June 28, 2004

THIS ISSUE:

Credibility Roundtables: Sign up now for popular reader communication tool

Interactivity: Ensnare readers in this Web of interactive feedback
On the Web: Internet site considers campaign coverage

ALSO:

Cooperation: Members contribute news, photos to Associated Press

SIGN UP NOW FOR 2004-2005 CREDIBILITY ROUNDTABLES
APME again has an invitation for you that will make your newspaper better. During July, APME's National Credibility Roundtables Project will be selecting 20 additional newspapers to take part in the program. it is a chance to address two key challenges in your newsroom: Building trust in the news you deliver and understanding readers better. You will join more than 150 news organizations that have already used the simple but powerful approach: You bring yournewspaper and your readers together for a carefully planned discussion to examine coverage that raised questions of the public's trust. You choose the topic. You write about what you learned and consider action that will make your journalism stronger and your connection with your community better. The upcoming cycle of the program is looking especially for:

  • Newspapers that are new to reaching out to the public in a formal way.
  • Larger circulation newspapers.

The project pays costs associated with Credibility Roundtables activities. It also will pay to bring editors to a workshop Sept. 10-12 that prepares them for their roundtables and for follow-up action, such as accuracy programs and diversity efforts. interested? Click here and fill out the simple application form. You can also learn more about Credibility Roundtables at the site. If you have questions, e-mail Carol Nunnelley or Debby Urken or call (212) 621-7503.

INTERACTIVE PROGRAM PUTS READERS, NEWSPAPERS IN TOUCH
The Reader-Interactive program is using the power of the Internet to broaden news coverage and dig deeper into community life. The program creates reader e-mail panels that can be reached quickly to advise on a journalistic dilemma, to suggest sources for a story or to comment for publication. How well is the project being received in newsrooms? Here are a few quotes from editors:

"Just yesterday we produced items on two topics we would never have been able to get close to through any other means." Bill Felber, The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury

"The results from the questions we have asked have been incredible. We plan to continue using the bank to get real people into our stories." Jennifer Porter, The Forum, Fargo, N.D.

"There's no doubt it will become a regular and useful tool for reporters." Deb Flemming, Mankato (Minn.) Free Press

"I was at church a couple Sundays ago and introduced myself to a man in the pew behind me during the 'greetings' period of the service. At the end of the service, he asked me if I worked at the News & Record. 'Yes, I do,' I replied. 'My News & Record?' he asked. 'I'm glad you feel that way about the paper,' I said. 'Well, I'm a member of your Reader Advisory Network, so I do feel part of it,' he said. Can you beat that!????." Ann Morris, Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record

You can learn more about the reader interactive projects here.

WEB SITE HOLDS CREDIBILITY CONVERSATION ON ELECTION COVERAGE
On May 26, Newsdesk.org, an online news organization based in San Francisco, gathered a diverse audience of 120 community members at the World Affairs Council of Northern California to quiz guest editors from The Oakland Tribune, The Examiner of San Francisco, the San Jose Mercury News and KQED radio of San Francisco. The roundtable was the first of six online sites to conduct credibility roundtables projects that focus on the coverage of the 2004 presidential election. "Conversation hit upon a variety of topics" wrote NewsDesk's Josh Wilson, "and revealed some differences in corporate culture. I detected considerable institutional bias among the participants, with regards to thorny issues of accountability and bias in coverage." NewsDesk hopes to follow-up by organizing smaller more intimate conversations so that participants can "dig deeper". You can view a video of NewsDesk's Bay Area roundtable on their site.

Today's issue was prepared by Carol Nunnelley and Debbie Urken of the APME Credibility project.

COOPERATION KUDOS
Member newspapers, broadcast stations and online news desks are AP's eyes and ears on the ground in their hometowns, and member cooperation has been a hallmark of the news cooperative's success since its founding. Congratulations to these members for their assistance on recent news. For their help they will receive Instant Citations from APME:

  • The Kingsport (Tenn.) Times-News, for providing AP and all Tennessee members the story when a judge moved jury selection 200 miles away for the murder trial of a woman accused of running down to Wilson County law enforcement officers.
  • The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun, where projects writer Dan Morris was the first to notify AP June 17 when a police officer was fatally shot by a purse-snatcher. The newspaper kept AP updated through the early hours of the story.
  • The Nevada Appeal of Carson City, Nev., where reporter Fran Norton confirmed an important development in a developing story of a father who shot his wife and kidnapped his three teenage daughters. When the father was later found dead, it was assumed he had killed himself. Norton informed AP that one of the girls had shot the father to death and the reporter agreed to quickly share the story on-cycle.
  • KFDI-AM radio, Wichita, Kan., where reporter-anchor George Lawson called the Kansas City AP bureau from the daily police briefing to dictate a story saying that letters police and a local television station had received had been authenticated as the work of the BTK killer. At the same time, KFDI assignment editor Jared Cerullo called the Wichita bureau so AP Wichita correspondent Roxana Hegeman could get to the scene.
  • The Telegraph Herald of Dubuque, Iowa, for sharing its story June 23 when a local man charged with his wife's slaying was found dead in his car.
  • The Atlantic (Iowa) News Telegraph for quickly providing the story upon learning that the Cass County attorney expected to be reprimanded by a state ethics board following a local controversy over a speeding ticket policy.
  • The Ludington (Mich.) Daily News for alerting the Detroit AP bureau to a weekend search for a missing 12-year-old girl. The paper shared its information even before its own story was written and sent photos of the girl and the search effort. The paper helped with the coverage again two days later when the girl's body was found.
Previous issues:
ABOUT US: APME Update is published weekly by the Associated Press Managing Editors. It is edited by Elaine Kulhanek of the Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune. Send submissions by e-mail to ekulhanek@greatfal.gannett. Our contributors welcome your suggestions and news tips related to their Update topics. Contributors include Ken Sands of The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash., online; Carol Nunnelley of the Credibility Roundtables project; Darrell Hoemann, of The News-Gazette, Champaign, Ill., a member of the Associated Press Photo Managers; Scott Angus of the Janesville (Wis.) Gazette, APME state associations, and Logan Molen of The Bakersfield (Calif.) Californian, APME readership committee.

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