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Aug. 20, 2006
Updated Sept. 2, 2006

Dear AP Sounding Board members,

Our survey on the revamped News Digest drew 19 responses, one of the most productive so far. Replies were wide-ranging and chock full of comments and suggestions.

Panelists were divided on part 1 – AP's decision to drop headlines from each digest line. "Removing headlines is fine," said one editor. "Headlines work well when budgeting and preparing stories," said another with the opposite view. But the preponderance was clear – 13 of 18 either favor the change or say they've adapted to it.

On part 2 about terser digest lines, the reaction was very favorable. Typical comments: "The shorter the digest description the better." "It is focused and effective." "The more succinct items work well." One noted, however, that shorter lines could make it harder to pick up nuances on stories.

Part 3 on putting multimedia higher on the News Digest got varying responses. Some newspapers don't need it. Others find it quite useful, particularly for Web and photo departments. Several editors recommended integrating the multimedia section with story budget lines, for one-stop shopping.

Panelists used the "other comments" section to raise several points, pro and con:

• "Also Getting Attention" is a talking point in mid-morning news planning meeting to quickly acknowledge the secondary level of stories that readers expect."

• "The 'New and Developing' portion of the budget is particularly helpful to watch as things change throughout the day. I can see at a glance what the most recent events are and check in to evaluate my own game plan."

• "Please consider packaging the budlines by topic. For example, the lede-all Middle East story is often listed by itself at the top of the digest, and the sidebars, boxes and other supplements are listed later, separated by unrelated stories. It's better for us to have all topical items in one spot."

• We also heard from a non-Sounding Board editor who said it's not enough to identify some minor stories simply by slug. This editor wanted a few words of explanation unless the slug is totally obvious, like BUSH-TEXT.

• A few editors said they were having trouble distinguishing between the digest that moves at around 1:30 p.m. ET and the "AP News Digest, 1st Add" (formerly known as the News Advisory) that follows it. Checking with these editors, we found several had their systems set to strip designations like "1st Add," which can be important to see in many situations. A couple of editors asked why we changed the slug of the News Advisory; our goal was to make the slug similar to the News Digest so that editors (especially new ones) had one less fixture name to remember.

Coming out of the survey, here's what we plan to do:

• We'll continue to leave headlines off individual stories, reflecting the majority view.

• We will keep the digest lines tight, in line with the Sounding Board's feeling. But noting the comment by one member on the importance of nuance, we'll allow a little more length when necessary to convey the tone or approach of a story.

• We'll include at least a few words of explanation on all slugs, unless their meaning is completely clear.

• We'll look to add more to the "New and Developing" and "Also Getting Attention" sections.

We greatly appreciate your participation in this Sounding Board. The digest is an important tool for all of us and your detailed responses will help us improve it further.

Full responses follow, in order of receipt:

— Dave Minthorn

Jason Adrians, national/world editor, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison:

1. It's fine. Took a day or two to get used to it, but I'm fine with it.

2. Again, it's fine.

3. Our photo editors would find the APs best photos even if they weren't listed on the digest, because they're hounds who really enjoy the process of picking the day's best images. The fact that they're listed higher on the digest doesn't matter much to them.

4. All in all, I believe it works. I thought the digests, however, were just fine before. To me, it's just a different look and feel, but in the end, all the information is basically the same. Just looks like a redesign. Not any more or any less helpful.

Michael Lewis, news copy editor, Statesman Journal, Salem, Ore.:

1, I preferred the old way because I think the headlines with the story text means more to Wire editors. However, because the Statesman Journal's emphasis is on Local news, few Wire stories make it onto our Page One unless a local angle can be found. I've adapted and use the shorter two-word topic lines in preparing my Wire report for budget meetings.

2, The change has had no effect about how we decide wire stories for the paper.

3, This has no bearing for our photo editor. Because the Statesman Journal emphasizes local stories, the photo editor scans the Oregon photo wire exclusively. Our online editor does find the Web information useful on stories.

