August 2017 APME News by APME News

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:17 AM

Page 1

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:17 AM

Page 2

APME NEWS

From the Editor

Andrew Oppmann

his issue of APME News is dedicated to Sally Jacobsen, whose life, friendships and accomplishments we celebrated at our June meeting of the association’s Board of Directors. We’ve included Sally’s full obituary, as well as three of the tributes that were delivered at a special gathering held in the newsroom of AP’s new headquarters in New York. My thanks to Summer Moore, Laura Sellers-Earl and Kristin Gazley for allowing us to share their moving words. There’s a lot to unpack in this issue, including more details on our October conference, our

award winners and another terrific “How They Did It” feature by Autumn Phillips. Finally, this just in: Our congrats to The AP’s Noreen Gillespie, the organization’s new deputy managing editor for U.S. News; Lisa Gibbs, the new director of news partnerships; Wendy Benjaminson (my former colleague at The Houston Post), who will direct coverage by the cooperative’s national reporting teams; and APME Executive Director Sarah Nordgren, who was named AP’s deputy managing editor for sports, business, entertainment and lifestyles, and health and science.

inside Summer.2017

COVER STORY: Remembering Sally Jacobsen 3 5 6 9 11 12 14 16 18 20 22 23

The President’s Corner: AP’s new Manhattan offices offer special venue Ken Paulson: Knowing and using the First Amendment’s five freedoms Remembering Sally: Colleagues recall a legacy of kindness, professionalism Sessions are set: News Leadership Conference to be a blockbuster event NewsTrain: Improve your digital skills at three fall workshops Great Ideas: Creative new features, Web projects and social media tools How They Did It: The L.A. Times retells an old story through serial format Best and brightest: 2017 APME awards honor excellence and innovation Editors in the News: Promotions, appointments and awards Member showcase: APME recognizes contributions to the AP photo report AP Stylebook minute: New AP Stylebook embraces the single they APME Officers: Roster of APME Board of Directors

EDITOR Andrew Oppmann Adjunct Professor of Journalism Middle Tennessee State University Andrew.Oppmann@mtsu.edu DESIGNER Steve Massie smassie@crain.com

APME News is the quarterly magazine of the Associated Press Media Editors, a professional, nonprofit organization founded in 1933 in French Lick, Indiana. Its members include senior editors and leaders from news operations in the United States and Canada who are affiliated with The Associated Press, including more than 1,400 newspapers and online sites and about 2,000 broadcast outlets. The group also includes college journalism educators and college student media editors. APME works with AP to support and recognize journalism excellence and the First Amendment. To learn more about APME’s programs and activities, visit apme.com.

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:17 AM

Page 3

APME NEWS

The President’s Corner

Bill Church

A wonderful space

AP’s new Manhattan digs offers special venue

y first visit to The Associated Press’ national headquarters coincided with my first APME board meeting. Bob Heisse was our APME president and he cajoled me --- in Bob’s effusive way --- to chair the membership committee. No better way to show leadership chops than overseeing a committee of … one. I had no clue what to expect. Our meeting would be at The AP, the global news headquarters more influential than Lois Lane AND the Daily Planet! A place where legendary journalists change the world, earn Pulitzers, and eat sack lunches. Bob makes everyone feel welcomed, and that first meeting in January 2012 was a tutorial in how APME works. Smart editors discussed issues such as making newsrooms more diverse and understanding the latest challenges to the First Amendment. Hours upon hours of committee reports somehow evolved into a storyline (even my role as chair and committee of APME’s membership efforts added a sentence or two). On the morning of the second day, AP editors filled chairs along the walls. Kathleen Carroll introduced her team, who then took board members on a rundown of AP projects and the behind-thescenes thinking on everything from presidential elections to pro sports coverage. The AP Report remains one of my highlights of board meetings. Through the years, I’ve treasured the walk from our hotel to 450

W. 33rd St. in Midtown Manhattan. I turned small-talking the security guards, who never seemed to find me on their attendee list, into my personal Dale Carnegie class. Three years ago, the walk to and from AP doubled as a speech rehearsal for a marriage proposal (she said yes). I also treasured the connection between APME and AP. Wonderful, caring journalists. Wonderful, caring people. Fast forward to June. We’re no longer in Midtown. The AP headquarters now is at 200 Liberty St. in Downtown Manhattan. It’s near the 9/11 Memorial, tony restaurants, and the mesmerizing $4 billion Oculus train station/shopping mall/selfie generator. The Fish Bowl, AP’s iconic news meeting room, remains. But the glass walls now unfold. The newsroom is a sleek working space with HD monitors, video-editing stations and glass, glass, glass. The AP folks are justly proud of the newsroom. This will be a wonderful space for future APME boards to gather and discuss current journalism issues. Such as making newsrooms more diverse. And understanding the latest challenges to the First Amendment. Yes, some things don’t change. It’s what bonds AP and APME. Wonderful, caring journalists. Wonderful, caring people. Bill Church is APME president for 2016-17. He was executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune before becoming GateHouse Media’s senior vice president of news.

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:17 AM

Page 4

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:17 AM

Page 5

APME NEWS

Collectively, we may not know much about the First Amendment’s five freedoms, but we sure know how to use them.

By Ken Paulson

Hands-on freedom lessons

here’s a lot of patriotism in the heartland. I spoke recently to the McMinnville, Tennessee. Rotary Club about the First Amendment, but not before the entire audience sang the national anthem and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. That’s a pretty good warm-up for a conversation about freedom. Still, the same folks who nailed those iconic celebrations of America were less familiar with the five freedoms of the First Amendment. A handful knew what they were and one gentleman confessed to believing that the amendment included the right to bear arms. But that was no surprise. If anything, the group reflected America as a whole. Each year the First Amendment Center of the Newseum Institute would poll Americans about their knowledge of these core freedoms, and the results grew disturbingly familiar. We would ask respondents to name any of the freedoms of the First Amendment. Last year – and every year – a majority could only come up with freedom of speech. More than a third couldn’t name a single freedom. Just 17 percent knew that freedom of religion was guaranteed in the First Amendment and 11 percent knew that freedom of the press was included. Only 12 percent knew that the right of assembly was one of the freedoms and stunningly, just 2 percent mentioned the right to petition. All of that suggests a constitutional illiteracy, but it turns out we may have been asking the wrong question. Instead of the usual survey staple, we cast a broader net. It turns out that this year’s survey had a silver lining. Sure, the results do reflect our nation’s political polarization: • More than half prefer news from an outlet that reflects their political views. • More than 70 percent say freedom of the press doesn’t apply to “fake news” • 32 percent say freedom of religion doesn’t apply to “extreme or fringe” groups. But that same polarization also fuels participation in the marketplace of ideas. The survey asked about personal involvement in political activities and found: • Though very few Americans know that petition is part of the First Amendment, more than a third say they’ve signed a petition in the past year. And that doesn’t include calls or emails to legislators, many of whom say they’ve been swamped with constituent messages.

• Only about 1 in 10 recognize assembly as a First Amendment right, but more than 16 percent say they’ve attended peaceful demonstrations in the past year. About 12 percent say they’ve engaged in boycotts. Since President Trump’s inauguration, large numbers of Americans have taken to the streets, with marchers decrying his policies and others showing their support for his goals. There’s nothing ideological about freedom of assembly. It’s an equal opportunity freedom. And of course, freedom of speech and press are in full gear these days. Very few are complacent about the state of our nation. Collectively we may not know much about the First Amendment’s five freedoms, but we sure know how to use them. Ken Paulson is the president of the First Amendment Center of the Newseum Institute and the dean of the College of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University.

