WE'RE BAAACK!

APME Update, an e-mail newsletter from the finest journalistic organization in the nation, is in your in-box today to provide the news and information that will help editors improve their newspapers and Web sites, motivate and train their staffs, and engage their readers. Let us know how we can make APME Update timely and relevant.

TRIFECTA FOR APME'S VEGAS CONFERENCE

Attendees at the 2008 APME annual conference in Las Vegas in early September will get three conventions for the price of one.

For the first time, members of the Society for News Design will meet at the same time and in the same hotel as APME and the Associated Press Photo Managers.

The Society for News Design's 30th Annual Workshop and Exhibition, expected to draw 600-700 designers, illustrators, graphics reporters, photo editors and other visual journalists, will take place Sept. 7-9. APME, which usually attracts more than 400 editors and news managers to its annual conference, will meet Sept. 8-11. APME's gathering will include the two-day APPM annual conference.

The site of the joint 2008 meeting is the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa, the gateway to Las Vegas' famed Red Rock Canyon. Book your room at the special APME rate of $179 a night.

APME, APPM and SND will share several joint sessions, including an evening event sponsored by the Freedom Forum, and open their individual breakouts to all attendees. Exhibitors will be invited to a shared exhibit space, and members of all groups will mingle at some social functions. Each group will hold traditional fundraisers for its foundation. APME will be inviting the Republican and Democrat presidential candidates to address the groups.

APME registration fees:

Early Bird (Dec. 28, 2007 - June 1, 2008): dues-paying member, $345; non-member, $420; Online Editor (accompanying a dues-paying member), $175; Online Editor (accompanying non-member), $210.00

Regular (June 2, 2008 – Sept. 11, 2008): dues-paying member, $395; non-member, $470; online editor (accompanying a dues-paying member), $200; online editor (accompanying non-member) $235.

Register for the conference here.

While you're at it, reserve a room at APME's discounted rate here. (Password: PRESS.) Do it soon. With the combined conferences, the three groups will fill the Red Rock to capacity. Don't get left out staying elsewhere at a higher rate.

ALL ABOARD FOR LITTLE ROCK

The APME NewsTrain's next stop is in Little Rock, Ark., for a workshop Feb.8-10 at the Clinton Presidential Center and Park. The program for frontline editors will feature sessions on coaching writers, giving effective feedback, skeptical editing, understanding video and ethics and values in Web journalism.

This workshop is collaboration with Mid-America Press Institute. Local sponsors are the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Associated Press and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Keith Woods, dean of faculty at the Poynter Institute, is keynote speaker on Friday night, Feb. 8, and will talk about the lessons of The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Face and Ethnicity, a book he co-authored.

Trainers on management, editing and ethics topics include:

■ Kristin Gilger, associate dean of Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

■ Rosalie Stemer, a newsroom coach widely known for her development of a skeptical editing approach for newsrooms.

■ Kelly P. Kissel, Arkansas news editor for the Associated Press.

■ Joe Hight, director of information and development for The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com.

There is still time to register for the low cost of $50. For more program details, go to www.newstrain.org.

The 2008-09 NewsTrain schedule is now under construction. If you are interested in having a workshop for your area, contact APME projects director Carol Nunnelley at cnunnelley@ap.org.

NEW DUES SUPPORT APME

Have you paid your dues for 2008? APME is now collecting annual dues of $150 from its members to support the association and expand its outreach to better serve the industry and carry out its mission of training, educating and inspiring editors.

For past Supporting Members of the association it is a simple matter of "renewing" your membership, using your e-mail address, here.

If you were not previously entered as an APME Supporting Member, then use the enrollment link here.

Newspapers that do not pay the dues are members of the APME, but editors who do pay would be entitled to benefits including a copy of the association's magazine, discounts on conference registration and contest entries.

If you encounter difficulties renewing or enrolling send a note to apme@ap.org or call (212) 621-1838.

SOUND OFF TO THE AP

You can help shape the Associated Press' report by participating in the APME's Sounding Board, which surveys members on various aspects of the information company.

The first e-mail survey of 2008 will be distributed to Sounding Board Committee members in a few weeks, says Chair Peggy Bellows.

The Sounding Board has been a key tool in engaging members to provide comments and ideas on AP's coverage and services.

To join the committee, or to submit ideas for the monthly surveys, contact Peggy Bellows, Richmond Times Dispatch, (804) 649-6301 or pbellows@timesdispatch.com.

FOCUS ON FIRST AMENDMENT

The APME's First Amendment Committee has plowed into its planned program for the year and taken up several unforeseen tasks, says Chair David Bailey.

In October, the APME Board of Directors approved the committee's recommendation to join other professional organizations in endorsing national reporters shield legislation that still awaits Senate action. The committee has arranged to monitor lobby group conference sessions to keep the APME informed about efforts to win passage of a bill.