Kevin Mason, night editor, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne:

1. No. The headlines work well when budgeting and preparing stories. You've still got the headlines with the stories on the wire, and I'd keep them on the budget entries. I don't see the point in removing the headlines. I also like the slugs below the stories much better.

2. This works. Get to the point of the story in the digest entry and move on.

3. The photo digest helps a little, but it's not something we look at deeply. Photos are listed with stories on the budgets and that is usually enough. Multimedia: N/A

Bill Rose, managing editor, Palm Beach Post, Palm Beach, Fla.:

1. Works for us. The new version has affected us at all. Don't miss the old. People find what they want just as efficiently.

2. We like the tighter budlines. Thus far they convey what we need to know to judge a story's worth.

3. Yes. Most of our multimedia on the web is local, but the web editors appreciate being able to find AP's offerings easily.

4. We like it.

Ken Canfield, news/world editor, Dayton Daily News, Dayton, Ohio:

1, Yes. It makes for a faster read, without losing detail.

2, Yes. Anything you can do to make the budget a faster read is appreciated.

3, We take special note of the notable photos listed. Our Web editors don't use this portion of the budget.

4, We do like the expansion of the "New and Developing" and "Also Getting Attention" sections. This is useful in our story consideration. Please explore ways to better tie the graphics to the main budget. Here's an example of the 7/18 World at 11 a.m. digest. There's no mention that the graphic that moved Monday would still be useful in coverage of the stem cell issue. It would be useful if something like GRAPHIC MOVED MONDAY could be added to this budget item.

STEM CELLS WASHINGTON – The Senate is poised to send a bill expanding federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to President Bush, who has promised a swift veto – his first. By Laurie Kellman. AP Video.

With:
* STEM CELLS-SANTORUM – Santorum finds political help from ideological foe on stem cells.
* STEM CELLS-GLANCE.
* STEM CELLS-SUMMARY BOX.

Corey Fyke, assistant copy desk chief and associate online editor, The Day, New London, Conn.:

1, I like the headlines removed and the general subject being at the top of each budget item. This gives me a much more immediate sense of the general topic, which is all that we need at our budget meetings. If I want more information, I can go to the description below.

2. This is fantastic. Space is at a premium on our budgets, as we subscribe to several wire services, and the shorter the digest descriptions the better. The Connecticut AP Bureau would do well to heed the example you set of brevity. Their descriptions are often half as long as the actual stories. Less is more.

3, As we slot stories to fill our news hole, photographs are a top priority. To me, the listing at the top of the revamped budget is redundant, though. I generally look for available photographs at the end of the digest description, although that might be out of force of habit. My vote is to keep them there, or do them in both places. The way it is now is fine. I'm sure the listing of the top photos at the top of the budget is quite helpful to the photo editors, much as the "TOPIX" slug is when searching for the most visually appealing photographs of the day. As for the multimedia listing, it would be a tremendous help, if we subscribed to the multimedia, which unfortunately we don't. Yet.

4. The budgets I've seen in the new format have sometimes listed, for instance, an Iraq story under TOP STORIES, then listed more Iraq stuff under AROUND THE NATION or AROUND THE WORLD. In my mind, it would be helpful to list all Iraq-related stories underneath the main Iraq story that is presented in TOP STORIES. This would give an at-a-glance look at all related copy. (The same approach would work with the current Israel/Lebanon situation, or Hurricane Katrina last year, or with major multi-story issues from the Bush administration.)

All in all, some fine improvements. Thanks for accepting the feedback.

Lewis Brissman, copy desk chief, Richmond Times Dispatch, Richmond, Va.:

1, One wire editor says no problem, but two say it's too easy now to read right over a digest entry. Duplication or not, the bold headlines on individual items/areas were useful.

2, Two wire editors say this hasn't been a problem, but another says truncated listings make it even harder to pick up on nuances of a story, or AP's angle on the story. He's not proposing the length/depth of what, say, NYT will put on its budget, but when you look at those budget lines, you really do get a sense of what they'll deliver.

