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Sept. 22, 2018: NewsTrain workshop in Denton, Texas

April 2019: NewsTrain workshop in Denver
2019: NewsTrain workshops in Austin and Milwaukee

ASNE, APME approve merger plan to become News Leaders Association

Austin, Texas (Sept. 11, 2018) — At this pivotal moment for journalism and freedom of the press, two of the most significant organizations in journalism have voted to merge and become one voice for the industry.

The formation of the News Leaders Association, combining the American Society of News Editors and Associated Press Media Editors, was approved by the two groups' members during their joint News Leadership Conference in Austin.

ASNE and APME will continue to work jointly on major projects during the coming year as legal steps toward the merger are completed. NLA is expected to be in place by the 2019 News Leadership Conference Sept. 9-10 in New Orleans.

In this extraordinary time of upheaval across the news industry, as well as forces outside it, leaders and members of ASNE and APME believe that now is the time for journalism leaders to come together to make great impact.

"These are challenging times for our business and our country," said Nancy Barnes, incoming president of ASNE for 2018-19. "We believe joining our two organizations will only strengthen our ability, as journalism leaders, to stand up for the principles we hold dear."

APME President Angie Muhs said, "Editors' jobs have never been more challenging, and we believe that our groups are stronger together as we work to be a valuable resource for leaders at news organizations of all sizes."

The mission statement of NLA reads: "The News Leaders Association is committed to leading, nurturing and serving journalism and democracy."

"There's never been a more important time to create an organization vigorously committed to defending and explaining the values of an independent press in a democratic society," said outgoing APME President Jim Simon. "NLA is also committed to reimagining our work, so that it's relevant to a broader range of leaders from a variety of backgrounds and to the needs of a rapidly changing journalism landscape."

After years of working closely together to further the cause of journalism, both organizations are excited to become one, while also honoring the long histories of both ASNE and APME.

Read Q&As here

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Sign up now to save on this full day of digital journalism training in Denton

Denton NewsTrain will offer a full day of digital training on Sept. 22, 2018, at the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas in the University Union, room 333, 1155 Union Circle. It is 41 miles north of Dallas and 38 miles north of Fort Worth.

Registration is $85. Sign up soon.

Training Sessions Include:

• Data-driven enterprise off your beat
• Shooting smarter video with your smartphone
• Getting your story read: maximizing social media for branding and audience engagement
• Use data visualization to tell better stories
• Storytelling on mobile: making smart choices

You Will Learn How To:

• Identify the best way to tell a particular story on a small screen.
• Identify a data set from your beat that will likely produce a story, and sort and filter in Excel to locate a potential story.
• Improve your writing on social media, establish your brand, encourage community engagement, and measure how well your social media efforts are working.
• Sequence your best five shots to produce video news clips of under one minute with minimal editing.
• Design informational graphics with impact, such as maps and charts, using free and easy-to-use tools.

Among our accomplished trainers are:

Dana Amihere recently joined KPCC, Southern California's NPR affiliate, as data editor, where she will help lead the station's data visualization and digital storytelling efforts. Previously, she worked as an interactive editor at The Dallas Morning News, as a web developer for Pew Research Center’s digital team and as an interactive designer on The Baltimore Sun’s data desk. @write_this_way

Saul Garza is an UNT alum and has been a journalist for 26 years, most recently as the senior reporter for KDFW Fox 4’s Good Day, the highest-rated newscast in North Texas. He’s been nominated for a Lone Star Emmy for his work on the popular franchise. After 19 years at KDFW, Garza decided to hang up the mic in May, and he is now the social media and media relations manager of the city of Garland. Garza is on the executive board at UNT’s Radio-TV-Film Department. He’s also the former president of Hispanic Communicators DFW, the local chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. @SaulGarzaMedia

Tawnell D. Hobbs joined The Wall Street Journal in July 2016 as the national K-12 education reporter. Before that, she was an education reporter at The Dallas Morning News for 16 years. Hobbs started her journalism career at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered education and other beats. She teaches computer-assisted reporting at Texas Christian University and uses the method often to find stories or to strengthen them. As she tells her students, “The stories are in the data.” Hobbs has won numerous awards, including sharing a 2016 National Headliner Award for education writing with a team of reporters. Before her journalism career, she served in the U.S. Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard for a combined 10 years. @tawnell.

