Jennifer Ferrell, Sally Ragsdale and Claudia Mendez are blogging from the annual convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Their reports follow.

AT ASNE, CHANGE IS A HOT TOPIC
by Jennifer Ferrell

Thursday began with a session called "Journalism on the Edge: Assessing Big Challenges and Bold Ideas," featuring panelists Lou Ferrara of The Associated Press, Jennifer Carroll of Gannett, Larry Coats of TBO.com and Jay Small, director of Online Audience for E.W. Scripps.

The panelists provided information on how their organizations are addressing the changing newsroom and the challenges of the 24-hour newscycle. Said Ferrara about the decline of readership and the importance of dealing with these challenges head-on, “If print is going to decline, then Web sites will decline as well.” There are people out there that believe that newspapers are going to come back (in their present format). It’s a reinvention.”

Carroll, vice president of interactive media for Gannett, described the company’s new online initiatives and emphasized its plan to focus on public service and beyond. Examples of Gannett papers that are involving their readers are the Asbury Park Press and its newly created Data Universe at www.app.com, and Florida Today's Watchdog site that tracks all public service stories the paper runs. Meanwhile, The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle continues to experiment with how to better use databases.

Small emphasized that one challenge newspapers can avoid in terms of technology is to contract for video and computer servers rather than hiring their own staffers or buying their own equipment. Also, there is no need to have a similar video set-up like a TV station.

Other suggestions from the panel:
- Stay in the present. Breaking news encourages breaking news.
- Still photographs drive page views and readers love images. One photo isn’t enough anymore; there is an endless demand for images.

Innovation in the newsroom isn’t merely a task for your newsroom computer nerds; in many places, it's been left up them for too long.

EYETRACK 2007
by Sally Ragsdale

The Poynter Institute shared some of the findings of its recent EyeTrack Survey. According to the survey, people are reading a larger percentage of text online than in print -- 77 percent online and 62 percent on paper. Also, nearly two-thirds of online readers will read the entire text of a story they have chosen.

Another key finding is that people read in two distinct ways. People are either methodical readers or scanners. Seventy-five percent of print readers are methodical, meaning they read from top to bottom. Scanners, as the term implies, will view the overall page and then make a choice, read part of a story, then move on. But online readers are split down the middle -- about half are scanners and half are methodical.

The EyeTrack study will be releasing additional findings later this summer. There are more than 600 participants.

Tom Sudore, who recently moved from The Messenger Post News in New York to become the editor of the online division at GateHouse Media spoke about digital convergence in small newspapers. He talked about the need for small newspapers to begin to promote their Web sites with new and innovative Web content. He named www.bakersfield.com , www.naplesnow.com and www.roanoke.com as three newspaper Web sites that are doing so successfully. All have integrated video and other interactive components on their sites. Another key piece is that they update the site several times a day so that readers keep coming back for breaking news.

There was some discussion among editors about breaking news on the Web first. Randy Wright from The Daily Herald in Provo,Utah, link mentioned that they hold stories back for print. They are in a competitive market and knew that by posting on the Web site, the other paper in town would have the chance to catch up.

Sudore told editors that it is easy for small papers to add video to their Web sites. They can post the video on YouTube and then link to it if they are not able to archive on their own site. You simply have to decide to do it. Find a couple people on your staff who are willing to learn, buy a consumer level camera for $400 try it. Success is often born from failure.

THE NEW GAMES IN TOWN
by Claudia Mendez

At Thursday's session titled "Electric Sports: Games in the Internet Age and the People Who Run Them," ASNE welcomed several well-known sports figures, including moderator Michael Wilbon, sports columnist for The Washington Post; Brian France, chairman and CEO of NASCAR; Jerry Jones, owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys; Bud Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball; and David Stern, commissioner of the NBA.

The question of the day was how can sports editors compete with all the fabulous techology, including plasma TVs, surround sound and such.

Wilbon was quick to mention that TV misses things when it’s making money with commercial breaks, and that's where sports writers can catch items viewers otherwise would miss. Also, without sports writers front and center, people can miss a lot of nuance that TV can't show.

One recent development is the rise in blogging by professional athletes. Players such as Barry Bonds and Gilbert Arenas maintain blogs to connect with their fans. Selig pointed out that this is“another means for access and a very healthy one.” Stern agreed that that it's “good for fans.” Fans love it because of the candid, unpredictable nature of the content. You never know what athletes will say next.

ATTENTION CRIME DRAMA FANS AND MYSTERY LOVERS

Opus cartoonist Berkeley Breathed will appear on the April 7th episode of "America's Most Wanted" in an effort to help solve a 28-year old murder case. Read more about the case here and here.

Amy Lago is comics editor of The Washington Post Writers Group.  

45 WORDS

Karisue Wyson, North American sales manager for The Washington Post Writers Group, is blogging from the annual convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors being held March 27-30 in Washington. This is her report from Tuesday's opening session.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

The clarion call at the 2007 American Society of Newspaper Editors conference is clear: protect and promote First Amendment rights, not just for the future of journalism but for the preservation of democracy.

In session after session, editors, reporters and those who work to protect journalists’ rights warned of the assault on freedom of the press in a time of public apathy and governmental resistance.

Kicking off the day’s events was the Small Newspapers Luncheon and an assessment by Stan Tiner, executive editor of the Biloxi Sun Herald, that too many editors, depressed about the state of the newspaper industry, were quick to cave to the pressures and challenges facing newspapers. “We cannot cut our way to prosperity,” Tiner warned. “We can only report our way to success.” The editor who led his Pulitzer Prize-winning staff through the ravages of Hurricane Katrina noted that “we can share our stories like never before” and editors must seize the opportunities that the age of multimedia offers for journalists.

