on the board of alocal charity. Too many newsrooms areso independent of the community thatthey become hermetically sealed.

Q. The credibility of newspapers,including USA TODAY, has beenhammered in recent years. Despitenational efforts by groups such as

ASNE and many well-meaning jour-nalists, newspapers have emerged fair-ly bloodied. What do you think

must be done to change that? Whatwent wrong?A. I think the greatest single mistake

the newspaper industry made was toallow itself to be bundled with themedia in the minds of the Americanpublic. We have strengths the rest of themedia cant touch. Newspapers are themost credible, balanced and in-depthnews vehicles in the world. We need tomake a case for that with our readers.

Of course thats best accomplished by

publishing a newspaper with inevery day, but a little marketing wouldnt hurt either. Theres nothlike to see more than a nationwidpaign of Americas newspapers ring people all across this countwe have high standards and stuphold them every day.

Q. Do you think members of thnews media are inherently biase

A. The real bias in Americasrooms is not for or against a pparty. Its against the people in And of course, thats the way itsbeen looking out for the Ampeople, challenging those in chadefend their use or abuse olic office.

Q. How do you feel about the uunnamed sources, and what is UTODAYs policy on such source

A. Anonymous sources have cut the credibility of all news Through a collective lack of selpline and self-scrutiny, weve apublic officials to operate in a cusecrecy.

USA TODAYs new policy saanonymous sources may not be the newspaper unless the identitysource is known to a managing and the managing editor has mindependent decision that the vthat information outweighs the podamage to our credibility. Thatslow bar.

Q. How involved are you in shthe daily news report and whatof discussion goes into those desions?

A. Im very involved. Thats

part of being an editor. I particiboth our morning and afternoomeetings, and I work closely wPage One Desk and the executiveto craft a front page that will botest our regular readers and drivecopy sales.

Q. Much of the discussion abougrowing readership around the try centers on local news. Youket, however, is different. What

Jan uar y-F ebr uar y 200 5 The Ame ric an Edi tor

AN AM E RI C AN E D IT O R AN AM E RI C AN E D IT OR

progress over the past decade.

Q. For many years you have been anadvocate for the First Amendmentand tracked its power closely. Whathave you learned that bodes well forjournalists? And what have youlearned that should keep journalistsawake at night?

A. The good news is that the FirstAmendment has been a vital compo-nent of our democracy since 1791 andmost judges in this country continue tounderstand and embrace FirstAmendment principles. The bad newsis that thats the only good news. Thecredibility of the news media isarguably at an all-time low.

Q. As you traveled around the coun-try talking about the FirstAmendment and writing a syndicatedcolumn on the subject, what sur-prised you?

A. Its surprising that a nation found-ed on freedom can be so intolerant ofcontroversial speech, art and music. Acontroversial art exhibit leads to picketlines. An insensitive remark leads tocalls for boycotts. The land of the freehas become the home of the easilyoffended.

Q. Some of your research showedthat journalists are often not verywell regarded by the public. Shouldeditors be worried about this imageand what might they do to change it?

A. As basic as it sounds, we need todo a better job of getting things right.

I have to tell you that my seven yearsaway from the news business was aneye-opener. I found myself interviewedon First Amendment issues two or

three times a week and in all candor,only about half of those articles got allof the facts right. I found myself mis-quoted or misunderstood in about afourth of them. I suspect that peoplewho dont talk to the press for a livinghave similar experiences.

The American people wont trustyour reporting on Iraq if you cant cor-rectly spell the name of the next doorneighbor.

Q. What might newspaper editorsacross the country be doing to shoreup the First Amendment?

A. We need to demonstrate consis-tently that we protect the public andthat were on their side. Most disturbingto me is that the public no longer seemsto recognize or respect our watchdogrole. Decades of politicians denouncingthe liberal media have taken a toll.The public will ignore the watchdogsbarking if it believes the dog is rabid.

Newspapers also need to do a betterjob of reporting on shield laws, access topublic information and other freespeech and free press issues.

This isnt Inside Baseball; its aboutprotecting the cornerstone of democra-cy. In addition, editorials on the FirstAmendment need to move beyond free-dom of the press issues and remindreaders that the five freedoms of theFirst Amendment protect Americansfaith, culture and way of life.

