This issue: News from APME news

Conference news: From sports stars to silicon Valley gurus, conference program will help you solve problems. Click here for a link to register.

Free nights: Make your reservations before July 1 and you'll be in a drawing for free hotel nights in San Jose. Click here for hotel information.

Summer reading: The summer issue of APME News is arriving in mailboxes across the country. Topics include the trend in tabloids and the impact of the e-mail interview. Click here for highlights that will send you looking for your hard copy.

Call for nominations: July 8 is the deadline for most APME contests. Click here for quick links to all the categories.

Plan ahead: Don't forget, while on your way to San Jose, to budget for our 2006 event in New Orleans. Click here for a link that will keep you motivated.

Cooperation kudos: APME gives a pat on the back to AP members for their help with recent coverage. Click here for more.

— July 1: Conference registration deadline for chance to win free stay in San Jose
— July 2: Mailing deadline for APME contest entries
— July 8: Contest entries must be received
— Sept. 9: Nominations due for Robert G. McGruder Awards for Diversity Leadership
— Sept. 25: Cut-off for $150 conference room rate at The Fairmont, San Jose
— Oct. 26-29: APME Conference, The Fairmont, San Jose

HOT TOPICS FILL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Great Ideas? APME will have them for you in San Jose this October.

Want to know about the "new normal"? Silicon Valley technology investment guru Roger McNamee will tell you what it is and how to cope with it.

	Ronnie Lott		Bill Walsh

Need to make tough decisions on the run? Legendary 49ers coach Bill Walsh and safety Ronnie Lott know all about that and are ready to tell you how to do it.

Trying to cover entertainment, religion and make your Web site hum? We'll take that on.

Trying to marry video and still photography from the same photo staff? We can cover that, too.

Register now for APME's national conference, Oct. 26-29 at the Fairmont San Jose and you'll be eligible to win free room nights.

Check our web site and APME News for registration forms. Click here.

SPEAKING OF EXTRA NIGHTS ...
If you need time away from those day-to-day stresses, San Jose is the perfect opportunity to extend your stay for a rejuvenating getaway.

Register by July 1 and you'll be in a drawing for free hotel nights. Our conference is a short drive from some 30 wineries and the famous Monterey Peninsula golf courses, not to mention other California attractions. And APME has a discounted rate of $150 per night.

For hotel information, click here.

APME NEWS MAGAZINE IS OUT AND HERE'S WHAT'S ON THE INSIDE
Need some quality reading material for your summer vacation? The summer issue of APME News magazine was mailed last week. Highlights:

DOES SIZE MATTER? Scott Angus, chairman of the APME Readership committee, talks to industry experts about the growing number of newspapers looking at converting their broadsheets to tabloids, Berliners and news magazine-sized pages to attract new readers. Wildly popular in Europe, are tabloids (or smaller pages) right for American readers? Here's what some of the experts are saying:

     — Len Kubas of Kubas Consultants in Toronto notes that "the broadsheet is a mechanism developed by someone who doesn't like people."

     — Mario Garcia of Garcia Media notes that smaller pages are "preferred by readers."

     — Bill Ostendorf of Creative Circle Media Consulting notes "cheap and dull is killing newspapers, not page size."

IS INTERVIEWING A DYING ART? Tommy Miller, former Houston newspaper editor turned journalism professor at the University of California-Fresno, says face-to-face interviews with news sources may be going the way of hot type as a new generation of journalists puts more emphasis on collecting news and information in e-mail exchanges with sources. Miller believes the Internet and the telephone are important tools for newsgathering but journalists are missing the most compelling angles to stories when they don't meet news sources in person.

MOVE OVER, DAVID LETTERMAN. From his home office in Milwaukee, Wis., APME Conference Chair George Stanley has identified the top 10 reasons you must attend the San Jose conference Oct. 26-29. These are great talking points when convincing your publisher why you need to know the way to San Jose. Register by July 1 and be eligible to win a free overnight stay in the Silicon Valley.

FINDING A NICHE. Are you looking for a great idea to build readership this summer? Why not launch a niche publication? Lance Johnson, the master of great ideas, shares some of the latest success stories from newspapers that have started new weekly sections and publications aimed at targeted audiences. From samples of what's working to tips for a successful publication, Johnson will help you find your niche.

