Friday, August 24, 2012

$35 one-day rate to attend Social Media Friday in Nashville

Our Friday focus at APME Nashville will be on social media, and we’ve lined up a great agenda at the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt.

Here are details:


We know some attendees leave on Friday at each conference to be home for the weekend, so we can bring in a few more folks for great sessions that will produce takeaways for your newsroom.

We’re offering a $35 one-day rate for Social Media Friday, Sept. 21. This rate essentially covers the box lunch that will be available for all guests.

Line editors and top editors of any newspaper, news directors of broadcast outlets, or college educators are eligible for the rate.

About 20 spots are open. Just contact Sally Jacobsen at sjacobsen@ap.org to register.

Hope to see you in Nashville.

Bob Heisse

Thursday, August 23, 2012

APME attendees to get early look at Weems' photo exhibit

Nashville's Frist Center for the Visual Arts, venue for the Sept. 19 reception on the opening night of APME Nashville 2012, will offer conference participants and guests an early look at an exhibition devoted to contemporary artist and photographer Carrie Mae Weems.

The exhibition -- the first major museum retrospective devoted to Weems’ work -- will open to the public on Sept. 21.

Weems is widely regarded as one of today’s most eloquent and respected interpreters of the African-American experience. The Frist exhibition contains 225 photographs, installations, and videos from more than 15 museums and private collections.

APME guests are invited to the Frist for this special presentation and for the annual APME Foundation auction.

Some auction items are up for early bidding. Take a look.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Only 20 spots remain for APME Nashville

Thinking of coming to APME Nashville 2012?
If so, register now. Our space is limited.
There’s great interest in the conference, as shown by registrations to date and filled rooms in two hotels.
We have only 20 spots left. Register now for those as you review our packed agenda.


Chances are we’ll announce soon that APME Nashville is closed. It’s that simple.
Registration is only $250 for APME members. Join us.

Bob Heisse

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

APME magazine on the way to your newsroom

The Nashville conference edition of APME News is printed and in the mail. Look for it soon in your newsroom.

The magazine features everything you need to know about Nashville 2012, from the conference agenda to tips on what to do and see in Music City.

Enjoy it. And hope to see you there.

Bob Heisse

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Arviso, Mallory to receive McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership

Tom Arviso
Tom Arviso, publisher and chief executive officer of the Navajo Times in Window Rock, Ariz., and James Mallory, recently retired senior managing editor and vice president of news of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, are the recipients of the 11th annual Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership, awarded by the Associated Press Media Editors.

The McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership is given annually to individuals, newsrooms or teams of journalists who embody the spirit of McGruder, a former executive editor of the Detroit Free Press, managing editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and a graduate of Kent State University. McGruder died of cancer in April 2002. A past president of APME and former member of American Society of News Editors’ Board of Directors, McGruder was a relentless diversity champion.

This year, the 11th annual awards were sponsored by the Detroit Free Press, The Plain Dealer, Kent State University and the Freedom Forum. The winners will be recognized Thursday, Sept. 20, at the annual APME conference in Nashville, Tenn. The honorees will each receive $2,500 and a leadership plaque.

James Mallory
Arviso and Mallory were honored for their longstanding commitment to diversity in newspaper content and in newsroom recruiting and staff development.

"We’re thrilled to recognize Tom Arviso and James Mallory, both champions of diversity in newsrooms in the spirit of Bob McGruder,” said Bob Heisse, president of APME and executive editor of The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill. "Their work, particularly in these challenging times in our industry, is impressive. APME is proud to present the McGruder award each year to outstanding recipients like Arviso and Mallory.”

In the nominating letter for Arviso, Teri Hayt, managing editor of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, who has worked closely with Arviso, described him as a journalist "with a deep commitment to nurturing minority journalists and delivering top notch news reports to a minority population.”

The Navajo Times began in 1958 as a newspaper funded by the Navajo Nation. Arviso was hired as managing editor in 1988 and became editor and publisher in 1993. Under his leadership, the paper separated from the tribal government in 2004 to become an independent business and newspaper. The Navajo Times now is the largest Native American-owned newspaper in the United States with a circulation of 21,400 and more than 120,000 readers weekly.

"The Times staff flourishes under Arviso’s guidance and determination to make the Navajo tribal government accountable to its people,” Hayt said. "Because of him, more young Native Americans are going into journalism as a career.”

Arviso has spearheaded press freedoms for Native American newspapers for almost three decades, Hayt said. In 1997, he was awarded the Native American Journalists Association’s Wassaja Award for extraordinary service to Native journalism.

Arviso spends countless hours talking to youth in his community and students at the universities in the four corners of Navajo nation – Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, his nomination said.

"We need our own people to come in and tell our own stories and really serve as educators to the rest of the non-Native people,” Arviso says. "They can serve as the real storytellers of today.”