Tiner was followed by an inspiring and passionate speech by ASNE President Dave Zeeck, executive editor of the Tacoma News-Tribune, who outlined ways ASNE will redefine itself as a resource and advocate for editors. He announced the creation of a First Amendment Committee and the adaptation of the ASNE mission to make it more reflective of the needs and desires of editors.

Ken Paulson, editor of USAToday and an ASNE favorite for his engaging and entertaining presentations, recalled the nostalgic images of the 1950s and '60s when journalists were swaggering heroes. Even comic book icons were emblematic of the esteem that newspapermen – and women, don’t forget Brenda Starr! – had before a grateful public as they battled the evils of the world: Superman masquerading as enterprising reporter Clark Kent, the Green Hornet as a newspaper publisher by day, and Spiderman spending his web-free moments as Peter Parker, photojournalist.

But now journalists are seen as “sleazy,” “biased” and “untruthful.” In his discussion with Paulson, Gene Policinski of the First Amendment Center cited some chilling statistics:
- 42% of the public believes the press has too much freedom.
- 61% of the public believes making up stories is a widespread practice in newsrooms.
- 83% of voters believe the press is biased on one side of the political spectrum or the other.

One telling statistic of high school students showed that 36% disagreed that the press should be allowed to publish stories without prior government review and approval. The fear, said Mark Goodman of the Student Press Law Center, is that with school administrators who increasingly see their role as censors and students who are cynical about journalism, “If we lose the hearts and minds of young journalists, we lose the group as a whole.”

Joining Paulson’s discussion was Paul Boyle of the Newspaper Association of America, who reiterated the “toxic environment toward the media,” citing proposed legislation that would criminalize the disclosure of non-security-related government information. He urged editors to shake off complacency and write editorials promoting the First Amendment while educating readers on the importance of freedom of the press and inviting legislators to the newspaper to discuss ongoing Freedom of Information problems.

Eve Burton, vice president and general counsel of The Hearst Corp., also took editors to task for “failing to see the train coming down the track” and noted that this week, the Hearst Corp. had received its 100th subpoena in two years and eight months, where in the two years prior they had received only a smattering. “We’ve lost all three branches of government and we’ve lost the public,” Burton warned. She said editors should shake off the notion that they can’t promote themselves as the defenders of the public trust and echoed Boyle’s call for regular editorials and education about what is at stake. Exhibit A were San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, who were under the threat of being jailed since they broke the BALCO story about steroids and professional athletes.

Attendees were treated to a surprise addition to the convention line-up with the arrival of three members of Congress who are championing the Federal Shield Law. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who said he got involved in the debate because of the Judith Miller case, remarked “of course I’m concerned about reporters as individuals, but I’m more concerned about the effects on a free press,” if protections against confidential sources aren’t made stronger. Added Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., co-sponsor of the House's version of a the shield law, “The only check on the government’s power is a free and independent press.” Another co-sponsor, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., whose wife Amy Hauslohner is the editor of the Galax Gazette in southwest Virginia, urged editors to publish repeated editorials and commentary on the issue, adding, “What is at stake is the public’s right to know.”

Practical measures were offered by a roundtable of editors moderated by David Westphal of McClatchy Newspapers. Melanie Sill, executive editor of Raleigh News & Observer, gave examples of how her newspaper participates actively in Sunshine Week efforts, a national initiative by ASNE to promote the public’s right to information and the importance of open government.

Tom Mitchell, editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said legal notices, while adding to a newspaper’s bottom line with advertising revenue, are also a great source of public information if a reporter is willing to dig for it. He gave an example of how one landowner was selling property to be used as a cemetery but the property was found to be flipped several times for profit, and the classification of “cemetery” eventually disappeared.

David Boardman, executive editor of the Seattle Times, recounted his newspaper’s efforts to open sealed disciplinary records of high school coaches who had been accused of repeatedly abusing female student athletes in multiple schools, spending more than $500,000 and 3.5 years fighting a powerful teachers' union. “Boardrooms and newsrooms need to understand why these rights are important. This fight takes money and needs to be put into the budget.” He also asked editors to look closely at their own newsrooms and ask, “Do you see a shift away from watchdog journalism?”

RonNell Andersen Jones of the University of Arizona’s Rogers College of Law announced an initiative to close the “stark empirical gap” between what the judiciary figures for subpoenas issued newspapers and what newspapers anecdotally report. Editors at every newspaper in the nation have been sent information of a confidential survey to help compile an accurate tally of these subpoenas and use them to evaluate trends. She noted that this survey is the first of its kind and will “give meat to the bones of the discussion and add to the legislative debate.”

Closing out the day was a blunt and sobering assessment from Lee Levine, founding partner of a leading Washington law firm and adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, who said newspapers are “in a moment of crisis.” He’s scared by “the courts, who are no longer our allies … and by editors who sit around and won’t lobby for a shield law because ‘we have the First Amendment.’ Well, you don’t.” He noted that protections for journalists have been cut away with little outcry from editors. “If you aren’t going to fight for freedom of the press, who will? Get over it. Meet with other editors, write editorials, write stories and explain to your readers why this is so important.”

And with that concluded our first day at ASNE. A lot of soul-searching and calls to arms, and a blueprint for winning back the trust of readers while strengthening the foundation on which journalism is built.

Forty-five words that should be championed each day in our newspapers and in the heart of every editor.