YOU MAKE THE CALL. Jose, the owner of a Mexican grocery store, offers to translate for a reporter so the reporter can interview the illegal immigrants working for him. What's a reporter to do? Accept the offer? Find his own translator? Three editors share their perspectives on this ethical dilemma in APME board member Donna Reed's popular column, "You Make The Call."

CONTEST DEADLINES AROUND THE CORNER
The July 4 holiday weekend is looming and so are deadlines to nominate for most of APME's national awards. Winners will be presented in San Jose. Deadline is July 8 for Public Service, First Amendment, International Perspective and APMEOnline Convergence award nominations. Deadline for the Robert G. McGruder Diveristy Leadership Awards is Sept. 9.

Use these links to jump to specific details for each category. (And remember that APME supporting members get a discount on the contest entry fees.)

Public Service Awards.

First Amendment Awards.

International Perspective Awards.

APMEOnline Convergence Awards.

Robert G. McGruder Diversity Leadership Awards.

NOT TO EARLY TO THINK ABOUT '06
Here's one for your tickler file: "APME — New Orleans." Need another terrific trip to keep you motivated? Starting to think about your 2006 budget? Make a note that we'll be at the Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans Oct. 25-28, 2006. Need some inspiration? Click here to check out the hotel.

COOPERATION KUDOS
Member newspapers, broadcast stations and online operations are AP's eyes and ears on the ground when local news breaks. Contributions of tips, stories, images and other information are vital to helping AP produce timely, informative news and photo reports. APME recognizes members for their outstanding cooperation. These members are being cited for their recent help:

     — KCDZ-FM of Joshua Tree, Calif., where owners Cindy and Gary Daigneault alerted AP to the summer's first big wildfires which destroyed at least six homes and threatened hundreds of others in the Mohave Desert community of Morongo Valley.

     — KTVK-TV, Phoenix, for tippin AP June 20 to a massive wildfire on the Barry Goldwater Air Force Range that was threatening a power line to two towns.

     — KPNX-TV, Phoenix, and The Sun of Yuma, Ariz., for help covering the crash of a Harrier jet in Yuma June 15. The station provided AP with an aerial shot of the wreckage and damaged residences while the newspaper provided stories and other photos.

     — The Post-Tribune of Merrillville, Ind., for quickly sharing a photo of the reaction of a childhood friend of Michael Jackson's family in Gary, Ind., upon learning of Jackson's acquittal on child molestation charges.

     — The Banner Graphic of Greencastle, Ind., for quickly sharing a story about about a suspected bank robber who fired shots toward at least two police officers during a chase before being wounded by a sheriff's deputy and captured. The member shared the information before it could publish the material itself.

     — The Shelbyville (Ind.) News, where publisher T. Paul Mahony was the first person to confirm with the county prosecutor that the suspect in a hostage situation June 2 had been shot and killed. Mahony's alert to AP was an important turn in the breaking national news story.

     — The Aberdeen (S.D.) American News, which provided important help during coverage of storms and severe weather June 8.

     — KCCR-AM, Pierre, S.D., where news director Tony Mangan alerted the Sioux Falls bureau that a dormitory in Stephan, on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, was burning.

     — The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which closely followed progress of a local emergency room doctor attempting to scale Mount Everest. Despite the competitive nature of the story, the Gazette notified AP immediately when the doctor advised by e-mail he had abandoned his attempt.

SHOWCASE PHOTO Click here to view a larger version of the photo.

     — KARE-TV, Minneapolis, for sharing dramatic highway patrol video of a Ramsey County sheriff deputy being hit by a pickup truck during a roadside stop. KARE also furnished a "screen grab" for use by newspapers.

     — The Ottumwa (Iowa) Courier for digging through its microfilm and files and helping AP report the death in prison of a man convicted 43 years ago in the shotgun slayings of an aunt, uncle and three children.

Also, congratulations to Darrin Phegley of The Gleaner in Henderson, Ky., for contributing the May Member Showcase Photo of the Month. Phegley's photo showed three children splashing in water as the sun set on the Henderson riverfront.