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:17 AM

Page 6

APME NEWS

R E M E M B E R I N G

SALLY JACOBSEN

Colleagues recall her quiet strength, grace and professionalism

By The Associated Press

ally Jacobsen, a widely experienced Associated Press correspondent who became the first woman to serve as the news service’s international editor, overseeing with a cool, steady hand coverage of wars, terrorism and a daily stream of history-making events, has died at the age of 70. Jacobsen, who retired in 2015 to Croton-on-Hudson, New York, died May 11 at nearby Phelps Hospital from a recurrence of cancer that first struck her six years ago, said her husband, Patrick Oster, a retired Bloomberg News managing editor. Her 39-year career took her from the precincts of financial power as a Washington economics correspondent, to the earthquake-ravaged barrios of Mexico City, to the councils of NATO in Brussels and then to the pressure-packed job at New York headquarters of leading AP’s scores of international correspondents through the years of 9/11 and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Sally Buzbee, AP’s current In her final jobs, she superexecutive editor and senior vised the AP Stylebook, shepvice president. herding through changes in newswriting conventions followed by media organizations everywhere, and was executive director of the industry group Associated Press Media Editors. AP and APME colleagues held a memorial observance for Jacobsen at AP’s New York headquarters on June 19, during the group’s board meeting (see sidebars for some of the tributes offered at the service). “Sally had a quiet strength that was critical to her role as a foreign correspondent, Washington correspondent, international editor and editor of the AP Stylebook,” said Kathleen Carroll, former AP executive editor. “Her passing is a terrible blow and we are grateful for all that she contributed to the profession in her distinguished career.” A native of Gunnison, Colorado, Jacobsen was a graduate of Iowa State University and Cornell University, where she received a master’s degree in economics. She joined the AP in its Baltimore bureau in 1976, and in 1979 transferred to the wire service’s Washington staff as an economics correspondent, in the days of energy crisis, double-digit inflation and rising U.S. unemployment. She was assigned in 1985 as a Latin American business-economics correspondent in Mexico City, where she also helped report on such major stories as the massive 1985 earthquake in the Mexican capital. Three years later, she was transferred to Europe as AP Brussels correspondent, covering the NATO alliance, the formation

“

“Sally Jacobsen was a model for many of us who grew up in the AP.”

“

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

of the European Union under the Maastricht Treaty, and the upheavals of the final Cold War years. After a leave during which she taught journalism at California State University, Bakersfield, Jacobsen returned to AP in New York in 1996 as an assistant editor on the Business News desk, and then, two years later, to world news, as AP assistant international editor. In 1999, she was promoted to international editor, a tough, prestigious AP position that for generations had been held only by men. “Sally Jacobsen was a model for many of us who grew up in the AP,” said Sally Buzbee, AP’s current executive editor and senior vice president. “She was calm, gracious, effective — a complete profes>> Continued on next page

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:17 AM

Page 7

APME NEWS

PHOTO/STUART RAMSON

United Nations correspondent Edie Lederer, left, and Deputy Managing Editor Sally Jacobsen join retiree Carl Hartman at a reception before the annual Alumni Dinner at New York headquarters, Friday, June 10, 2011. Lederer and Jacobsen were honored for 45 and 35 years respectively. Hartman had 62 years of service when he retired from he Washington bureau. >> Continued from previous page

sional. And it spoke volumes when she took on one of the AP’s most demanding and high-profile jobs, that of international editor.” She brought a tactful firmness and intelligence to the demanding job of overseeing dozens of AP bureaus around the world, with their sometimes jaded, headstrong foreign correspondents. She soon had a plate full of wars to handle, when the U.S. military stormed into Afghanistan in October 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and then invaded Iraq in March 2003. Veteran AP correspondent Bob Reid was a coordinating field editor for those conflicts. “Unless you’ve been there, it’s impossible to fully appreciate how important it is for front-line bureaus in war zones to have a calm, steady, collegial hand at the other end of the chain,” Reid said of Jacobsen. She later was named an AP deputy managing editor for operations and projects, taking on special AP initiatives; was liaison to the Associated Press Media Editors; and was editor of the venerable AP Stylebook, a universal arbiter of proper usage in newswriting. “She touched many journalists,” Carroll observed, “and maybe most of all with the inventive and creative changes she brought to the Stylebook. One of her proudest accomplishments was expanding the range of that guide to include words like ‘huitlacoche,’ a corn fungus delicacy in Mexico. That was a pure Sally Jacobsen contribution.” Besides her journalist-novelist husband Oster, Jacobsen is survived by their son, Alex. She also would have wanted a mention of their beloved Airedale terriers, Tazz and Gemma, Oster said. Dedicated travelers, visitors to some 75 countries over the years, Jacobsen and Oster had just returned in April from five weeks in Australia when the cancer recurred, he explained.

A TRIBUTE BY KRISTIN GAZLEY The Associated Press director of top stories

If you were lucky enough to get to know Sally Jacobsen, you know that there was no one else – and that there will never be anyone else – like her. Sally was an unparalleled combination of gentle grace, effortless elegance ... and solid steel. Unmistakable authority

AP PHOTO/REX ARBOGAST

Sally Jacobsen poses for a selfie with Charles Ledford of the University of Illinois after presenting Ledford with an award at the 2014 APME/ASNE Conference in Chicago. ... and deep humanity. Probing intelligence ... and dry, wicked, conspiratorial humor. Sally staunchly stood for high standards and ensuring the right thing happened. She cared deeply about the work that we do, but she never forgot that human beings were doing it. People were important to her -- and they knew it. She was kind. She was compassionate. She was understanding. She was thoughtful. Somehow, she always knew just the right thing to say. And yet she also, at heart, was a champion listener. She was loved and admired for all those reasons and more. After her death, the outpouring of affection and respect from colleagues around the country and around the world was off the charts ... and completely not surprising. Most striking were the numerous personal remembrances about Sally as mentor, as cheerleader, as inspiration, as role model, as coach. She had a way of supporting and encouraging people that stuck with them, indelibly, even decades later. It’s because they knew she meant every word that she said. That she believed in them, and she wanted them to succeed. >> Continued on next page

