APME Student Newsroom

Remote votes and buzz words at innovator session

I watched a crowd of more than 120 people grab their voting remotes and suddenly knew what it was like to be an audience member in the old Bob Saget days of "America's Funniest Home Videos." When the votes were tallied, the News-Press in Ft. Myers, Fla., came away with the first-ever APME Innovator of the Year award.

Before the voting took place, however, candidates from Ft. Myers, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle presented their ideas to the crowd using video presentations and a Q&A session.

Buzz words came out to play.

In a video presentation, the AJC described the pitching-and-catching method of news production. "Pitcher" and "catcher" were used to describe someone who gathers or develops story ideas and another who runs with them.

Another major term used was "mojo," or mobile journalist.

The term "crowdsourcing" was used by both the News-Press and the AJC. Not to be confused with something you would do at a rock concert (see crowd surfing), crowdsourcing means interacting with the public to develop an idea. Stories or other content can be built using group meetings and through feedback with citizen journalists, among other ideas.

The News-Press relied on both crowsourcing and a smaller citizen "Team Watchdog" to help with investigative pieces.

Present!

-- David Dinsmore

Readers ask editors to 'lighten up'

Anonymous comments aren't credible, but they should be allowed. At least that's what some panelists said to editors this morning.

An hour-long panel held this morning was meant to discuss the credibility of online newspaper content. And while the session covered a variety of topics, talk over reader comments stole the show.

The panelists asked editors to "lighten up" and allow fun conversation on their news sites' forums. The panelists, most from Delaware, were readers who often post comments on news sites and elsewhere online. They ranged from a politician to a student to a businesswoman.

Editors in the audience took a poll with the hands-on voting device implemented at this year's APME conference. The clicker allowed them to give their input on whether they would have left certain ethically questionable comments online.

The readers who served as panelists today said it is important for newspapers to allow anonymous comments. The anonymity allows for a safer environment, as two of the panelists had been "cyber stalked" before.

-- Marissa DeCuir

Friday's question is...

Each day we're going to ask conference attendees a "Question of the day." Today's question is:

What single development do you think made the biggest impact on the news industry?

Answers will be posted throughout the day.

Each day we're going to ask conference attendees a "Question of the day." Today's question is:

What single development do you think made the biggest impact on the news industry?

Answers will be posted throughout the day.

Each day we're going to ask conference attendees a "Question of the day." Today's question is:

What single development do you think made the biggest impact on the news industry?

Answers will be posted throughout the day.

Postal Service 'breaks news' to editors

Benjamin Franklin's dual role in the newspaper industry and postal service has come along way. And Jack Potter, the 72nd Post Master General, told editors this morning that Franklin's first-ever newspaper delivery system was only the beginning.

A Washington Post reporter and the APME president tore down a blue sheet with the U.S. Postal Service's logo to unveil something that exemplifies how far journalists have come.

With the sheet pulled away, editors got a glimpse of five larger-than-life stamps featuring American journalists who have risked their lives to get the story.

See a photo gallery of the stamps.

Potter, CEO of the U.S. Postal Service, announced to editors this morning that the post office will officially unveil the 41-cent stamps next year at the National Press Club's 100th anniversary session next year.

Martha Gellhorn, John Hersey, George Polk, Ruben Salazar and Eric Sevareid are five journalists Potter said show what the First Amendment is all about.

-- Marissa DeCuir

And we're off.... day 3 begins

The crowd at breakfast this morning was a little thinner than yesterday. But the coffee was hot, the fruit cold and the pastries sweet. So starts the third day of the conference.

During his presentation Brad Dennison said "enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm." And while it didn't appear to be a rapid spread of excitement through breakfast, Dennison discussed how the NewsTrain is spreading enthusiasm.

NewsTrain is sponsored by APME and is a mobile training program for frontline editors to "polish their editing and management skills, and to become more effective editors for print and online news coverage."

Dennison said the roving training experience helps newspapers around the country. He said while he's working at a NewsTrain stop, he often he hears from participants that this is the first training they've had in several years.

"It is just phenomenal," he said. "Its inexpensive. It's practical, yet cutting edge."

-- Ginger Gibson

At the Mall: North American Precis Syndicate

NAPS has some examples of their content available, including a large HD screen for showing of their Web site.

-- David Dinsmore

At the Mall: Saxotech

Content and workflow management company Saxotech is showing some of its software and techniques to help editors "manage all media types for all media channels."

-- David Dinsmore

At the Mall: Apple

Consulting services from Elara Systems, Inc., is representing Apple this year. They are exhibiting the new Final Cut Studio 2.

-- David Dinsmore

Websites need to build sense of community

By Raechal Leone
Gazette Staff

Any newspaper website can draw hordes of visitors when big news breaks. But only those that provide ways for readers to build communities on their sites can sustain the Web traffic, Jim Brady of washingtonpost.com said Thursday.

Brady, vice president and executive editor of the Post's site, and Jennifer Carroll, vice president/ new media content at Gannett, led the APME conference session, "Where the Journalism of the Future is Being Done Now."

The two panelists - and a few members of the audience - offered tips on how newspapers can foster a sense of community among the people who visit their sites.

Among the tips:

Databases of public records. When Gannett's Fort Myers News-Press in Florida obtained federal hurricane aid records, it posted them to a searchable database. Readers used the database about 60,000 times in the first two days, said Executive Editor Kate Marymont, who was in the audience.

Games. Readers of USA TODAY's Website can play a game that shows them which of the presidential candidates most closely matches the readers' views on key topics. The games give players control, voice and the all-important feeling of community, Carroll said.

Live discussions. Washingtonpost.com employees spent about a week 12 years ago building the software they still use today for live discussions with reporters and newsmakers, Brady said. The same readers tend to participate week after week, he added.

Social networking. Washingtonpost.com readers can now start their own page that aggregates their comments, along with stories or live discussions they've bookmarked. It also tracks any groups they've joined, Brady said.

Maps. Gannett's Cincinnati Enquirer has built maps that track the news, local real estate, murders and other topics.

Blogs, especially ones that focus on key beats in the newspaper's coverage area or are run by the newspaper's well-known personalities. "The ones that work are when you can build a really strong community around the topic," said Brady, whose site includes about 80 blogs.

Watchdog pages. Newspapers can ask readers what they would like to see investigated. That's what USA TODAY and Florida Today, a Gannett paper in Brevard, Fla., have done on their sites.

Groups. Reporters who don't have time to blog could establish an online group, as several have done at washingtonpost.com. They can send out a question or discussion topic to people who sign up for the group, Brady said.

At the Mall: Penn Camera

This D.C.-based specialty camera store has been operating since 1953. The company has a division dedicated to photjournalism.

-- David Dinsmore