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June 9, 2004

Dear AP Sounding Board:

There were 10 replies to AP's question about BC-FYI-Planner. Most showed considerable interest in this lookahead list of story topics for Sunday and Monday editions.

Some said the Friday afternoon transmission time isn't ideal because weekend planning is already quite far along by then. However, from AP's vantage point, getting FYI-Planner out significantly earlier isn't feasible right now, given the challenges of compiling solid listings of stories and photos, 24 to 48 hours hence.

Regarding several comments about illustrations, the national story lines on FYI-Planner come with promises of photos, and the majority of the international story lines also have solid prospects for art.

Based on several responses, there may be some misunderstandings about the topics listed on FYI-Planner. National Projects Editor Paula Froke plans to tweak the introduction atop the planner to clarify this.

Your comments, which follow, add up to very helpful feedback for AP editors. Many thanks for participating. - DM

— Mark Bowden, editor, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa:

The short answer is "yes." Friday is a busy day for the daily press. We are working on parts of 4 issues: Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Your advisories (and similar state news advisories offered by the Des Moines AP — help us set priorities and anticipate the news. Meanwhile, I will use your question as another forum to argue that the monthly news calendars be distributed by e-mail to editors. Yes, I know they move on the last Friday of the month, but they can be lost in the sea of other advisories. Having the news calendar sent by push e-mail to selected editors would increase utilization of this planning tool. (AP response: this is being looked at as part of the eAP initiative, but no date yet for implementing.)

— Reed Eckhardt, managing editor, Wyoming Eagle-Tribune, Cheyenne, quoting his night editor:

Never looked at it once. I get this content from the daily budgets (the spot news), plus I'm grabbing features through the week and checking those advisories, plus the Under 35 Advisory does a good job of letting me know what's out there.

— Jim Staas, The Buffalo News, N.Y.:

I glance at the FYI Planner when I work the wire desk on Friday nights at The Buffalo News and find it helpful in giving me ideas for stories to recommend at Saturday's news meeting for Sunday's paper.

— Rick Everett, managing editor, The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.:

It's too late for us at 5 p.m. Friday. Most of the Sunday paper (excepting breaking news) has been plotted out by that time. We rely on advisories and calendars from earlier in the week to get a handle on what wire stories are likely to get prominent play.

— Steve Sidlo, managing editor, Dayton Daily News, Ohio:

A couple of wire editors here ... said they found the advisory to be very helpful, but wished it could move earlier, ideally at 3 p.m. The issue is parochial for us in that we have our main daily news meeting at 4 p.m. On Fridays, that's where we also discuss final plans for Sunday and Monday editions after finishing with Saturday. This means we typically don't see the advisory until after the final weekend planning meeting is over. We have no issues with the content, just when we get the advisory.

— Jody Seaborn, national editor, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman:

I take note of this budget but don't really use it. It would perhaps be of greater use to us if it moved a little earlier in the week, before our Thursday weekend meeting.

— Wayne Stewart, managing editor, Topeka Capital-Journal, Kansas:

We glance at the planner but most of our major weekend projects are local.

— Ed Morales, wire editor, The Palm Beach Post, Florida:

Yes, I look at it, to see if there is anything I might like. Obviously when I have more space for Sunday I pay attention to it a little more, since it has more of their feature stories listed on it. The way they present the budget is just fine. I actually prefer their preview budget that comes over late each night. It's a good primer for the next day.

— Daryl Kannberg, national editor, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland:

I find this particular planner pretty useful. It helps me think about Sunday advance stories I might have forgotten to plan for, and the need for live coverage I might have overlooked. I could use an early version on, say, Tuesdays to get my little brain working toward the weekend a little sooner. But otherwise, it seems to give me a pretty good sense of what's going on.

— Bill Betterton, news editor, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson:

While we look at the planner, we find that most of the items on it are already contained on the advance budgets or are items we hoped the AP would cover as major events.

It's always good to get a reminder or confirmation about what is being covered. It would be nice to find out in advance what news events AP plans to move photographs and graphics.

Have a question the board should pose to AP? Send it to AP National Desk Editor David Minthorn at dminthorn@ap.org, who is coordinating the Sounding Board.

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