Q. How do you believe PresidentBushs re-election will affect FirstAmendment issues?

A. Our current Supreme Court isfairly supportive on First Amendmentissues. With the reelection of any presi-dent, there is a chance that the delicatebalance could change.

That said, this isnt about the presi-dent. Its about a culture of secrecy atboth the federal and local level thatsgone unchallenged for too long. Imstunned at the number of federal offi-cials who hold briefings for the press,but insist that their names cant be used.

Since when does a public official onthe public payroll talking about publicbusiness in a public building have aright to anonymity?

Yet when USA TODAY and theAssociated Press challenge those restric-tions, other news organizations arelargely silent. That has to change.

Q. What sort of approach will yournewspaper take in covering the presi-dents new term? And, if you hadthe campaign coverage to do over,what might you change?

A. I dont foresee any dramaticchanges in the way we cover the presi-

dent. Its our goal to report on the issuesthat affect our readers daily lives. As forrecent election coverage, I think thatmost editors and news directors felt thatthere was too much focus on Vietnamand not enough on the challengesAmerica faces today. To help addressthat during the campaign, we ran aseries of stories that asked Does it mat-ter who the president is... That seriesgave readers a side-by-side comparisonon key issues.

Q. From 1986 to 1988, you worked asa special assistant and chief of staff toAllen H. Neuharth, who was at thattime Gannett chairman and who isthe founder of USA TODAY andFLORIDA TODAY, two papers you

have edited. What lessons did youlearn from Neuharth that you use inyour daily work?

A. The greatest lesson I learned fromAl is the importance of taking a risk forthe right reasons. USA TODAY lost mil-lions of dollars in its early years, butNeuharth and the Gannett Companypersevered, eventually building thelargest daily circulation newspaper inAmerica. Neuharth didnt mind criti-cism; in fact, there were times heseemed to invite it. That willingness tochallenge journalistic convention is stillpart of USA TODAYs culture.

Q. Youve had a full and variedcareer. What are its definingmoments and why?

A. Im at least fifteen years awayfrom retirement, so Im not sure that Ican provide a meaningful careeroverview. I can only say that Ive hadthe privilege throughout my career ofworking with and for some truly

remarkable people. Ive learned fromthem all.

Q. If you had it all to do over again,what would you do differently?What mistakes have you madethrough the years?

A. My greatest regret as a newspapereditor is that I didnt become moreinvolved in the communities in which Ilived. I was of the post-Watergate gen-eration that believed you needed to

2 2 Th e A me r ic a n E d it o r J a nu ar y- F eb r ua r y 2 0 05

Ken Paulson

Hometown: Elmhurst, Ill.Education: Graduate of University of Missouri School of Journalism and

University of Illinois College of Law.Married to: Peggy Paulson, a woman I started dating when we were 16.How I proposed to my wife: The reporter in me wanted to document

the moment, so I asked Peggy to go shopping with me at the mall. As wewalked past a four-photos-for-a-dollar booth, I invited her in. I proposedbetween the first and second frames.

Children: Carrie Ann, 24, and David, 21.If I werent a newspaper editor, Id be: Executive director of the First

Amendment Center.Books Im reading these days:Jon Stewarts America, A Citizens Guide

to Democracy Inaction.Book I would recommend: Our Culture of Pandering by the late

Senator Paul Simon.Favorite restaurant of all time: The Home Run Inn, a pizza parlor near

Comiskey Park.Guilty pleasures:James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy and Hershey

bars with almonds.Best concert I ever attended: Bruce Springsteen and the E St. Band at Kiel

Auditorium in St. Louis on Darkness on the Edge of Town tour in 1978.All-time best song: Twist and Shout.All-time best album: A tie: Meet the Beatles and Van Morrisons

Moondance.If I were a baseball player, Id be: On the disabled list.Three things I want from every journalist I hire: Intelligence, passion and

integrity.Biggest surprise in my new job: Just how polarized the nation is. Every

days mail brings accusations of bias from one side or the other, sometimeson the same story.