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:17 AM

Page 8

APME NEWS

>> Continued from previous page

That she had done it herself, and would help them do it, too. Some of my favorite times with Sally were spent in my office or over long lunches, laughing The APME Executive Committee and APME Foundation wish to help and talking about the most important things in the Overseas Press Club Foundation further honor Sally by donating to life. For her, it was about Pat, and about Alex. their Sally Jacobsen Scholarship for Third World Journalists endowment fund. OCP’s goal is $50,000, which will allow the fund to will be invested About her beloved pups. About theater, and for yearly scholarships. Donations may be sent to: OPC Foundation, 40 about food. And about all the trips already on West 45th St., New York, N.Y. 10036. For credit card donations, call the calendar and the many, many trips still on 201-493-9087 or email foundation@opcofamerica.org the far horizon. We’d turn to my computer and ANDREW OPPMANN look at whatever fabulous hotel she and Pat had Summer Moore of The Times of Northwest Indiana and APME board member reads a just booked. Sally, she did love a nice hotel. tribute to Sally Jacobsen while Jacobsen’s husband, Patrick Oster, and Overseas She likely would be more than a little embarPress Club Foundation President, William J. Holstein, look on. rassed by all the wonderful – and very true – things we are saying about her today. She prehad turned my questions about her into an interview about me. ferred the spotlight to shine on others. I was 26, and had been trying to be a journalist since graduating She left us all too soon, but I find comfort in the fact that she college four years earlier. But, after hundreds of rejections, I had knew how we all feel – we got to tell her what she meant to us when given up. she retired. Sally saw right through that. She practically scoffed, and dug Sally traveled the world, before and after her retirement – and deeper. What did I want to write about? What made my heart sing? she made it such a better place. We are forever richer for having After talking for a bit, she told me to march over to the entertainknown her, and we will always, always miss her. ment department and ask what they needed help with. Over the next 18 months at the AP, Sally was my editor, my protector and my confidant. A TRIBUTE BY LAURA SELLERS-EARL Within about 24 hours, I knew I would walk in front of a bus for Managing editor of The Daily Astorian in Oregon her. After a month, I would have changed the world for her. and APME’s immediate past president She was the kindest, smartest, most worthy boss I could ever had Sally hoped for. Sally would hate all this attention. Stop, stay, dedicate, go … love She had such a knack for turning any personal question about Beloved, admired, revered, reticent, inspired herself into a discussion about you. Kickin’ it terrier style Sally also saw my whole future before I did. Her generosity made Passionate about her family and pups and loved by a mile sure I was in the rooms I needed to be in, on emails I needed to be We’re confounded by her subtle deflecting ways on, and met the people I needed to meet, to help me to grow into “It’s all about you, after all,” is what she would say the journalist she knew I wanted to be. We want to share the past to make it last She read every story I turned in. She gave real feedback, the kind Love her style … (book) and attention to detail that makes one think harder. Without her, our histories would be pale I had so much fun with Sally. Mentor, guide, sherpa, pal, She would invite me to shows with Maria Amentes and Laura Sally was the go-to gal. Malone, two bigwigs at the AP who also adored her. She invited me She would surely hate these accolades, to meet her her incredible husband and their dogs at their home. But she rocked our worlds in hearts and spades. Even as her assistant, Sally never treated me with anything other I love her for all she did for me, and her manner, grace, style, than kindness and respect. It was the only way she treated anyone. indeed. It’s something I’m so proud to have learned from I loved Sally. She would likely hate every minute of this, I’m devastated that I won’t see her at another APME conference; But to honor her quiet contribution is a mere fraction of her gift that I won’t be able to convince her to meet me in Chicago, which I and bliss. was determined to do. Sally, I can’t count the ways That I won’t get another Christmas card from her, a reminder You made me a better journalist, leader and human being. that she was on my side. I know you lived large and made the most of your time I’m so sad that my boss, Bob Heisse, won’t be able to call her and But your leaving leaves us more than grieving. ask her about his next move like he has for every move before, like It’s important to push the boundaries, set some standards and so many have done. teach I’m sad that the next APME board members won’t get to create Beyond all else, you have elevated countless journalists to reach that relationship with her. Immeasurable, impossible, unknowable, so lovable. She will become legend, of course, but they won’t have the direct Godspeed, our very own unflappable, totally lovable Sally. pleasure of knowing her. But mostly, I’m sad she won’t be able to see what she has helped me become. A TRIBUTE BY SUMMER MOORE But, I will continue to work for her. I will continue to talk to her Deputy editor for audience engagement for The Times and ask advice from her. I will continue to cry when I think of her. And I wilI continue to thank her, for all she’s given me since that of Northwest Indiana and an APME board member very first interview. About 30 seconds after I started as her assistant at the AP, Sally

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 9

APME NEWS

For updated schedule and registration links, go to www.APME.com.

News Leadership Conference in the nation’s capital is shaping up to be a blockbuster event

SESSIONS SET

t’s all coming together. The 2017 News Leadership Conference, set for Oct. 8 to 11 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., is shaping up to be a blockbuster. The conference focus is the intersection of journalism and citizenship and how good journalism can reinforce healthy civic culture at the local, state and national levels. All sessions will reflect that theme. The News Leadership Conference is a collaboration of the Associated Press Media Editors, American Society of News Editors and Associated Press Photo Managers. Among the highlights of this year’s conference: an opening-night reception at the National Zoo, just a block up Connecticut Avenue from the Marriott, and a full day of preconference programming on Oct. 8 devoted to community engagement and an update on digital best practices from the Knight-Temple Table Stakes Project. Luncheon keynoters will be Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Leonard Pitts and Aine Kerr, who leads global journalism partnerships for Facebook. “APME remains committed to helping news leaders succeed at a time of incredible media disruption and distortion,” said APME President Bill Church, who is senior vice president for news at GateHouse Media. “The conference is strengthened because of our relationship with APPM and ASNE.” Confirmed sessions include: • White House-media relations, with panelists Major Garrett of CBS News, Jeff Ballou of Al Jazeera and Greg Korte of USA Today. • Fake news, politics and reporting in the age of Trump, with Liz Spayd, former public editor for The New York Times; Aaron Sharockman of the Tampa Bay Times; Susan Page of USA Today;

Preconference workshop on tap for Sunday, Oct. 8 You know it’s important for news organizations to engage the communities they serve. Here’s your chance to learn how it’s done. On Sunday, Oct. 8, join your APME colleagues for a preconference workshop on building trust through community engagement. Keynoter for the event will be Joy Mayer, a community engagement strategist based in Sarasota, Florida. Her work focuses on how journalists can collaborate with their communities and foster two-way conversations between news organizations and news consumers. Her current projects include TrustingNews.org, a look at how journalists can communicate their value and earn the trust of their audiences. “For me, the opportunity to learn more about community engagement practices around the county is one of the highlights of the conference,” said Jim Simon, managing editor of Honolulu Civil Beat and president-elect of APME. “Forging new relationships with our communities is essential to rebuilding trust in local media." The engagement workshop will last from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and be followed by an update on the Knight-Temple Table Stakes Project.

>> Continued on next page

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 10

APME NEWS

>> Continued from previous page and

DeWayne Wickham, a former USA Today columnist who is founding dean of the journalism school at Morgan State University. • The president’s photographer, with David Hume Kennerly, White House photographer during the administration of President Gerald Ford. • The Kerner Commission: 50 years on, a discussion of progress made since the commission faulted the news industry for being “shockingly backward” in efforts to recruit, hire, develop and promote black journalists. Panelists will include Charlayne HunterGault, a former NPR and Public Broadcasting System foreign correspondent and Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first black woman to report for the Washington Post. • Watchdog on a shoestring, with Eric Eyre, a reporter for the Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette-Mail and winner of this year’s Pulitzer Price for Investigative Reporting; Jane Elizabeth of the American Press Institute; and staffers from the Salt Lake Tribune and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

• What we missed: Covering economic diversity, with syndicated columnist and Pulitzer winner Connie Schultz and Rochelle Riley, a columnist for the Detroit Free Press. The concluding session of the conference, on Oct. 11, promises to be a treat: a live broadcast in front of conference attendees of NPR’s “1A,” hosted by Joshua Johnson. The show’s name was inspired by the First Amendment, and the audience can look forward to interacting with Johnson and his guests. As always, conference attendees will be able to vote for the Innovator of the Year. This year’s finalists are the Los Angeles Times, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Boston public radio affiliate WBUR. The Washington conference will be the first since the death of Sally Jacobsen, a longtime Associated Press journalist and former APME executive director. In June, the APME board voted to rename the International Perspective Award for Jacobsen. The award is given each year for effective and thoughtful coverage that reflects the interconnectedness of the modern world. Jacobsen was the first

