DALLAS REACHES OUT TO IMPROVE COVERAGE, CREDIBILITY
Do we really think the pages of our newspapers reflect the communities we cover? And if newspapers don't accurately reflect our communities, how does that affect our credibility with readers?

Those are questions Dwayne Bray, deputy managing editor of The Dallas Morning News asks in describing how his paper is implementing intense neighborhood-level reporting to improve coverage and credibility.

Read the entire story at APME.com.

JOURNALISM EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Don't put off entering your work in APME's Journalism Excellence Awards. Entries in four categories – First Amendment, Public Service, International Perspective and Online Convergence – will be accepted through July 7.

Visit APME.com for full rules and entry information.

The awards will be presented during APME's annual conference Oct. 25-28 in New Orleans. Visit APME.com for background and registration information on the conference.

SUMBIT YOUR GREAT IDEAS
The search for contributions to the 2006 APME Great Ideas booklet is under way. By contributing, you will gain exposure for your staff's best work, while helping other editors.

Each year, Lance Johnson, executive editor of The Day in New London, Conn., puts together the Great Ideas booklet, a collection of more than 200 cutting-edge content strategies from newspapers in the United States and Canada. Contributions from Europe have been received this year.

The best ideas will be included in a full-color booklet and showcased at the 2006 APME conference, Oct. 25-28, in New Orleans.

Content categories include community news, improving readership, diversity in coverage, features, global understanding, niche publications, online (must expand on print content), projects, presentation and design, reader involvement in print and online, young readers and newsroom management.

For each submission, please describe your Great Idea in no more than 300 words. More than one idea can be submitted. Please include your paper's name, contact editor, title, phone number and e-mail address.

E-mail ideas and electronic page images to:

Lance Johnson
Executive Editor
The Day
47 Eugene O'Neill Drive
New London, CT 06320
l.johnson@theday.com
1-860-701-4379

NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR GISH AWARD FOR COURAGE, TENACITY, INTEGRITY IN RURAL JOURNALISM
Do you know a publisher, editor, reporter or photographer who has demonstrated courage, tenacity and integrity in rural journalism?  You are invited to nominate one or more of them for the Tom and Pat Gish Award, presented by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues.

The award is named for the couple who are in their 50th year of publishing The Mountain Eagle of Whitesburg, Ky. The Gishes have withstood advertiser boycotts, declining population, personal attacks and even the burning of their newspaper office to provide the citizens of Letcher County the kind of journalism often lacking in rural areas, especially those dominated by extractive industries – in this case, primarily coal. Their coverage and commentary go beyond the boundaries of Letcher County to address issues in state and federal governments and other institutions that have a local impact, such as a new regional drug-fighting agency, the 40-year-old Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Tennessee Valley Authority and its coal-buying policies that encouraged strip mining in Central Appalachia. These are just some examples of the type of journalism worthy of the award.

The Gish Award is given to rural journalists who demonstrate the courage, tenacity and integrity often needed to render public service through rural journalism. The first award was made to the Gishes themselves in 2005. The Institute hopes to make it annually, depending on quality of the nominations.

Nominations for this year's award are due Sept. 1. The Institute plans to present the award at one of its conferences this fall. Nominations should be made by way of a letter or e-mail giving details on the courage, tenacity and integrity demonstrated by the nominee(s).

Send your nomination to:

Al Cross
Director
Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
122 Grehan Journalism Bldg.
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0042

or by e-mail to al.cross@uky.edu.

The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues helps non-metropolitan journalists define the public agenda for their communities, and grasp the local impact of broader issues. It interprets rural issues for metro news media, conducts seminars and publishes research, good examples of rural journalism and The Rural Blog, a daily digest of events, issues, trends and journalism in rural America, with ideas for stories and sources. It is based in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky and has academic partners at Appalachian State University, East Tennessee State University, Eastern Kentucky University, Georgia College and State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Marshall University, Middle Tennessee State University, Ohio University, Southeast Missouri State University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Washington and Lee University, West Virginia University and the Knight Community Journalism Fellows program of the University of Alabama. For details, visit RuralJournalism.org.

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