3, Says one editor, with agreement from another: "The multimedia and photo information would work better if it were integrated with the story budget lines. I would like to look at a single coherent budget line about the fighting in Lebanon and learn at a glance what the news is, what the photos show and what AP video coverage is available." He also says that overall, the new budget format is harder to read – a matter of organization, more than content. One editor says a listing of available AP video – not just photos and interactive stuff – is crucial, since we want to drive readers to online video offerings. One wire editor would prefer that the multimedia/photo material be at the end of the digest, with the contact names of the desk editors, and the New York phone numbers, back at the top. A designer says having the Web notes there is probably a help, but the key is making sure the notes are atop the individual stories. But he doesn't use the picture notes (our designers go through the full live photo feed every day), and our wire editors don't choose pictures.

4, (a) As noted above, budget lines that integrate text, photo, video and interactive offerings would be a step forward. (b) A separate multimedia budget would be a benefit for the print folks and online folks in coordinating coverage. (b) Can we use some name on the supplemental digest other than just "News Digest," which is the primary name of the top-stories budget? Even adding "1st-add" or "supplemental" to the slug would distinguish it on the wire. (I think this used to be called "News Advisory.") We understand that any new slugging protocols might be geared toward the versioning feature for the electronic browser.

Paul Brouillette, wire editor, The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Fla.:

1, Yes. It's a faster read.

2, Yes. Again, the information can be digested more quickly.

3, Yes. They like it.

4, It is focused and effective.

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

1. Removal of headlines from each item is not a problem.

2. The more succinct items work well – and the list doesn't take as much paper if we need to print it!

3. The inclusion of top photos is useful. The added detail on multimedia is very helpful for our online editors. Ironically, our desk editors are still adjusting to the additional information. Says one, "It gets in the way, breaking the flow of the digest."

4. "Also Getting Attention" is a talking point in mid-morning news planning meeting to quickly acknowledge the secondary level of stories that readers expect to find in the paper. The organization of information about top stories is cleaner than before. We like the high placement of alerts regarding developing stories and what optional leads are planned. However, we think the individual digest items should include mention as to what stories will have optional leads. Yes, that's repetitive, but it would save time scrolling back and forth.

I personally miss the Under 35 budget because it highlighted lifestyle and health stories that are missing under the current news digest. The news digest works very well for breaking news. While the ASAP budget is lengthy, it's read carefully to make good use of the copy.

Once again, I encourage AP to offer a few topical digests each day: one listing heath and lifestyle stories, the other listing consumer (pocketbook issues) topics. Seems to me these are the kind of stories that generally have high reader interest, and it would be nice if AP could consistently offer a budget for such topics to help newspapers identify and use a content mix that achieves some of the readership initiatives.

Perhaps it's not an issue elsewhere. We realize that our front-end system's ability to collate is limited, so we are looking forward to an easier, more effective sort of the news wires when we install our new system.

Dori Hjalmarson, wire editor, Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington, Ky.:

1, Neutral. I kind of liked the hedlines on the slugs, but it doesn't really bother me that they're gone. I ignore the headlines at the top of the digest. I almost always delete them before reading them.

2, Tighter is better, but I think they're also not as deep as they used to be. I'd like a better sense of what will be in the final stories so as to compare AP's to other budget lines.

3, Tom, you'd have to ask the photo and Web editors. Lisa tells me that she does look at the AP Digest to get a sense of the top stories of the day but she didn't notice that they had moved the "notable photos" up, so I'm guessing the changes don't really affect her that much. As for multimedia, I usually ignore this because I would rely on Deedra to apprise me of anything special on the Web, and I get the impression she (or the former KRD?) doesn't really care about promoting AP multimedia.

4, I don't like the new slug. I wish you would either distinguish it from the "add" take (formerly the NewsAdvisory) or combine the two and eliminate the "add" because I am constantly wasting time opening the wrong file.

Dawn Needham, assistant news editor, The Detroit News:

1, Yes, having the headlines at the top of the page is a useful summary, but after that, they aren't necessary to peruse the budget line. It's helpful to have them on the stories, not so much on the budget.