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 11

APME NEWS

Improve your digital skills at three fall NewsTrain workshops

By Linda Austin APME News

olish your digital skills with cutting-edge training from top-notch instructors at three NewsTrain workshops this fall: outside Boston; in suburban Columbus, Ohio; and in Seattle. Each workshop has an unbeatable early-bird rate of $75 per person, which includes two light meals: Beverly, Massachusetts, 26 miles north of Boston, on Oct. 14: • Sessions include social-media reporting and branding, mobile storytelling, smartphone video and data-driven enterprise. • Trainers include The New York Times’ Daniel Victor and Ted Kim, Emerson College’s Cindy E. Rodríguez and The Boston Globe’s Todd Wallack. • Register: bit.ly/NENewsTrain

Suburban Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 21: • Sessions include social-media reporting, smartphone video, mobile storytelling, data-driven enterprise and mobile newsgathering. • Trainers include IRE’s Doug Haddix, the The Sacramento Bee’s Sue Morrow, Cox Media’s Q. McElroy, The Columbus Dispatch’s Doug Caruso and Cleveland.com’s Jeremy Pelzer. • Register: bit.ly/OhioNewsTrain Seattle, Washington, on Nov. 11: • Sessions include social-media reporting and branding, data-driven enterprise, mobile storytelling and open-records law. • Trainers include NowThis News’ P. Kim Bui, Arizona State’s Steve Doig, USC’s Laura E. Davis and open-government attorney Angela Galloway. Former Seattle Times Executive Editor Mike Fancher will speak at lunch on bolstering AUSTIN newsroom credibility. • Register: bit.ly/SeattleNewsTrain Discounted hotel rooms and diversity scholarships are available. Super-early birds may also qualify for a free AP Stylebook. NewsTrain’s first stop of the year was a wildly successful workshop in Norman, Oklahoma, in March, which drew 110 attendees. Tulsa World reporter Arianna Pickard was among them. “All of the sessions were very direct and relevant,” she said. “I feel like I’m going to use a lot of what I learned to do a better job and enjoy it more.” Slides and handouts from recent NewsTrains, including Norman’s session on 360-video, are at slideshare.net/newstrain.

Affordable NewsTrain workshops coming to Indiana, Arizona, S.C., Texas and Ontario in 2018-19 APME’s NewsTrain will bring its high-quality, affordable training to Indiana, Arizona, Texas, South Carolina and Ontario in 2018-19. • March 24, 2018, in Muncie, Indiana, hosted by Ball State University; • April 6-7, 2018, in Phoenix, hosted at Arizona State University by the Arizona Newspapers Association;

LINDA AUSTIN

NewsTrain attendees in Norman, Oklahoma, view a 360-video on Hurricane Matthew by instructor Socrates Lozano using Google Cardboards donated by Journalism 360. • Fall 2018 or the first half of 2019 in Greenville, South Carolina, hosted at Furman University by The Greenville News; • Fall 2018 in Denton, Texas, (40 miles north of Dallas), hosted by the University of North Texas; • March 2019 in Toronto, hosted by News Media Canada. Please sign up at bit.ly/NT2018-19 to be emailed when more information becomes available on the dates, agendas and instructors for the workshops. The sites were selected from applications by committees of local journalists throughout the United States and Canada. The successful committees will conduct an assessment of the needs in their newsrooms to determine which skills will be taught at the workshops. Since 2003, NewsTrain has served more than 7,000 journalists in 85 workshops. It has traveled to all 50 states and three Canadian provinces, bringing its highly rated training close to home. Attendees consistently rate its interactive sessions as 4.5, with 5 as highly effective and highly useful. Instructors are accomplished journalists with both front-line and teaching experience.

Donate to keep NewsTrain helping journalists in its 14th year NewsTrain is in its 14th year of serving journalists with low-cost, first-rate training delivered in the communities where they live. NewsTrain’s outstanding training and low tuition – $75 for early birds – are made possible by donors, big and small. Donors in 2017 include the Park, Samuel I. Newhouse and Sigma Delta Chi foundations, as well as APME board members. The need for economical, up-to-the-minute journalism training has never been greater. To keep NewsTrain on the road, please donate at bit.ly/NewsTraindonate and claim your tax deduction. Every dollar helps! Linda Austin is the project director for NewsTrain. Contact her at laustin.newstrain@gmail.com or @LindaAustin_.

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 12

APME NEWS

2016 APME/ASNE PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE

great ideas

ave you launched a great new feature, page or Web project, or used a social media tool in a great new way? Well, we want to recognize your great

idea. Associated Press Media Editors recognizes a Great Idea every month on APME.com and we will showcase monthly winners in our popular

annual Great Ideas book, This year’s project was released at our conference in Philadelphia. This is a chance for your publication or station to show off great work and to help fellow editors by providing ideas that might work in their markets. It’s simple to submit your Great Idea. Just go to the Great Ideas page at APME.com, fill out the online form and attach an image or submit link.

GIVING THEM TIME OF DAY Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa Autumn Phillips WHAT THEY DID: We’ve learned that our digital readers respond well to two things: 1. Content that’s predictable, allowing them to form a habit around it. 2. Content that’s associated with a person or personality. Realizing this, we developed a series of digital touch points throughout the day — Rick’s Six, Jack’s Notes @ Noon, Ryan’s Wrap-Up. Readers start the day with a 6 a.m. push alert on their phone for Rick’s Six. It’s a conversational write-up with images and occasional video by morning online editor Rick Rector looking at six things readers need to know on their way to work — traffic conditions and road closures, weather, a quick look at the stories people at work might want to talk about. At noon, they get another push alert with a story from our Sense of Place reporter Jack Cullen. Jack searches the streets of the Quad-Cities for the off-beat, the obscure, the curious and the culturally embedded. He writes these slice of life stories each morning and has them online for our audience each day at noon.

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

At 5 p.m., readers get a push alert from digital editor Ryan Jaster called “Ryan’s Wrap-Up.” It’s a conversational look at what readers enjoyed and how they responded to the news of the day on our website. It’s a great way for the evening crowd to catch up on news they missed while they were at work. These features ride the wave of a long-time feature at the QuadCity Times called “10 at 10,” a daily 10 things to know about the Iowa Hawkeyes published online at 10 a.m. each day during the regular season.”

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 13

GREAT IDEAS

SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM

SPIRE COLAB Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, Florida Scott Carroll WHAT THEY DID: We’re defined by where we live. It explains our favorite bumper stickers, gathering places, and even the stories we tell. “Where are you from?” is a familiar ice breaker with new friends because it tells us who we are and how we view our world. What we’ve learned is that community pride evolves from those who recognize that solutions happen only after you identify the problems. The reality is that community problems share many ZIP codes. Even in Sarasota, Florida — a place that locals affectionately call “Paradise” — residents are deeply involved in social issues ranging from grade-level reading to homelessness to mental health. This is why we’ve created SPIRE CoLab, a partnership between journalism and philanthropy to create compelling media that inspire, inform and empower communities to take action on relevant social issues. A partnership between journalism and philanthropy, the SPIRE CoLab is led by the Herald-Tribune Media Group with support from The Patterson Foundation. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. We believe journalism can be fair, balanced AND make a difference. The purpose of SPIRE CoLab is to tell meaningful stories and make them available to media organizations in your community. Our hope is the stories spur discussion and spark action because ultimately it’s the place you call home.”

