IN THIS ISSUE ...

Face Time: It's not a story. It's not a brief. But the "Face Time" feature in The Tonawanda (N.Y.) News gets local people news in print. Click here for more on this innovative readership idea.

Conference news: It's never too soon to plan on attending the APME conference – especially this year when you can visit northern California and get great programs. Click here to read more.

Tsunami coverage: Editors on the APME Sounding Board tell AP what they thought of the news cooperative's coverage of the natural disaster half a world away in southeastern Asia. Click here to read more.

Board changes: Buel climbs on leadership ladder, Peterson is next treasurer. Click here to read more.

Cooperation Kudos: Members help cover deaths of Carson, Woods, major storms in Midwest. Click here for more.

J-Links: Check out these seminars, offerings.

FACE TIME: A NEW WAY TO COVER PEOPLE NEWS
The Tonawanda (N.Y.) News (circulation 10,000) has launched a new daily feature called "Face Time" that highlights accomplishments of every-day people. Steve Kozarovich, managing editor of Greater Niagara Newspapers, said "Face Time" runs in high-profile strips atop Pages 2 and 3, along with the newspaper's contact information and lottery results. "Face Time" is simple: a short paragraph detailing some accomplishment is packaged with a mug shot of the individual. Typical accomplishments include scholarships, military honors and community awards.

Kozarovich said "Face Time" has featured approximately 100 people since debuting last year as part of a redesign. "Typically announcements such as this are buried in some papers and we hope to bring these accomplishments to the spotlight," Kozarovich said. "In fact, this feature has given us another option for content that didn't really work in other areas of the paper." Kozarovich advises editors considering similar features to:

1) Have a week's worth ready before launch.
2) Be prepared to reject provided photos and shoot your own mug shots.
3) Keep an open mind about what could be used there.

"As editors, many of us were trained to think in certain formats such as stories and briefs. But this isn't quite a brief or a story so some editors might think it's not 'newsworthy,'" Kozarovich said.

To learn more, contact Kozarovich at (716) 693-1000, ext. 126 or News Managing Editor Tim Schmitt at ext. 112.

SAN JOSE '05: A GET-AWAY THAT WILL HELP YOU GET AHEAD
Budget realities got you down? New initiatives sapping your energy? Winter blahs setting in? Take your mind off it by planning a rejuvenating trip to California where you'll be close to wine country and the gorgeous Monterrey Peninsula with its beaches and golf courses. And did we mention you can get all that and four days of great programs from the 2005 APME Conference? The theme will be "The Next Big Thing" as we gather at The Fairmont San Jose, in the heart of the Silicon Valley, Oct. 26-29. Need more highlights of the programs?

	(AP Photo/Mark Mittelstadt)
	Grapes ripen at Guglielmo Family Winery outside San Jose. Click on the photo to view a larger version.

— Visionary technology pioneers will help us see the biggest threats and opportunities facing our newsrooms in this time of rapid change.

— We'll examine the intense financial pressures on our companies and hear from experts on what we must do to thrive in the future while retaining our journalistic values.

— Legendary 49ers Coach Bill Walsh and Hall of Fame Safety Ronnie Lott will talk to us about leadership, innovation and making tough decisions in a hypercompetitive environment.

— We'll also have a NewsTrain event, concurrent sessions and workshops with AP Photo Managers and AP Online editors and another visit from "embedded readers."

Look for more details in the upcoming APME News magazine and keep watching www.apme.com for information on programs, registration and more.

SOUNDING OFF: EDITORS DISCUSS AP'S TSUNAMI COVERAGE
How did AP respond when the earthquake and tsuami struck villages and resort areas throughout southeastern Asia? Did member newspapers receive the stories, images, graphics and other content they needed to tell the story of this broad, devastating natural disaster half a world away?