2, Yes, they seem much more concise and to the point. I can get an idea about the stories fastert and it helps me communicate the story better with others around the newsroom: Tighter budget lines let them understand the story and gauge its importance more quickly.

3, It helps our photo editors sort through what's available. Particularly lately, with so much going on in the Middle East, the top photos offer a way to begin to navigate through a multitude of photos to look for the best images for our presentation. I'm not sure our Web editors have been using that part of the digest much; I plan to bring it to their attention so they can use it as well.

4, The "new and developing" portion of the budget is particularly helpful to watch as things change throughout the day. I can see at a glance what the most recent events are and check in to evaluate my own game plan.

And something I've noticed with the high number of stories about the Mideast: It's hard to keep stories straight when they all have the same initial slug. In our system, everything moves as Mideast-Fighting – (we don't see anything after the dash in our initial window) and it takes an extra step to figure out if it's Mideast-Fighting-Rocket or Mideast-Fighting-UN. Particularly with all of the updates, it becomes cumbersome to keep them all straight and track them through the day.

Finally: The "also getting attention" portion helps flag sometimes lower-profile but interesting stories that might otherwise get lost. I like it.

Jody Seaborn, national editor, Austin American-Statesman, Austin, Texas:

1, I've adjusted to the new format, though I'd rather have the headlines with each digest item. I find the headlines at the top of the digest of limited use, since I usually go straight to the top story list anyway, which is the list I use to begin building our budget. In fact, the new format adds too much material above the top story list; I'd like to see most of that material moved down and out of the way of the top story list.

2, Generally, yes. Though given a choice, I'd prefer as much detail on the tone and direction of the story as I can get; so, in at least some cases, stories might be better served by longer, more detailed digest lines. I can do any tightening that needs to be done myself.

3, As I've noted above, this material is not particularly useful to me and is a minor inconvenience. It's placement in the digest doesn't seem to matter much to our photo editors. As for our Web editors, we don't subscribe to AP's multimedia service so they don't routinely check the digest.

4, Just one: Why was the name of the News Advisory changed to News Digest so that we now receive two different sets of AP budget lines under the same slug? I'm not sure how the name change was supposed to be less confusing. I'm also not sure what's gained by having the separate digests anyway, since we have to combine them to put together our daily budget.

Thanks for the opportunity to respond to these changes.

Jason Snyder, news editor, The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.:

1. I've noticed that on certain days of the week, there are an abundance of health stories, or quarterly business earnings reports from various companies. Maybe if the digest included a main "Healthbeat" story then listed some of the other health stories that are expected (even if they don't include a full writeup on the digest), then newsrooms could better plan some sort of health package. Also, with the quarterly earnings reports, the digest could list the reports that are expected that day.

2. We are trying to reach a younger audience, so it would be great if there were a couple stories listed that might appeal to that crowd. Maybe some entertainment stories or technology stories listed under and Under 35 title, since there isn't an Under 35 budget anymore (that I've noticed).

3. It would be great to list a funny story on the budget. We are trying to put something funny in the paper every day, so listing a funny story or funny photo would be helpful.

Other than that, we are really pleased with the daily digest. We don't use the digest too much for the interactive stuff, but we agree that it is helpful for newspapers that do. The photos of interest category is nice also.

Thanks for the opportunity to sound off.

Dan Roherty, copy desk chief, The Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wis.:

1. Yes, it helps condense the digest without making it any harder to find the story lists.

2. More concise is better when going through a lot of budget material beyond just AP.

3. I don't have any feedback from them on this.

4. I'm still getting used to it but will likely zero in the notable photos list more often and use the interactive lineup as we push harder on that content.

Kathryn Kroll, national editor, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland:

1, Removing the headlines is fine.

2, Tighter digests are better.

3, I don't use the multi-media stuff, so I would prefer you get the news sooner. (I liked the way the old budgets were organized.) It doesn't seem to make sense to have the section on "also getting attention" before you get to the real stories.

4, Thanks for all of your hard work.

