Just catching up: the winners of our conference sweepstakes prizes

In September, APME offered an iPad and a Kindle Fire in a sweepstakes drawing during the conference in Nashville.

The winners were: Richard Pienciak of The Associated Press won the iPad; and Darrell Christian, also of the AP, won the Kindle Fire.

Thanks to all who donated to the sweepstakes. All funds go directly to fund APME's activities throughout the year. Learn more about APME and its mission at www.apme.com.

Bid on books, prints, Hostess goodies and more in APME's online auction

APME’s online holiday auction is now open for bids on great gifts: a shore getaway, runway-to-real life shopping trip, a box of Hostess goodies and framed photos of Johnny Carter and June Carter Cash and from Myanmar and Superstorm Sandy.

Don’t miss books on Lincoln (See the movie, buy the book!) and those from AP writers: "Black Men Built the Capitol,” "Minka: My Farmhouse in Japan,” "Tough As Nails: The Life and Films of Richard Brooks,” "Two Hot dogs with Everything” and "The Seven Keys of Balabad.” And more!


The bidding ends 5 p.m. Eastern, Monday, Dec. 10. Visit http://www.apme.com/?page=online_auction to peruse the items.

Three newspaper projects garner APME quarterly awards

            Newspaper projects from Arizona, Michigan and Oklahoma have been selected for the Associated Press Media Editors' quarterly idea and innovation awards.

          Judges selected “Traditions,” the Arizona Republic's multimedia project on the state's large number of American Indians, as the winner of its “Great Idea of the Quarter.” They also selected the Detroit Free Press' “Project Prom” and The Oklahoman's “What's It Like” as winners of the “Innovation of the Quarter.”

           In the description about “Traditions,” Republic Editor Nicole Carroll wrote that the project was the “first-ever comprehensive collection of demographic, historic and traditional information about Arizona’s large and diverse community of American Indians, combined with award-winning reporting and photography.”

          “Because of the team’s creativity and sensitivity, they were able to gain access to historic traditions that few people have been able to witness, including coming-of-age ceremonies and other sacred events that have roots extending into the past for centuries.”

          One of the judges wrote about the project that can be found at www.azcentral.com/news/native-americans/: “This is what we do best, and it was creative to pursue it so thoroughly.”

          As for the innovation winners, judges selected The Detroit Free Press and The Oklahoman as co-winners.

          The Detroit Free Press used its many tools, from print to online to social media, to encourage high school students to create prom dresses from newspapers. Efforts by staff members Krista Jahnke and Alexandra Bahou were so successful that participants lobbied for their dresses on Facebook, and more than 3,200 votes were cast. An interior and fashion expo also requested that the winner display the dress during the event.

          Judges thought the project that can be seen at

http://freep.com/promdress was innovative in several different ways.

          One judge wrote: “The innovative idea of the newspaper dresses works on so many levels: engaging with a new, younger audience; two, poking fun at ourselves and other uses for our product; and three, showing that the staff and business can be playful with the readers -- we will copy the idea.”

          Nancy Andrews, managing editor for Digital Media at the Free Press, said: “The idea exceeded our fondest expectations. ... It was so successful that we’re already planning for next year — and we’ve attracted interest from a popular shopping mall.”

          The Oklahoman's innovation takes an interactive approach to questions that readers might ask about medical procedures or that they may undergo themselves in their lives.

          The idea by Assistant Local Editor Nick Trougakos spurred health writer Jaclyn Cosgrove to create a multimedia project on health procedures for the Sunday editions. 

          Kelly Dyer Fry, editor and vice president of news, said the project also has revenue potential.

          “About 80 percent of the 'What's It Like?' features have been sold to a presenting sponsor, making in a double win for our group, “ she said. “It provides unique and useful content in a new way while monetizing the effort based on the topics chosen by the reporter. None of the ‘What's It Like?’ stories have been requested by a potential sponsor. They have been written, produced and scheduled before being pitched to sponsors.”

          Judges thought that the innovation is one that many newspapers and media would want to duplicate in their communities.

          “We often wonder about medical procedures, and here's a newspaper willing to give us a multimedia inside look at them,” said one judge about the project that can be found at http://newsok.com/news/health/medical-procedures “Great work!”

           Finalists for the quarterly awards were The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch's interactive Construction Zone Map; The (Hanover, Pa.) Evening Sun's Battle of Gettysburg 140 Characters at a Time; and the Utica, N.Y., Observer-Dispatch's Who We Are series.

           APME is now seeking entries for its next quarterly honors that will be awarded early next year. You can submit your news organization's idea or innovation at http://www.apme.com/?page=GreatIdeasform. It takes only a few minutes to enter, and your submission will automatically be considered for the next “Great Ideas Book.” 

The “Innovation of the Quarter” and “Great Idea of the Quarter” are a project of the APME Awards Committee. Joe Hight, director of information and development for The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com, and David Arkin, vice president of content & audience for GateHouse Media Inc., are co-chairs of the committee. Committee members are George Rodrigue, managing editor, The Dallas Morning News; Linda Negro, grassroots editor, Evansville Courier & Press/Courierpress.com; Meg Downey, managing editor, The Tennessean; and Laura Kessel, managing editor, The Willoughby, Ohio News-Herald. Rodrigue, Negro, Downey and Kessel served as judges for the quarterly awards.

