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Sept. 20, 2005

Dear AP Sounding Board members,

We asked for your reactions to the new AP Service Guide, an explanation of spot and feature digest and other key filing practices, which is transmitted daily around 2 a.m. Eastern time on DataStream news circuits.

Of the nine replies, most said they were aware of the guide and they judged it useful for new staffers, though not something that needed to be consulted daily by those familiar with the AP service.

Indeed, the AP Service Guide is largely unchanged day to day, week to week. It's a primer on using the wire, primarily for new staffers and as an occasional reference for more experienced ones.

Four members said the early morning transmission time is fine; two favored sending it in the early afternoon so their computer systems could retrieve it. (AP will make additional checks to see whether an afternoon rerun may be possible.)

The length of the guide — 900 words — and the topics covered were acceptable to most of you.

In a related question, we asked whether the "Bjt" (or budget) designator atop AP's main stories was of any help in calling attention to these topics. Six said it wasn't needed; a seventh editor said "Bjt" was occasionally useful to help locate prime stories. AP is looking at whether to drop it.

Full responses follow, in order of receipt.

1, Were you aware of this guide, and do you and your staffers find it useful?

Ozzie Kleinas, wire editor, Dayton Daily News:

Though I have worked with the wire long enough to be fairly familiar with it, I think this feature is exceptionally helpful for others who may use the wire less frequently.

Carl Schwartz, senior editor/national and international news, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Aware of it but it's all stuff my desk is already familiar with; in any case, we read the whole wire 24/7/365 and don't just search for items.

Nan Seelman, national editor, The Detroit News:

We are aware of the guide. It is not something that our National Desk staff has to use regularly, because all of us on the desk have been culling the AP Wire for several years now and are intimately familiar with how the AP news report is organized. We know what digests and fixtures to expect, and when to expect them. So while the National Desk staff doesn't need to refer to the Service Guide regularly, it is a great tool to have for new employees and colleagues who aren't as familiar with AP's offering. For the National Desk, it's particularly useful for those who fill in on the desk on occasion.

The Business, Sports and Features staffs also are aware of the budgets that move that relate to their departments. And like the National Desk, find the guide useful for new employees and fill-ins.

Phil Freedman, news editor, The News Journal, Wilmington, Del.:

I stumbled across it a couple weeks in. I can see its usefulness to folks who do not regularly review the wires.

Rick Everett, managing editor (news), The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.:

No one on our wire desk was aware this existed. All the wire editors had a look at it and found it informative, but it's not something we will be consulting every day.

Tom Eblen, managing editor, The Herald-Leader, Lexington, Ky.:

I checked with my news and wire editors, and they were unaware of the service guide and hadn't used it.

Deanna Sands, managing editor, Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald:

Wire editors on AM and PM cycle know about the Service Guide but don't use it.

Dick Moss, news editor, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle:

Yes, we noticed it a few weeks ago but frankly, it didn't really tell us anything we didn't already know. But, we can see where new wire editors may find it useful.

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

I thought it was useful for the novice.

2, Is the 2 a.m. Eastern Time transmission acceptable?

Ozzie Kleinas: Yes, that strikes me as a perfectly reasonable time.

Carl Schwartz: Doesn't matter.

Nan Seelman: Yes.

Phil Freedman: 2 a.m. leaves it out of our main search queries. Something after noon would be better.

Deanna Sands: We're wrapping up the last edition at that time. A better time would be 7 a.m. or noon CDT.

Dick Moss: Sure.

Bill Betterton: Yes.

3, At 900 words, and covering a half-dozen topics ranging from DIGESTS to BREAKING NEWS, is it detailed enough for your needs?

Ozzie Kleinas: Yes, certainly for me and very likely for others.

Nan Seelman: Yes.

Phil Freedman: It's fine.

Deanna Sands: (commenting on AP News digests). Our editors use the News Digests most often, particularly the spot news digests. They suggest that AP use fewer headings in general and group related stories. They also would like the breaking information attached to the story descriptions even if it's "timing uncertain."

Dick Moss: Frankly, we haven't been using it, so it's hard to say.

Bill Betterton: It is certainly detailed.

4, Would you like to see additional topics or explanations included?

Ozzie Kleinas: Not necessarily; it strikes me as quite adequate for our purposes.

Nan Seelman: The guide seems extremely complete.

Deanna Sands: Add the timing of upcoming events.

Dick Moss: We wish we could get a news advance for Sunday papers in addition to APN stories.

Bill Betterton: An explanation of embargoes and how they pertain to online publications would be helpful.

5, Or, should we shorten it by dropping certain topics or compressing explanations?

Ozzie Kleinas: Please don't.

Nan Seelman: For our part, no need to shorten. It's helpful to have all that information in one place for those who need it.

Phil Freedman: I think you could get away with less of the standard stuff. To be most useful it would show what is new or different that day or cycle.

Deanna Sands: You could drop the "headlines" and "also getting attention."

Dick Moss: Not sure. Instead of generic explanations of package advisories, it would be helpful to know that one will be moving on a certain day on a certain topic.

6, The guide explains AP's use of the "Bjt" designator on main stories. Do you use this abbreviation to search for specific stories? Or could we dispense with the "Bjt" designator entirely, since the stories are already listed on spot news digests?

Ozzie Kleinas: I certainly wouldn't object if the 'bjt' were to disappear.

Carl Schwartz: No (don't use Bjt to search). That would be fine.

Nan Seelman: Our computer system doesn't allow us to search for the Bjt designator in slug lines. But we do think the designators useful when scrolling the wire, because it immediately tells us it's a top story. Given all the other wire services we deal with, we don't always remember the slugs of stories listed on the News Digest.

Phil Freedman: I do not use it.

Deanna Sands: Drop it.

Dick Moss: Never use BJT... Also not sure what BC accomplishes, for that matter.

Bill Betterton: You could dispense with it. I prefer a slug search.

Thanks for participating.
Dave

Dave Minthorn, manager, AP News Administration, coordinates the questions and answers. Newspaper editors wishing to suggest a topic can send an e-mail to Minthorn at dminthorn@ap.org.

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