My best day ever in the newsroom:Jan. 16, 1981. Bridgewater Courier-News Assistant Managing Editor calmly explained to me that when yourexpectant wifes water breaks, you have to leave the metro desk. To my sur-prise, they published without me.

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Being the editor of a small dailynewspaper in a battlegroundstate in the closing weeks ofthe presidential campaign was

the verbal equivalent of going 15 roundswith Muhammad Ali in his prime.

Theres a jab from the right a leftcross a right uppercut a relentlessattack from the left and the right.

By Nov. 2, I was ready to throw inthe towel and call it a technicalknockout. Biased? I just wanted itover with.

Editors are supposed to be used tothis stuff, especially at smaller newspa-pers where calls from readers comestraight to your desk and where yourhome phone number is published. Afterall, you cant tell people you want tohear from them and then bristle whenyou do.

I dont mind being criticized forunsound news judgment. We all discussand debate Page 1 decisions every work-ing day of our lives. Readers inevitablywill disagree with decisions we make,

and its encouraging that they weigh inbecause it shows how much they careabout their newspaper.

I also dont mind debating the wis-dom or lack thereof of the editorials Iwrite. If I did, Im clearly in the wrongbusiness.

But what gets to me every time arethe callers who accuse me of trying tosteer public opinion in the direction ofone candidate or another by the place-ment and size of stories and photos. In

other words, were dishonest in ourclaim of objectivity. Translation: Wereliars.

Of course, this is a hard thing todefend against on any given day. Oneday the Swift Boat veterans get a biggerheadline. A few days later a story ques-tioning President Bushs National Guardservice gets bigger play. Of course, bothscenarios are proof that we are trying topromote one candidate or torpedo theother.

Editors cant win this argument, butI think we have to stand up for our-selves and be ready with proof that wetruly strive for balance. To simply dis-agree, raise voices and hang up isntgoing to do anything but reinforce thetalk radio windbags whomake a living by fuelingstereotypes of the main-stream media.

Several years ago ournewspaper did a readershipsurvey that garnered 3,000responses out of roughly

39,000 Sunday subscribers, areturn rate only made possibleby the chance to win one of10 gift certificates for dinner.A full 70 percent of therespondents told us they did-nt think we should endorsecandidates. The response wasacross the board from readerswho felt we were to liberal,too conservative or middle ofthe road.

So we stopped endorsing candIs this wimping out? Im sur

in my craft think so. But in disthe matter with some readers Ithat, at least in this market, moa few people dont see the disbetween the editorial page and tof the paper. That is, how can tell readers whom to vote for editorial page and behave objthroughout the rest of the paper

By endorsing, some believe outation suffers if our candidatand so we have a vested intehelping them win through oueditorial judgments.

Still others, I believe, look avoting decision as highly personresent the faceless Editorial butting in. They dont object to als about referendums and charged local issues, but somchanges when the decision is bcandidates rather than a yes or nbond issue.

Also, regarding local electioncity like Eau Claire, Wis., readertold me the endorsement carrmuch weight in races where canhave very little to spend to coun2x15 editorial telling readers not for them.

Finally, critics charge that it iscritical to favor campaign reform on one hand (which weyet play the freedom of the press

card on the other whendorse days before ation without allowingspace for a rebuttal.

There are a few othsons we tried to treat thdidates fairly. We cut off all

endorsing or denigratindidates well before thtion. This angered somers who felt frustratethey couldnt talk aboissues. I reminded theour policy didnt preveone from weighing in war, health care, Security, education, etc

Jan uar y-Fe bru ary 200 5 The Ame ric an Edi tor

SM A LL N E WS PA P ER S

By Don Huebscher

Going 15 rounds withMuhammad AliEditing a small newspaper in a battleground state in theclosing weeks of an election is a bruising task, with readersquestioning your I.Q and your integrity

Huebscher, editorof the Leader-Telegram in Ea uClaire, Wis., canbe reached atdon.huebscher@ecpc.com.

AN AM E RI C AN E D IT OR

local story for USA TODAY andwhat special efforts do you make toengage readers?

A. As polarized as this nation seemsto be these days, the truth is that mostAmericans share similar values andinterests. In 1987, I had the opportunityto trav