Through the efforts of Teri Hayt – the First Amendment liaison for APPM, APSE and APME – the committee has become a part of an informal information exchange network that deals with efforts of high school athletic associations in several states to control distribution of and revenue from photo, video and internet coverage of championship events. These efforts extend to copyrighted published and archived news media property.

Hayt also has kept the committee involved in monitoring national legislation that attracts the interest of other professional journalism organizations.

To get involved with the First Amendment Committee, contact David Bailey, managing editor, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, (501)-378-3594 dbailey@arkansasonline.com.

GETTING THE SCOOP ON POLICE MISCONDUCT

In late June 2007, a Shreveport (La.) Times reporter received a tip that two Shreveport police officers were falsifying the time on traffic tickets they issued to make it appear they were working overtime in accordance with a state seat belt awareness and safety initiative. The tip didn't include the dates the officers were suspected to have made the false entries and had scant information on the officer's identities. But the informant was able to tell newspaper that the tickets in question were for not wearing a seat belt.

Working with the informant, the newspaper quickly identified the officers involved and prepared a public records request asking the Shreveport City Court for detailed ticket information, such as time, violation type, driver name and address, on all tickets written by the officers over the preceding two years.

Database analysis showed three dates the officers worked and simultaneously issued dozens of tickets for not wearing a seat belt within the same few hours. Matching the ticket records to the local phone directory, the newspaper was able to then call drivers involved and determine that the time listed on some of the tickets was not the time the drivers recalled.

The newspaper took its findings to the Shreveport Police Department, forcing it to reveal an internal complaint filed against the officers. Another open records request revealed the department's yearly federal funding for seat belt campaigns, allowed the newspaper to match the dates in question to the dates the officers were paid overtime for their work, and revealed the amount of overtime pay each officer received.

With these details, the newspaper was able to put an all-inclusive story together, including quotes from affected drivers, within two days of receiving the tip.

Results: Officers were suspended and their court cases pending. Meanwhile, the public has been made aware of how officers might be motivated to adjust tickets to meet a funding quota.

Contact: Alan English, executive editor, Shreveport (La.) Times, (318) 459-3366, aenglish@gannett.com. Web site: www.shreveporttimes.com.

GETTING AROUND NFL'S VIDEO RULES

The Indianapolis Star wanted to do something special with its multimedia coverage of the Indianapolis Colts football games, but hit a wall with the NFL rules against newspapers shooting video on the field.

That didn't stop the Star from achieving its goal when it tapped into efforts by its photographers who used a time-lapse technique with a still camera and motor drive bursts, putting the images together with Quicktime to give people a video-like experience.

Details on the project and its stunning results can be viewed on the APPM Web site, www.apphotomanagers.org.

GATEKEEPERS' FACT-FINDING TRIP TO UGANDA

The International Reporting Project (IPR) is planning a Gatekeeper Editors' trip to Uganda May 3-15 for U.S. editors and producers interested in learning more about Uganda and East Africa.

Gatekeepers are any senior journalists – executive editors, managing editors, broadcast producers, wire editors, editorial page editors, business editors, op-ed editors and others – who help select editorial content.

The IPR will take up to 12 gatekeepers on an all-expense paid fact-finding trip from Washington to Uganda. Applications are due March 10. Visit www.internationalreportingproject.org for application forms or contact the IPR communications director, Sonja Matanovic, at (212) 663-7726.

EDITORS ON THE MOVE

■ Jon Broadbooks is the new executive editor of the Springfield (Ill.) Journal-Register. He had been editor of the Utica (N.Y.) Observer Dispatch since 2005.

■ Mark Chapman is the new executive editor of the Atlantic County Newspaper Group (ACNG), including The Hammonton News, The Egg Harbor News, The Mainland Journal, The Atlantic County Record and The Record Journal. He comes to the group from the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune.

■ Dawn Cobb has been named managing editor of the Denton (Texas) Record-Chronicle. She has worked with Denton Publishing Co. since 1986, most recently as editor of the Denton Business Chronicle and as business editor for the Record-Chronicle.

■ Nick Ehli has been promoted from weekly publication manager to managing editor of the Bozeman (Mont.) Daily Chronicle. He will also continue as editor of the Montana Quarterly.

■ Barry Friedman has been promoted to the new position of managing editor/digital at The Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger.

■ Janelle House has been named managing editor of The Baxter (Ark.) Bulletin. She had been acting managing editor since August and was the paper's city editor before that.

■ Paul M. Moore has moved from public editor of the Baltimore Sun to deputy managing editor for operations. He was a deputy managing editor of The Sun before he became public editor in 2004.

■ John Solomon has been named executive editor of the Washington Times. Solomon was a longtime Associated Press journalist before he joined the Washington Post last year as an investigative reporter.

To receive e-mail notification of new APME Updates, write to APME@ap.org

Previous issues: Oct. 12 | July 16 | June 25 | June 19 | Archive