Read what members of the APME Sounding Board told AP at: http://www.apme.com/soundingboard/29.shtml

See the full archive of Sounding Board questions relating to AP's election coverage, other stories, news advisories and filing practices at: http://www.apme.com/soundingboard/archive.shtml

Have a topic you'd like addressed in future Sounding Boards? Send it to Sounding Board Committee chairman Rick Everett, managing editor for news of the Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., at reverett@starledger.com.

APME OFFICERS: BUEL, PETERSON TAKE NEW ROLES
Bobbie Jo Buel, executive editor of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, has climbed on the leadership ladder of APME. Her selection by the board Jan. 31 as vice chairwoman of the Journalism Today committee puts her in line to be president in 2009. Karen Peterson, senior editor for daily news at the News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., was elected the next treasurer of APME.

COOPERATION KUDOS:
Newspapers, radio and television stations and Web sites are AP's eyes and ears on the ground and their speedy, unselfish contributions of information and images help the cooperative cover the news. These members were noted by AP for their exemplary recent efforts and will receive APME Instant Citations:

— The Norfolk (Neb.) Daily News, which helped AP provide complete, well-rounded coverage on the death of late night comedy pioneer Johnny Carson Jan. 23. Despite being wrapped up with his own newspapers coverage of the passing of the famed local son, Daily News Editor Kent Warneke made sure the newspaper transmitted several Carson photos for use by other AP members and also called AP several times to give updates on local developments and to help steer the AP reporter to good local contacts.

— The Rawlins (Wyo.) Daily Times for sharing a photo and putting AP in touch with local authorities when an air ambulance crashed in snow and fog late Jan. 11, killing three people.

— The Morning Journal in Lisbon, Ohio, which called the AP Columbus bureau Jan. 23 with first word of the death of Rose Mary Woods, the devoted secretary of President Nixon who found herself in the middle of the Watergate crisis. Woods died at a nursing home in Alliance, about 60 miles south of Cleveland at age 87. The newspaper also alerted AP to the funeral home handling the arrangements, enabling AP to confirm the death.

— KTRH Radio, Houston, for giving AP first word Jan. 6 that an appeals court had overturned the conviction of Andrea Yates, who had admitted drowning her five children at the family's home in 2001.

— The Kodiak (Ark.) Daily Mirror, which alerted AP Jan. 14 to the sinking of a 92-foot crab boat in the turbulent Bering Sea, an incident in which only one member of the six-man crew survived. The Mirror also shared a file photo of the boat even though the newspaper wouldn't be able to use the story or photo itself for two more days.

— The Independent of Marshall, Minn., for quickly sharing the story after it learned that a Minnesota sailor had died in an accident aboard the USS Ronald Reagan Jan. 18. The paper included material from an uncle that helped round out the story beyond basic facts.

Several AP members are being cited for helping cover bitter cold weather and related problems in the West and Upper Midwest in January. They include:

• The Daily Journal of Fergus Falls, Minn., for word of a water main break that forced the city to close schools and left residents with little or no water pressure.

• KCJB Radio and KXMC Radio of Minot, N.D., for coverage of a Jan. 17 oil company fire.

• Also KFGO Radio, Fargo, N.D., for coverage of a Jan. 22 winter storm.

• Also, these Indiana newspapers contributed photos or other information to help AP cover major snow and ice storms which produce extensive flooding and wreaked other havoc: The Commercial Review, Portland; The Star Press of Muncie; The Courier & Press of Evansville; The Indianapolis Star; Vincennes Sun-Commercial; The Republic, Columbus; South Bend Tribune; The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.; The Times, Frankfort; Kokomo Tribune; Washington Times-Herald; Journal and Courier of Lafayette.

J-LINKS: OPPORTUNITIES TO EXCEL
• How Environmental Issues Influence Our Daily Lives: A Seminar in the Dominican Republic for Journalists.

• Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting 2005 Fellowships for Journalists.

• 2005 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism.

• Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Minority Job Fair Sept. 29-30, Pittsburgh.

• Asian American Journalists Association J Camp Aug. 12-17, Minneapolis.