Deadline approaches for new journalism fellowship

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, in partnership with APME, is offering a new one-year journalism fellowship that will focus on the economics of aging and work.

This fellowship is a 12-month residential fellowship located at the headquarters of the independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. Mid-career journalists working for AP or an APME news organization are eligible to apply.

More information about the fellowship including the online application process is available at www.apnorc.org. Applications are due Nov. 30.

NewsTrain seeks 2013 host sites

APME's popular NewsTrain program is seeking host sites for 2013.

Our national traveling workshop will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary next year and needs enthusiastic hosts with venues that can hold 100+ attendees.

Deadline for consideration is Nov. 30.

Read more at: http://www.apme.com

APME's 2013 conference will be held Oct. 28-30 in Indianapolis

Organization celebrates its 80th anniversary

APME is pleased to announce that the 80th APME Conference will be in Indianapolis Monday, Oct. 28, through Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013. For this special anniversary gathering, we will return to Indiana, home of the very first conference in 1933.

"We are ecstatic to be going home to Indiana for our 80th anniversary," said APME President Brad Dennison. "Indianapolis is both a great city and a great convention city. We'll make sure that attendees get a real taste of it while they're in town."

The conference will have two official hotels in one complex, the J.W. Marriott and the SpringHill Suites in the downtown area. The conference venue will be the Indiana State Museum, just a short walk across the street. After-hours activities will include receptions at the Indiana Roof Ballroom on Monday evening and the NCAA Hall of Champions on Tuesday evening.

Stay tuned here or at www.apme.com for more information.

Conference videos are online now

It took longer than we expected, but a passel of videos from September's APME conference are available now. All the videos are at http://www.youtube.com/apmevideo. Here are the sessions:


APME 2012: Government Secrecy and the Fight for Public Information
National Press Foundation President Bob Meyers leads a critical discussion on the increase in government secrecy and the fight for public information. Panelists 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.

APME 2012: Unleash Your Inner Watchdog
Pulitzer winner Michael Berens of the Seattle Times tells editors the best ways to identify and pursue powerful watchdog stories from everyday records using investigative techniques and strategies that lift high-impact enterprise from daily beats and help newsrooms create authoritative work on multiple platforms.

APME 2012: Lessons from Aurora, Colorado
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. 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. Moderated by Carole Tarrant, editor of the Roanoke (Va.) Times.

APME 2012: First Amendment Showdown
Test your knowledge of America's core freedoms and be eligible to win prizes spanning two centuries, including 19th century newspapers and a Kindle Touch.  Join John Seigenthaler and Ken Paulson, the founder and president of the First Amendment Center, respectively, in a engaging and irreverent look at what we don't know about the First Amendment. In the words of  former American Press Institute Associate Director Mary Glick: "For more than a decade, John and Ken's interactive, engaging and inspiring sessions on the First Amendment were the highlight of every American Press Institute seminar -- and they are always updating, changing and adding new material. No one can make the Constitution come alive the way these guys do. Really, don't miss this one."

APME 2012: How Do You Measure Success?
APME 2012 Nashville, Tennessee. Matt DeRienzo, Connecticut group editor for Journal Register Co., leads a dynamic discussion of top ways to measure your social media success. Panelists Dennis Anderson, executive editor of the Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star, Knight Stivender, senior editor for community engagement at the Tennessean; and Allen Klosowski, senior director of social/mobile for Digital First Media, will draw on recent examples and practices in newsrooms of varying sizes. Video shot by Middle Tennessee State University's student run television station, MT10.

APME 2012: Is There More to Social Media Than Being Liked?
APME 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. Is There More to Social Media Than Being Liked? Why are we tweeting and hanging out on Facebook when we have a newspaper to put out -- and with fewer people than previously. Ellyn Angelotti of the Poynter Institute will moderate a panel discussion on best ways to make social media campaigns effective, how to measure our social media effectiveness, and strategies for using social media to engage more deeply audiences that might help us generate revenue. Video shot by Middle Tennessee State University's student run television station, MT10.

APME 2012: Associated Press Report
APME 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. Kathleen Carroll, The Associated Press executive editor and senior vice president, leads a briefing about the latest ongoings with the Associated Press. Carroll is joined by Gary Pruitt, president and CEO of The Associated Press, political editor Liz Sidoti, vice president and managing editor for state news Kristin Gazlay, director of photography Santiago Lyon, and senior managing editor Michael Oreskes. Video shot by Middle Tennessee State University's student run television station, MT10.

APME 2012: You First Saw This on Twitter and Facebook
APME 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. The methods companies use to get their message out has changed. Find out what they're doing and why and how well it works, and learn some techniques you might be able to use in your organization. Moderator was Jack Lail, website director for the Knoxville, Tennessee, News Sentinel. Video shot by Middle Tennessee State University's student run television station, MT10.

APME 2012:  Who's up? Who's Down? Part #1
APME 2012 "Who's up? Who's Down?" Part #2
APME 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. Who's up? Who's down? In what states will Election 2012 be won or lost? And how will social media help -- or hurt -- campaign coverage? Mindy Marques, executive editor of the Miami Herald, leads the discussion with AP's Liz Sidoti and Chuck Babington, along with Joe Vardon of the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch and the Herald's Sergio Bustos. Video shot by Middle Tennessee State University's student run television station, MT10.