The Fayetteville Observer, Fayetteville, N.C. Michael Adams WHAT THEY DID: A couple of years ago, the Observer committed to taking a meaningful look at crime in the community. We settled — through a lot of discussion — on an approach known as solutions journalism. Solutions journalism looks at issues from the perspective of what is working or has the promise to work in addressing a significant community issue. I’ve included an example of one story in a year-long series, but it is not necessary to do a major project to apply the principles. We’ve done one-shot stories using the principles of seeing what works and talking with officials about how and why — or why not — such answers could be applicable to problems in our community.

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 14

APME NEWS

HOW THEY DID IT

Read the project online:

The Los Angeles Times teaches us how to retell old stories through serial format

http://www.latim es.com/projects/ la-me-framed/ After becoming pregnant, Kelli Peters valued safety above all. She found it in Irvine. GARY CORONADO LOS ANGELES TIMES

‘FRAMED’ here’s an appetite from readers who want to get lost in a story. They want a story that will envelope them and distract them – not just once, but over time. The serial story is seeing a resurgence in popularity and newspapers are starting to catch on. The serial story is a chance for newsrooms to dig into archives and revisit and give new life to stories that have already been told. It’s also a way for smaller papers that might not have a lot of space to break a story into installments and run it over several days. A great example of this approach was published in September 2016 by the Los Angeles Times and is the winner of this year’s APME Storytelling Award to be given at the News Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., in October. Written by Los Angeles Times reporter Chris Goffard, the serial project “Framed: A mystery in six parts” retells the story of a parental feud taken too far. The story started years ago when an angry parent looking for GOFFARD revenge against a PTA mom planted drugs in her car in hopes of ruining her life. It backfired. Goffard’s retelling of it, in serial form, spanned several years and observed the slow unraveling of the lives of the people involved. By the end, Kent Easter, a once high-profile attorney, had lost everything – his money, his home, his job, his law license, his wife, his reputation. Goffard found the new entry point to an old story while working his regular beat as an Orange County bureau reporter.

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

EVIDENCE PHOTO

By Autumn Phillips APME News

Kelli Peters insisted the drugs found in her car on Feb. 16, 2011, were not hers. “I was spending a lot of time at the courthouse. I would go from courtroom to courtroom to see what trials are happening,” he said. “And I saw a civil case that was one of the last pieces of a case that made a lot of noise earlier. The attention on the case had mostly died down. There were no reporters in the room for this civil case.” Goffard told Managing Editor Marc Duvoisin about it and the editor saw potential for something bigger. “He was really the one that got me excited about the story,” Goffard said. “He saw this theme, this universal fear that everything you have, that it will all disappear. It’s that fear that we are all standing on a trap door and someday it will open on you. >> Continued on next page

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 15

APME NEWS

>> Continued from previous page

IRVINE POLICE DEPARTMENT

“Because (Marc) seemed to have a lot of enthusiasm for the idea, I was emboldened.” Goffard said he was initially hesitant, because he had written many stories on this case. Anyone who reads the Los Angeles Times would know about the case. “I had an anxiety about telling a story that people already know, but the editor told me to just pretend that we’re writing about it for the first time, approaching it the way a magazine would.” Jill Easter, a UC Berkeley-trained lawyer, stood to be disbarred if convicted of the charges. The final product was published in print Kent Easter, the family breadwinner, lost his $400,000-a-year job after being charged. over six days in one week as “chapters.” peers, plus the various looks, glances, poses, styles of walking and Digital readers can find the entire project as one presentation, six other symbolic details that might exist within a scene.” chapters flowing one right after another like a book. Goffard said this was the first story where he very consciously Goffard had covered the story of the PTA mom setup years earlier tried to put Wolfe’s idea of status details to work. when it first broke. “I collected all kinds of detail. I described the type of roof tile the “I didn’t pay a lot of attention to it. It was one of hundreds of stoEasters had and what’s on their license plate. I looked for the things ries I’d done. But it’s a good example of how there are these great that contribute to the kind of people that they are. The lawn. What stories lying around that are often ignored because reporters or edikind of car do they drive.” tors think it’s been done.” Goffard heard the crackling of the warrant on a recording of a In 2016, the television channel FX came out with a 10 episode detective’s conversation and he asked about it. “I would ask (the serial recreation of the O.J. Simpson trial. Goffard watched it with detective) questions like ‘how do you do this interview with a warinterest and sees it as a perfect model for using the serial storyrant in your pocket?’ He told me he had it folded up.” telling approach to revisit stories that everyone knows. “It taught Goffard said one of the keys to capturing detail is to stay long me so much I didn’t know I didn’t know, and that’s one of the most enough for things to take place in front of you. A lot of the reconhighly covered stories of all time. And yet, you put the story in construction of the series came from court documents, police reports text, re-interview everybody and assemble the story chronologically and recordings, but some of it came by simply being around his and it acquires huge power.” subjects for extended periods. For example, there’s a scene at the beginning of the last chapter, Getting the story “Ruin”: “(Easter) was recognizable to many of the attorneys who The man in civil court that day was Kent Easter. Goffard saw him passed through this third-floor wing of the Central Justice Center in in the hallway and asked him why he did it – why did he plant Santa Ana. By now, he was accustomed to the stares of curiosity drugs in that PTA mom’s car? and contempt. The white-shoe rainmakers in the $1,000 suits, the Goffard started showing up to all of Easter’s court hearings, sitpersonal-injury guys hustling a living on slip-and-falls, the overting next to him, working to earn his trust. worked public defenders – they knew his mug shot from the news.” “I would walk him out of the courthouse to his car and after That paragraph came from Goffard sitting with Easter at the doing that for a month or two, he finally became convinced that I courthouse. “I witnessed it myself.” wasn’t going away and he might as well talk to me,” Goffard said. “It took me a long time to convince him and I don’t think he had ever Organizing the story talked to anyone at any length.” Originally, that scene of Kent Easter getting looks of contempt Goffard and Easter met on the back patio of the Newport Beach from his former peers was the opening of the story a two-part first Public Library and talked for a few hours. draft that Goffard turned in. Editors – including State Editor Steve Clow, Goffard's direct Including all the details supervisor on the project – read it and suggested breaking it into One of the great things about “Framed,” beyond the compelling more parts and telling it more chronologically. way it leads you from chapter to chapter like a crime novel, is “They told me to go through and find some natural breaks and it Goffard’s use of detail, like this one “Chapter 2: The Power Couple”: turned out not to be that difficult.” “The search warrant crackled as Andreozzi pulled it out of his back In 1996, Roy Peter Clark wrote a serial story about AIDS called pocket. In the center console of Easter’s car were some diet pills. “Three Little Words.” It ran in the St. Petersburg Times as 29 consecThey were in a miniature plastic baggie. The label said EZY Dose utive chapters. Pill Pouch.” The chapters were short – no longer than 850 words. In a piece Goffard had just finished reading Tom Wolfe’s 1973 book “The her wrote for Poynter in 2002 about the experience he offered two New Journalism” and it was heavily influencing his work. key pieces of advice about writing a story in serial form. First, he There’s a passage in Wolfe’s book where he talks about what he suggested each chapter should be no longer than a four-minute calls “status” details, that trigger the reader’s deeper understanding read. of the person they are reading about. “This is the recording of Secondly, he suggested that the story must be told in a linear everyday gestures, habits, manners, customs, styles of furniture, way, making it easy to follow from chapter to chapter, pulling readclothing, decoration, styles of traveling, eating, keeping house, ers along so they don’t want to miss any installment along the way. modes of behaving toward children, servants, superiors, inferiors,