David Birdwell, national/foreign news editor, and Tom Brown, associate editor, Seattle Times, Seattle, Wash.:

1, Actually, I prefer the headlines with the digest lines. I don't think anybody memorizes the headlines at the top of the budget, so I can't say removing them is an improvement. (from Birdwell)

2, This works fine. To be honest, I hadn't really noticed that the digest lines were shorter. So, if there's been any impact, it's negligible. (from Birdwell)

3, We don't use a lot of the multimedia content on the Web right now, but we expect to use it increasingly in the future. So, yes, this change ultimately will be a benefit. (from Brown)

Photo editors say they rarely, if ever, look at the digests. (from Birdwell)

4, Overall, I like the AP news digest. It does a good job of providing a description of the stories, the slug, the photos and graphics, the sidebars, the name of the reporter. I'm sure the headlines at the top are a help to some newspapers. We don't pay much attention to them, though. I haven't conducted a survey, but I'd say that the stories we use often don't mirror AP's opinions, particularly after the slam-dunk stories.

Maybe the budget could be improved with some sort of cutoff rule between items. This would make them stand out better.

And one more thing (you may want to remove this when you dispense your report): The "Enterprise" and "Exclusive" labels that are slapped on some AP stories are a source of amusement here. You may want to rethink those. (from Birdwell)

Kathleen Cooper, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.:

1, Yes. It's easier to compile a budget when there's less text to wade through – and less time spent on budgets means more time to thoroughly edit the wire.

2, Generally, yes. But a missing news peg is a killer. For example:

CHIEF JOSEPH'S RIDE KOOSKIA, Idaho – In 1877, Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce Tribe on a 1,300-mile trek from Wallowa Lake, Ore., to where he surrendered when the U.S. Army caught up with them at Bear Paw Battlefield in eastern Montana. New, stands.

However, this has happened so infrequently that I offer it as a caution, not a complaint.

3, The News Tribune doesn't subscribe to The AP's multimedia service, so it's not useful for us. Most of our national and international wire content online is driven by our corporate Web masters. Because of in-house technical issues, our photo editors don't use wire digests at all.

4, Please consider packaging the budlines by topic. For example, the lede-all Middle East story is often listed by itself at the top of the digest, and the sidebars, boxes and other supplements are listed later, separated by unrelated stories. It's better for us to have all topical items in one spot since we're trying to package our news better – and sometimes put together "alternative story forms" with read-ins and developments boxes instead of a traditional narrative.

Ken Tuck, managing editor, Dothan Eagle, Dothan, Ala.:

1, Honestly, I preferred the headline at the top; it gives a quick read when you're skimming the budget. As far as functionality, the desk uses the slug to search for stories.

2, That's fine ... sometimes it does help to have a catchy digest line, because we'll pick up a story we normally wouldn't have thought of considering.

3, I preferred it at the bottom. We do look at that to point us in the right direction as far as picking up interesting photos and what to promo on our Web site for multimedia presentations.

Dave Ledford, vice president news/executive editor, The News Journal, Wilmington, Del.:

My comments come as a top editor who on some days is sometimes very engaged in the report but other days, slammed with meetings or stuff out of the office, walks in cold knowing virtually nothing about what's going on in the world.

I want a meaningful executive summary, something to help me stimulate discussion and make decisions.

While several of us top editors will occasionally argue for "making sure we get that story into the newspaper" (that story being a good read that, but given the local competition won't make it onto A1), it's important to stress that the entire meeting is aimed at determining what goes onto the cover.

Often times people speculate about where an AP story might go based on the two or three sentences on the budget. They're frequently wrong, but we nonetheless stop the meeting, pull up the entire story on the wide screen in the conference room and debate its merits.

When the story has yet to move, we'll hold a spot on A1 with several different possibilities and make a final decision around 7 p.m.

I'm OK with or without headlines, but I need the digest to be as informative as possible. We typically leaf through 20-pages of paper with local and wire service possibilities to determine what the mix of 4 to 5 stories on the cover will be.

I agree with one of the writers below that nuance is important. So is context.

Bottom line: We're looking for discovery, not reaffirmation. Anything you can do to make that happen would be appreciated.

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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