James Mallory, who retired in April as the senior managing editor and vice president of news at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was nominated because he "has been a strong advocate for the AJC and the journalism industry in all of the areas that the McGruder award highlights: recruiting, development, retention and content,” read his nomination, led by Managing Editor Monica Richardson with contributions from more than a half-dozen colleagues.

"The recruitment of talented journalists of color was important to James. He was vocal about making sure that in hiring at the AJC, every newsroom job opening included a diverse pool. We could always count on him to ask the question or nudge the hiring managers to make sure the talent pool was diverse,” Richardson wrote.

The nomination continued, "He considered, when others may have overlooked it, the impact that staff changes and restructuring would have on diversity in the newsroom. He made sure we had conversations about the way minority reporters and editors were being evaluated.”

Mallory also was a mentor to many young journalists.

"I can attest personally that he pushed and challenged me to find my purpose, create my brand and to hone my leadership skills,” Richardson said. "He taught me the value of developing my career, and with his guidance, along with other great mentors like him, I have moved into positions of greater authority, responsibility and expertise. Under his mentorship at the AJC I have gone from a bureau editor to AJC managing editor.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Editor Kevin Riley described Mallory as a trusted adviser who faced demanding changes with determination and fearlessness. "He made us better journalists and the AJC a better newspaper,” Riley said. "He brings honor to our industry.”

Riley also said, "James’ steady hand guided the newspaper through some great times – and some difficult times, too. When research told us that readers were unhappy, James rallied the newsroom around those findings. He led efforts to increase reader satisfaction, and his tireless work has helped ensure that the AJC newsroom lives by that research day in and day out.”

Mallory served 24 years at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, serving in a number of roles including assistant business editor, news personnel manager, night assistant managing editor, AME/Business and Deputy Managing Editor/Metro & Business. He was named managing editor in 2002, the first African American to hold the position at the AJC. He became Senior Managing Editor/Vice President in 2007.

A Detroit native, Mallory also worked as a reporter and assistant business editor at the Detroit News and as a business reporter at the Grand Rapids Press and the Lansing State Journal in Michigan.

Amy Glennon, publisher of the Journal-Constitution, said Mallory was a calm and thoughtful voice as the organization wrestled with questions of survival. "A principled man, he understood what had to be done to right our ship and he believed it must be done without compromising integrity or core beliefs,” she said. "Fairness and honesty were his hallmarks in an era marked by restructuring and downsizing. His influence will be felt for a long time here at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the example he set, through the young talents he mentored and through the department heads whose perspectives he enriched.”

Angela Tuck, the AJC’s education editor who previously served as the paper’s public editor, newsroom recruiter and metro editor, said much like Bob McGruder, with whom she worked at the Detroit Free Press, Mallory’s imprint can be felt nationally. "The interns and journalists these men hired are now working in top reporting and editing jobs in their newsrooms,” Tuck said.

AJC reporter Ernie Suggs said each year during the evaluation process he would write on his self assessment: "To be like James Mallory.”

Suggs said he met Mallory as a young reporter and worked hard to win his support. Suggs, then a reporter in Durham, N.C., would send every big story he wrote to James and would let him know of every award. Eventually, Suggs was hired in Atlanta. "Often, when I achieved something, I would stop by James’ office to let him know. Not that he probably didn’t know already and although I probably never said the exact words – but I wanted him to know that whatever I achieved was a direct result of the influence he had on me. Even outside of the newsroom, from becoming the national vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists to a Harvard University Nieman Fellow in 2009.”

Arviso and Mallory will be recognized for their contributions to diversity in the news industry at the annual Associated Press, APME and McGruder awards luncheon at noon on Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Wyatt Center Rotunda of Vanderbilt University.

The 2012 judges included representatives of the Freedom Forum, Detroit Free Press, The Plain Dealer, Kent State University and the American Society of News Editors. Jurors assessed the nominees based on their significant contribution during a given year or over a number of years to furthering the cause of diversity in content and in recruiting, developing and retaining journalists of color.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Have you joined us on Facebook yet?

We’re growing on Facebook and we have a goal.

 

Let’s get to 1,000 likes by APME Nashville. Can we do it? With your help.

 

Thanks go to marketing committee co-chairs Dennis Anderson and Laura Sellers Earl for the steady growth so far.

 

Join us if you haven’t. And share this with your editor friends.

 

http://www.facebook.com/APMEnews

 

On Facebook we’re posting conference updates, salutes to our sponsors, and callouts for great things to do in Nashville.

 

See you in Nashville … and on Facebook.



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Save up to 50% off at dailydeals.sj-r.com

Friday, August 10, 2012

APME Nashville session tackles government secrecy

Despite claims of more transparency, government secrecy has increased and the fight for public information has become harder and harder.