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 16

APME NEWS

APME announces 2017 awards honoring excellence, innovation bases with personal information from millions of Americans who simply crossed paths with officers. atchdog journalism that saved lives, Other First Amendment winners were the Quad-City Times, exposed bias, held government officials which successfully pushed city leaders to stop doing the public’s accountable and shed light on hidden pracbusiness in small groups behind closed doors, and the Peoria tices earned top honors in the 2017 Journal Star, which battled to obtain a police officer’s report about Associated Press Media Editors Awards. her colleagues’ and supervisors’ misuse of on-the-clock time. The Chicago Tribune earned the grand prize The annual APME contest honors excellence and innovation in in Public Service for “Dangerous Doses,” which journalism, and reflects the Associated Press Media Editors’ mission exposed pharmacies that were dispensing drug combinations that of fostering newsroom leaders, empowering journalists to succeed, could cause harm or death, APME announced recently. “This highand cultivating ideas that work. Teams of judges are impact project wins first place because of its jourcomprised of APME national board members and nalistic soph-istication, its novel approach and top editors at the Associated Press. because it changed rules and laws governing pharWinners will be recognized at the ASNE-APMEmacists and their training,” judges said. APPM News Leadership Conference Oct. 8-11 in The Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Springfield (Ill.) Washington, D.C. State Journal-Register also received top honors in A highlight of the conference: Finalists for one of Public Service. The Herald-Tribune documented the APME’s most prestigious awards – Innovator of significant racial inequities across Florida in senthe Year – will make presentations, and the winner tencing; the State Journal-Register led a collaborawill be selected live by conference attendees. This tive statewide effort to show the impact of the state year’s finalists: the Los Angeles Times, Milwaukee budget stalemate. Journal Sentinel, and WBUR in Boston. The live The Charleston Post and Courier won the grand judging by industry peers is unique among journalprize for work advancing the principles of the First ism awards. Amendment. The newspaper found that police The Chicago Tribune’s >> Continued on next page across the United States have stockpiled huge data“Dangerous Doses” exposed

By The Association Press

pharmacies dispensing lethal drug combinations

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 17

APME NEWS

>> Continued from previous page

The Times also won two awards, in Storytelling and International Perspective. The only other double winner was the Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star. In other top honors announced, The Baltimore Sun and Flint (Mich.) Journal each won an Al Neuharth Award for Investigative Reporting in their respective size categories. The Sun won for “Shocking Force,” which revealed that police mostly used Tasers against suspects who pose no threat. The Journal won for “All the Governor's Men,” which judges praised as “way ahead of the national media on the investigative work, and finding the faces and voices of those who were affected as contaminated water put the population at risk.” The Dallas Morning News, Portland Oregonian and Oregonlive.com, and St. Cloud Times were recognized for deadline news reporting. The Morning News coverage of the July ambush of Dallas police officers “provided the model for owning a big breaking news story.” The Oregonian and Oregonlive.com staff “provided unbiased context” in reporting on the 41-day Oregon Militia standoff. The St. Cloud Times brought “nuance, context and humanity” to coverage of a stabbing spree by a Somali refugee. Judges selected “Framed,” by The Los Angeles Times for best storytelling in its size category. They compared it to a crime novel “rich in details that expose the evil committed by a wealthy couple bent on the destruction of a less-well-off member of the community.” They also honored the exceptional storytelling in “Life on a Ledge,” from the Chicago Sun-Times, and “Border Bodies: The Grim Mysteries of Southern California,” from The (Palm Springs, California) Desert Sun. The two winners in the International Perspective category were Los Angeles Times staff for “Dairy of Terror,” and Jamie McGee and Larry McCormack of The (Nashville) Tennessean for “Rethink Haiti.” Judges said Murphy’s “well-chronicled account of one month’s tally of terror demonstrates the failings of ignoring small incidents of terror in places where terrorism seems commonplace.” They applauded McGee and McCormack for including “insights into how their readers could shift their missionary and aid-based efforts to perhaps more effective economic efforts.” DallasNews.com won for Mobile Platform, which judges applauded for its ability to increase reader traffic. And the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Peoria Journal Star won in the Community Engagement category. The Star Tribune produced engaging and forthright coverage of the Somali experience in Minnesota – even enlisting a Somali journalist who eventually was hired. The Journal Star’s effort, “City of Disparity,” “shows what can be accomplished by a small local staff with deep commitment to community engagement,” judges said. Finally, APME has a tradition of working closely with college programs and recognizing their best work. This year’s winner of Innovator of the Year for College Students was Ball State University for “Unmasked: The Stigma of Meth,” a multi-media series produced by the university’s Unified Media program. Judges called the work “a tour de force on all platforms.”

The (Palm Springs, California) Desert Sun was honored for “Border Bodies: Mysteries of Southern California.”

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 18

APME NEWS

editors in the news

Industry’s promotions, appointments, awards and recognition Mark Russell named executive editor of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis Mark Russell has been named executive editor of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee. The 54-year-old has been serving as interim executive editor and head of opinion/engagement for the USA Today Network-Tennessee. The Commercial Appeal reports Russell becomes the first AfricanAmerican to lead the 176-year-old Memphis newspaper. He replaces former editor Louis RUSSELL Graham, who left last month to join ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Mike Szvetitz has been named to the position as the newsroom’s No. 2 editor. He will handle day-to-day newsroom operations, oversee reporters and editors and report to Executive Editor Paige Mudd. Szvetitz has worked as the newspaper’s sports editor for the last 2 ½ years. The 38-year-old Pennsylvania native came to Richmond after serving for a decade as the sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News.

LIPMA

Paris (Texas) News names Amanda Gohn as city editor Amanda Gohn has been named the new city editor of The Paris

(Texas) News. “In the short time she’s been in the newsroom, Amanda has distinguished herself as a leader with a passion for quality news reporting and high expectations,” Publisher J.D. Davidson said. “I look forward to seeing more of her influence in the newsroom as she takes on a more significant leadership role.”

HUSCHKA

Executive editor departs Detroit Free Press News-Telegram in Texas announces Jillian Smith as new managing editor Jillian Smith, a veteran journalist and Hopkins County native, has joined the staff of the Sulphur Springs (Texas) News-Telegram as managing editor. Smith is a graduate of Sulphur Springs High School and Auburn University and has worked at newspapers in Mississippi and the Albany Herald in Albany, Georgia.

The Associated Press names Julie Pace as Washington chief of bureau The Associated Press has named White House Correspondent Julie Pace as its new chief of bureau in Washington. She will direct the news cooperative’s coverage of the presidency, politics and the U.S. government during a time of intense global interest. In her new role, announced Monday, June 12, Pace will remain AP's leading voice on Washington and American politics, delivering the same aggressive news reporting and insightful analysis that has defined her tenure as the news organization's senior reporter at the White House and on the 2016 campaign.

Richmond Times-Dispatch names new managing editor The newspaper in Virginia’s capital city has a new managing editor. The Richmond Times-Dispatch announced Tuesday, June 6, that

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

Robert Huschka has resigned as executive editor of the Detroit Free Press after serving nearly two years in the position, the newspaper reported. “After 18 tremendous years at the Detroit Free Press, it's time for me to leave the newsroom — and move on to my next adventure,” Huschka wrote in a Facebook post. Huschka, 45, joined the Free Press in 1999. He was named executive editor in August 2015 to replace Paul Anger, who had retired that May. Before that Huschka served in numerous leadership positions at the newspaper: managing director, assistant managing editor, news director and design director/news.