Christy Robinson is the digital coordinator at public media station KERA in North Texas. Before that, she worked in digital for Computer Task Group and The Dallas Morning News. Robinson specializes in growing audiences, improving user experience, communicating analytics, coaching colleagues, organic and paid social media strategy, web copy writing and editing, testing and conversion and SEO. @christyrobinson

Hannah Wise is the engagement editor at The Dallas Morning News. She oversees the newsroom's social media strategy and seeks ways to cultivate conversation around the News' journalism. Wise is the Online News Association Dallas-Fort Worth chapter co-founder and president. She is the stitching maven behind behind the viral Instagram account @sewmanycomments where she doesn't read the comments, but sews them. She is pursuing her master's in journalism at the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas. @hwise29

To learn more, visit bit.ly/DentonNewsTrain or email Laura Sellers, NewsTrain program assistant.

To get updates for any of the upcoming NewsTrains, visit this page and signup.

News Leadership Conference wraps up engaging two days

The 2018 ASNE-APME News Leadership Conference was filled with sessions to help editors lead their newsroom

See the coverage by Ball State University and University of Texas at Austin students here, or at #NewsLeaders2018

See you next year in New Orleans on Sept. 9-10!

Our conference hotel is the New Orleans Marriott, at 555 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130. We have a nightly rate of $179.

Immediately following the 2019 ASNE-APME conference will be the Online News Association conference Sept. 12-15 at the Sheraton New Orleans.

More details coming soon.

Hey, great, you’ve been named to a newsroom leadership role. Congratulations!

Now what the hell do you do?

First, stop sweating. We’ve all been there. And we’re here to help.

APME has put together a list of on-call editors willing to offer you strategic and practical advice on nearly two dozen different topics, from ethics to legal issues, to digital best practices, to upfront story coaching and newsroom budgeting.

We don’t want to replace the conversations you have in your own newsrooms, but we can be a resource when no one else is around to ask, when you need a second opinion, when you wonder if there’s another way or if you just need help framing the right questions.

The members of APME bring decades of journalism experience to the table.

We’ve spent years helping each other cope with a fast-changing industry, learning to produce and showcase our best journalism on multiple platforms. We’ve become adept at adapting while remaining committed to our watchdog role, to reflecting our diverse communities in our newsrooms and to ethical truth telling.

Now we want to broaden the circle and help develop newsroom leaders from coast to coast to strengthen journalism for all. You don’t need to be a member of APME; we’re here to help everyone.

Give our list of editors a look and connect.

APME: Lead. Nurture. Innovate.

OUR VISION

We foster newsroom leaders. We empower journalists to succeed. We cultivate ideas that work.

OUR MEMBERS

The Associated Press Media Editors is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of newsroom leaders and journalism educators that works closely with The Associated Press to promote journalism excellence. Anyone with senior responsibilities in an AP-affiliated organization, and any journalism educator or student media leader, is invited to join.

OUR MISSION

APME advances the principles and practices of responsible journalism. We support and mentor a diverse network of current and emerging newsroom leaders. We champion the First Amendment and promote freedom of information. We train journalists to realize their aspirations and thrive in a rapidly changing environment. We promote forward-looking ideas that benefit news organizations and the communities they serve. We work closely with the Associated Press, the largest independent media operation in the world.

APME FOUNDATION

The APME Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 1988 to receive tax-exempt gifts to carry out educational projects for the advancement of newspaper journalism. Every year since 1994 an auction has been held at the annual conference to benefit the foundation. Proceeds help support NewsTrain, a regional, low-cost training opportunity around the country and other practical education tools promoting the First Amendment, innovation and diversity in newsrooms.