| June 4, 2007 | ||
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THE STAR TRIBUNE'S HOUSE OF THE FUTURE   Click on the images above to view PDFs of the pages. The features department at the Star Tribune recently examined the effect global warming might have on the Minnesota house of the future. The package started with a pitch from consumer writer Karen Youso to interview experts and futurists about what local homes might look like and how they'll work in the future. She teamed up with graphic artist Mark Boswell to research and create "Home Sweet Home 2037." As the intro summarized it, "Cisterns collect water, sidewalks soak up the rain. Avatars teach your kids, personal devices monitor your health." Features editor Rhonda Prast says, "Our biggest challenge in focusing the idea was picking the right date and keeping the reporting down to a manageable load." The team also brought in a university mentor to help guide the project, which eventually expanded to include a neighborhood of the future. "We felt the house alone would not convey the changes residents would face in their daily lifestyles: the sharing of services in a neighborhood, for example," Prast says. "Home Sweet Home 2037" is an example of the kind of journalism that recently earned the Star Tribune features department – a Top 20 ranking from The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors. It's also the kind of work APME wants for its annual "Great Ideas" book. We'll open the nominations process next week, so get ready to share your own best ideas with editors from around the country. From APME credibility committee chair Jennifer Houtman: Readers want to know why newspapers and news organizations make the decisions they do. That became even more apparent in our coverage of the deadly shootings on the Virginia Tech campus this spring. News outlets around the country were criticized by readers and viewers for giving play to the killers videos, pictures and writings. Many newspapers chose to run one or more of the photos of the gunman and his weapons on their front pages, angering some readers who said doing so simply carried out the man's wish to get attention and grab headlines. It's the kind of situation editors have experienced before, one in which they explain publicly the reasoning behind a decision. Transparency in our business is a good thing. Readers feel they have a right, even an obligation, to tell us when they think we get it wrong. It's that relationship that holds us accountable. That's a good thing. APME's Credibility Committee is looking for examples of what newspapers are doing to expose their inner workings to their communities. The committee is also looking for several papers to participate in a new initiative were calling Transparency Tuesday, which is a day set aside to focus on the issue of credibility and making our readers part of the process. If you have a transparency idea that works or want to join our Transparency Tuesday effort, APME's credibility committee wants to hear from you. E-mail Jennifer Houtman, managing editor of The Marietta Times, at jhoutman@mariettatimes.com. NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP AWARDS The Freedom Forum, in partnership with the Associated Press Managing Editors and the American Society of Newspaper Editors, is accepting nominations for the sixth annual Robert G. McGruder Awards for Diversity Leadership. Two awards are given annually: one for newspapers with a circulation up to 75,000; one for newspapers with more than 75,000 circulation. The awards go to individuals, newsrooms or teams of journalists who embody the spirit of McGruder, a former executive editor of the Detroit Free Press and relentless diversity champion. McGruder died of cancer in April 2002. Deadline to make a nomination is Aug. 24. Read more at www.apme.com/awards/2007/060107mcgruder.shtml. ENTRY PERIOD OPENS FOR APME JOURNALISM EXCELLENCE AWARDS APME is now accepting entries in its journalism annual excellence competition: Public Service, First Amendment, International Perspective, Online Perspective. New this year: the APME Innovator of the Year Award, to be selected and presented during the APME annual conference Oct. 3-6. Read more at www.apme.com/awards/. To receive e-mail notification of new APME Updates, write to APME@ap.org |
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