Farmington newspaper names John Moses as next newsroom leader The Daily Times in Farmington, New Mexico, has named the editor of an award-winning publication in Wyoming as its next leader. The northwestern New Mexico newspaper announced the appointment of John Moses as editor. Moses most recently served as editor of the Jackson Hole News & Guide and local news coordinator for its sister paper, the Jackson Hole Daily.

MOSES >> Continued on next page

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 19

APME NEWS

>> Continued from previous page

Nick Wright promoted to editor of Daily Mail in Nevada, Missouri The Nevada (Missouri) Daily Mail announces that editorial assistant Nick Wright will be moving to the editor’s position. Wright began his career in journalism in 1999 working as a photographer for multiple papers and wire agencies in the Dallas, Texas, area. Eventually working his way to photo editor at a daily paper there. Ralph Pokorny, who served as Nevada Daily Mail editor from 20132017 and is a 20-year veteran of the Nevada Daily Mail, has chosen to step down and work fewer hours.

Ibañez named editor of Yakima’s Spanish-language publication Gloria Ibañez has been named editor of El Sol de Yakima, the Yakima (Washington) HeraldRepublic’s Spanish-language publication. Ibañez moved to the Yakima Valley in 2004 to work as a full-time reporter for El Sol de Yakima, a position she left in 2005 to raise her son. More recently, she spent more than four years at Yakima Valley Libraries, where she worked as a library assisIBAÑEZ tant, translator and supervisor of the Southeast Library branch. She continued writing for the paper as a freelance correspondent. She replaces Normand Garcia, who left to take a marketing job.

The Paris (Texas) News names Lauren Corbell as managing editor Lauren Corbell has been named managing editor of The Paris (Texas) News, Publisher J.D. Davidson announced. Current managing editor Anna Rae Gwarjanski has stepped down from the role. Corbell has been city editor for The News since November 2016 and was a staff writer and designer before that.

Las Vegas, New Mexico publication selects Jason W. Brooks as editor The Las Vegas (New Mexico) Optic has named the editor of an Iowa newspaper as its next newsroom leader. The northern New Mexico newspaper announced that Jason W. Brooks has started as the publication's new editor. Brooks most recently served as editor at the Boone News-Republican in Boone, Iowa, near Des Moines. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico. Brooks replaces Martin Salazar, who stepped down in February to take a job as a reporter with the Albuquerque Journal.

Lufkin (Texas) names Jeff Pownall to interim managing editor position Jeff Pownall was tapped as interim managing editor of The Lufkin (Texas) News, succeeding former editor Andy Adams. Pownall, who

served as news editor for 30 years, will serve in the interim position for a 90-day period, said Publisher Jenniffer Ricks.

Anna Jo Bratton picked as AP’s USWest deputy director for newsgathering The Associated Press has named Anna Jo Bratton as deputy director of newsgathering for the U.S. West, a new position overseeing breaking news and enterprise across all media formats in 13 states. The appointment was announced by Anna Johnson, AP’s news

director of the West region. Bratton is based in Phoenix.

Veteran editor Amanda Barrett appointed head of AP’s Nerve Center Associated Press editor Amanda Barrett, a newsroom manager with years of experience leading innovative journalism, has been promoted to the role of Nerve Center director. In this role, she will lead the New York hub of AP's global newsroom, which serves as a center for news coordination, client engagement and audience development.

Jen Guadarrama named news director of Standard-Times

BARRETT

A new leader has been chosen for the San Angelo (Texas) StandardTimes newsroom. Gannett has chosen Jen Guadarrama to hold the title of news director for the newspaper. The 37-year-old journalist succeeds Michael Kelley, who retired as editor of the StandardTimes in May. Guadarrama has been senior editor for breaking and daily news for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, another Gannett newspaper, since 2013.

Raymond Partsch settles in as managing editor at The Daily Iberian Raymond Partsch III has become managing editor of The Daily

Iberian in New Iberia, Louisiana. “My main goal is to improve an already extremely high quality product. I mean, this paper has a tremendous history of top-notch journalism,” Partsch said. He is a native of Mobile, Alabama. The paper is owned by Wick Communications, a chain of family-owned community media company with newspapers, websites, magazines and specialty publications in 11 states.

Veteran Andy Adams stepping down as Lufkin (Texas) News editor After about 25 years with The Lufkin News, Andy Adams is stepping down as editor to join the Lufkin Independent School District. Adams joined The Lufkin News around 1987 as a sports stringer, taking calls, designing pages, and eventually covering and photographing Lufkin Panther games

Doug Williamson to retire as Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News editor Doug Williamson has announced that he retired as editor of the

Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News in May. The Abilene native had worked for the Reporter-News for 32 of his 41-year career in journalism, the past five as its top editor. Williamson came to the ReporterNews in 1985 after nine years with the Waco Tribune Herald.

Kelly retires as Standard-Times editor after four years leading San Angelo paper Michael Kelly has announced his retirement as editor of the San

Angelo Standard-Times, effective May 12. The 67-year-old journalist has been the newspaper's top editor for four years. The StandardTimes reports Kelly had been assistant city editor for six years at the Albuquerque Tribune when he transferred to the Standard-Times, a sister paper in the Scripps chain, in 2006. Kelly advanced to metro editor in 2008 and editor in October 2013.

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 20

APME NEWS

member

showcase

APME recognizes contributions to the AP photo report through the Showcase Photo of the Month Award. The competition is judged by AP and member photo editors. The monthly winners are displayed at the annual conference and a Showcase Photo of the Year Award is presented.

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

AP Photo/Star Tribune

AP Photo/The Herald-Times

AP Photo/The Sacramento Bee

Elizabeth Flores

Jeremy Hogan

Hector Amezcua

Minnesota United midfielder Johan Venegas reacts in pain after being sent to the pitch during the first half against Atlanta United in an MLS soccer match on March 12, in Minneapolis.

Riders crash in turn three during the men’s Little 500 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, on April 22.

Jason Katherman watches as officers with the San Jose Police department honor his father Officer Michael Katherman during the Peace Officers Memorial ceremony in Sacramento, California, on May 8.

Baldwin elected 2021 APME president

he Associated Press Media Editors is pleased to announce that Mark Baldwin, executive editor of the Rockford Register Star, has been elected as its 2021 president. Baldwin is a veteran member of the APME board. He has headed the conference planning committee in 2012, 2013 and 2017. He has also led APME’s outreach to college programs and served as chair of the First Amendment committee. “Mark has been a valued APME board member and a nationally recognized expert on the importance of news literacy and community engagement,” said APME President Bill Church, who is senior vice president news for Gatehouse Media. “His strong sense of civility positions him to lead APME now and into the future." BALDWIN Baldwin was appointed executive editor of the Register Star in 2012. He previously worked at newspapers in Wisconsin, Kansas, New York, Florida and Chicago. A native of Chicago, he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University. “It’s an honor to be chosen as for a leadership role by people I like and respect as much as my APME board colleagues,” he said. “It's important to remember that everyone on the board is a leader, from the longest-tenured among us to the newcomers.” One of his goals will be to help board members become involved

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

in APME work as quickly as possible. Baldwin noted that APME must respond to the same challenges facing the entire news industry, including mistrust of the media by certain segments of the population. “To me, that presents a great opportunity to explain our values and our methods, and to teach the skills of news literacy so that consumers of information can, on their own, determine the credibility of news sources available to them,” he said. He also envisions APME deepening its partnerships with other journalism groups like the American Society of News Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists so the industry can speak out with the “strongest possible voice on critical issues.” Other members of APME’s leadership ladder are Vice President Jim Simon, managing editor of Honolulu Civil Beat; Secretary Angie Muhs, executive editor of The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill.; and Leadership Chair Michael Days, editor for reader engagement and vice president of the Philadelphia Media Network. APME is an association of news and broadcast leaders, and journalism educators and student leaders in the United States and Canada. APME works closely with The Associated Press to foster journalism excellence and to support a national network for the training and development of editors who run multimedia newsrooms. APME is focused on advancing the journalism profession andproviding feedback to The Associated Press on its news and services.