A panel at APME Nashville 2012 will discuss how the FOIA process has been slowed or outright corrupted, and other recent roadblocks the government has erected that threaten the free flow of information and the public's right to know.
This candid conversation will touch on:
• How reporters need to marry hard data analysis with shoeleather reporting in uncovering election finance details of major donors and contributions – ultimately, the special interests funding our elected representatives’ campaigns.
• How government agencies appear to be throwing up regular roadblocks to clean, reliable and free data.
• Recent FOIA fights including F.B.I. records the Commercial Appeal sought in the case of civil rights photographer Ernest Wither.

The session will be led by Bob Meyers, president of the National Press Association.

Panelists include: Jack Gillum, investigative reporter for the Associated Press; Christine Walz, attorney with Holland & Knight, who handles numerous First Amendment and FOIA cases; and Gene Policinski, senior vice president and executive director of the First Amendment Center.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

APME adds section on outsourcing hyper-local content

Chicken dinner news. School lunch menus. Calendars. Routine police blotter items.

Print and online readers love such hyper-local content. Our staffs, not so much — as we push them to produce more hard-hitting enterprise journalism.

Against that backdrop, the push to outsource hyper-local content makes sense to a lot of news organizations. Alan Miller, managing editor of the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch moderates a discussion of the issue with Brian Timpone, CEO of Journatic, and David Arkin, vice president of content and interactive at Gatehouse Media.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Talented musicians will perform at APME night at Margaritaville

A highlight of September's APME conference will come Thursday night, Sept. 20, when journalists and guests gather at Margaritaville, in the heart of Nashville's honk-tonk district.

There, we'll enjoy music performed by a band whose members have written songs for Ray Charles, Trisha Yearwood, Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Tanya Tucker, and Hootie and the Blowfish.

They’ve performed with Ringo Starr, Cheap Trick and Poco. This line-up of talented singer-songwriters, including Bill Lloyd, Jonell Mosser and Don Henry, will play their own songs along with rock and country classics.

It promises to be a memorable performance. You can be there by purchasing a ticket for $35.

Here’s the link to register for the conference and to sign up for the Margaritaville event. Hope to see you there.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

APME adds second hotel for Nashville conference

With rooms filling fast at the host Embassy Suites Vanderbilt, APME now has rooms available at a $139 conference rate at the Hilton Garden Inn Nashville Vanderbilt.

Editors can make reservations by calling the Hilton Garden Inn directly at 615-369-5900 and asking for the APME group rate.


Our best advice is to act quickly. There are 15 rooms at this rate available for the busy conference nights of Sept. 18, 19, and 20. There are 4 rooms for Sept. 17 and 21.

Both the Embassy Suites and Hilton Garden Inn are within easy walking distance of the conference venue, the John Seigenthaler Center on the campus of Vanderbilt University.

Bob Heisse

Colorado session added to packed Nashville agenda

Journalists scrambled to cover the carnage when a gunman opened fire last month in a theater in Aurora, Colo. killing 12 people. In the aftermath, however, reporters and editors found themselves dealing with the emotional fallout of the experience.
In a session just added to the APME Nashville 2012 conference agenda, representatives of the Associated Press, Denver Post and the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma will discuss ways in which managers can support staff members grappling with aftereffects of violent news events.
It’s another reason why you should join the Associated Press Media Editors Sept. 19-21 at the John Seigenthaler Center on the campus of Vanderbilt University.
Come to APME in Music City and go home with takeaways for your newsroom. Register today.
http://www.apme.com/?page=2012Conference

Deadline for 'Great Ideas' extended until Aug. 7

            The deadline for submissions to APME’s 2012 “Great Ideas” book has been extended until Tuesday, Aug. 7.

If you haven’t already submitted one or more from your news organization, it’s easy to do and takes only a few minutes. Go to the "Great Ideas” Web page at http://www.apme.com/?page=GreatIdeasform. The form allows you to submit entries and upload images that accompany the “Great Idea.”

         What's a great idea? It can be a new concept for print or online, or a major improvement to something we do every day. This is a chance for your media organization to show off your work in the United States and Canada and help fellow managers by providing ideas that might work in their markets.

         You can submit one or several ideas to the book.  

         If you have questions, contact David Arkin, GateHouse Media vice president of content & audience, at darkin@gatehousemedia.com.

        Work already submitted to the monthly "Great Ideas" and "Innovator" and yearly APME innovator contests will be considered for the book.

 

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Webinar to feature Northwestern expert

As a follow to last month’s two-day symposium to educate journalists on how to uncover local stories on the impacts of the current economic crisis on the mental health of North American families and their communities, Dr. Nancy Molitor of Northwestern University will conduct a webinar August 16 at 2 p.m.

The Associated Press Media Editors and the Local Media Foundation were awarded a McCormick Foundation grant to conduct the symposium in Chicago for reporters and editors.

Molitor is a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral science at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She is also the public education coordinator for the American Psychological Association and writes and speaks about society’s effect on the mental health of all Americans.


The webinar cost is only $9.95, with the balance of the normal $29.95 charge funded through the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.