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 21

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 22

APME NEWS

By David Minthorn

AP Stylebook minute

Newly released 2017 AP Stylebook embraces the single they

he 2017 AP Stylebook’s endorsement of they as a singular pronoun in certain uses was widely hailed in news media commentaries this spring. “Stylebooks finally embrace the single they,” the Columbia Journalism Review headlined its review, citing simultaneous acceptance of the singular they in The Chicago Manual of Style as well as the AP Stylebook. “Language changes. Resisting, or insisting that traditional rules still apply, is futile and foolish,” the Quartz blog opined approvingly on the change. What language traditionalists might regard as a blasphemous challenge to traditional grammar is, in reality, the recognition by two major stylebooks of the common use of they as a singular pronoun in conversational English. Moreover, they has become the gender-neutral pronoun of choice when a person's privacy or sexual orientation is a factor in a news story. English simply lacks an acceptable alternative pronoun when someone of non-binary gender doesn't want to be identified as he or she. Yet, for such a notable amendment of old rules, neither the AP Stylebook nor the Chicago Manual issued full-fledged endorsement of the singular they in every news situation or for other formal writing. Cautions abound in the Stylebook’s new “they, them, their” entry --- limiting singular usage to specific cases as illustrated with examples --- and advising that a recast to avoid the singular they is the preferred strategy in newswriting. “In most cases, a plural pronoun should agree in number with the antecedent: The children love the books their uncle gave them. They/them/their is acceptable in limited cases as a singular and/or gender-neutral pronoun, when alternative wording is overly awkward or clumsy. However, rewording usually is possible and always is preferable. Clarity is a top priority; gender-neutral use of a singular they is unfamiliar to many readers. We do not use other gender-neutral pronouns such as xe or ze. “Usage example: A singular they might be used when an anonymous source’s gender must be shielded and other wording is overly awkward: The person feared for their own safety and spoke on condition of anonymity.” The entry continues: “Arguments for using they/them as a singular sometimes arise with an indefinite pronoun (anyone, everyone, someone) or

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

unspecified/unknown gender (a person, the victim, the winner). Examples of rewording: All the class members raised their hands (instead of everyone raised their hands). “The foundation gave grants to anyone who lost a job this year (instead of anyone who lost their job). Police said the victim would be identified after relatives are notified (instead of after their relatives are notified or after his or her relatives are notified).” Not surprisingly, questions arose about applying the singular they guidance to other contexts, such as business news, as in this query to Ask the Editor, the Stylebook's online help site. “Does the update to the entry for “they” mean it's now acceptable to refer to a singular company as ‘they’ instead of ‘it’”? The answer pointed to other unchanged guidance in the Stylebook: “Generally, a company comes under the Stylebook’s collective nouns guidance: Nouns that denote a unit take singular verbs and pronouns: class, committee, crowd, family, group, herd, jury, orchestra, team. But if they appeared in a direct quote referring to a company, the AP story would stick with that pronoun because AP doesn't alter quotes.” Another query with uncomfortable implications proposed “it” as an alternative to the singular they: “We have a perfectly good third-person singular pronoun for someone of indeterminate or unspecified gender. ‘It.’ Why not just use ‘it’ rather than making even more confusing the oftincorrectly used third-person plural pronoun ‘the’ for someone not choosing male or female as gender?” The answer, of course, is that the pronoun "it" is so neutral and impersonal --- generally reserved for objects and creatures lacking names --- that a human couldn't help being offended if referred to as it. Finally, several journalistic commentaries wondered if AP's acceptance of singular they in limited usage would inevitably lead to acceptance of a generic they for all singular uses --- dropping the Stylebook's preference to recast for traditional agreement. While we don't see this happening anytime soon, we must acknowledge the obvious. Little is static in English language style and usage. Rules of grammar evolve with the times, and refinements can never be ruled out.

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 23

APME NEWS

2016 2017

APME BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Officers

Directors

President: Bill Church, GateHouse Media, @BillChurchMedia Vice President: Jim Simon, Honolulu Civil Beat, @jsimon88 Secretary: Angie Muhs, State Journal-Register, Springfield, Illinois, @amuhs Leadership Chair: Michael Days, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia, @mikedays Treasurer: Dennis Anderson, Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star, @dennisedit

(Terms expiring in 2017) Eric Ludgood, Fox 5 News, Atlanta, @EricLudgoodFOX5 George Rodrigue, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, @gprodrigue3 Kurt Franck, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio, @KGFranck_Blade Matt Christensen, Twin Falls (Idaho) Times-News, @TimesNewsEditor Maria Caporizzo, The Providence Journal, @mariacap

Executive Committee (officers above plus) Past President: Laura Sellers-Earl, The Daily Astorian, Astoria, Oregon, @lsellersearl Director: Sarah Nordgren, The Associated Press, New York, @SarahNordgren AP Executive Editor and Senior Vice President: Sally Buzbee, New York, @SallyBuzbee AP Managing Editor: Brian Carovillano, New York, @bcarovillano Program Chair: Mark Baldwin, Rockford (Ill.) Register Star, @MarkFBaldwin Program Co-Chair: Angie Muhs, State Journal-Register, Springfield, Illinois, @amuhs Marketing Chair: Jim Simon, Honolulu Civil Beat, @jsimon88 Marketing Co-Chair: Summer Moore, The Times of Northwest Indiana, @summerNWI

Our communication vehicles www.apme.com www.facebook.com/APMEnews www.twitter.com/APME www.facebook.com/NewsTrain https://twitter.com/NewsTrain and, APME Update: www.apme.com/?page=Newsletters

(Terms expiring in 2018) Carlos Sanchez, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas, @CarlosASanchez Michael Anastasi, The Tennessean, @ma_anastasi Traci Bauer, The Journal News, New York, @tbauer Anne Brennan, Cape Cod Times, Maine @annebrennanMWDN Ronnie Agnew, Mississippi Public Broadcasting, @ronagnew Tom Arviso, Navajo Times, Window Rock, Arizona Alison Gerber, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tennessee (Terms expiring in 2019) Dennis Anderson, Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star, @dennisedit Mark Baldwin, Rockford (Ill.) Register Star, @MarkFBaldwin Katrice Hardy, The Greenville (S.C.) News and GreenvilleOnline.com, @kkatgurll1 Thomas Koetting, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, @tkoetting Summer Moore, The Times of Northwest Indiana, @summerNWI Autumn Phillips, The Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa, @AutumnEdit Sandra Clark, WHYY, Philadelphia, @SandraSWClark

APME News Editor Andrew Oppmann, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, @aoppmann

SUMMER 2017

APME NEWS

APME.SUMMER.2017.qxp

7/31/2017

9:18 AM

Page 24