Feature and Lifestyle Editors

December 3 - December 8, 2006

AIM THIS PAGE

Featured Discussion Leaders

Anantha Babbili Dean, Middle Tennessee State University

Cathy Boucek Producer/Editor, CanWest Interactive

Jody Calendar Writing Coach

Ruth Dunley Associate Editor, The Ottawa Citizen

Robin Gerber Leadership Authority and Author

Susan LoTempio Assistant Managing Editor/Readership, The Buffalo News

Matt McGuire Senior Producer, Metromix

Sally Squires Health and Nutrition Columnist, The Washington Post

Co-sponsored by the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors

A seminar for editors who want to energize coverage of lifestyles, arts and culture.

Who should attend:

Features, lifestyle and Sunday editors, their assistant editors and newsroom managers who supervise or are involved in features coverage.

What your organization will gain:

A proven way to grow readership is to enhance coverage of features, entertainment and lifestyles in ways that resonate with readers. So-called "soft" news is no longer the newsroom stepchild, and today's features editors are on the vanguard of change. Seminar participants will learn how to work with their staffs to develop timely, relevant content and dynamic presentations that draw readers into the newspaper day after day.

They also will:

• Learn proven methods for leading a staff and fostering creativity—even with limited resources.
• Explore ways to take advantage of new media and new story forms that grow readership.
• Take away practical ideas that can improve features coverage in dramatic, visible ways that readers will notice.
• Learn to be a force for change in their newsrooms.

AGENDA

Day 1

• Mary Glick, seminar moderator and API’s associate director, will describe the tools from API’s Newspaper Next project that can help editors discover innovative ways to reach new readers.
• Mark Mulholland, API’s associate director, will lead editors step-by-step through the most effective methods for launching successful new products and features.
• Robin Gerber, leadership authority and author of Katharine Graham: Leadership Journey of an American Icon, will outline the leadership traits that are crucial in today’s changing media environment.
• Ruth Dunley, associate editor of The Ottawa Citizen, and Cathy Boucek, producer/editor for CanWest Interactive in Montreal, will share their successful strategies for cultivating a new generation of readers through creative storytelling and participation that take news and information to a whole new level of community engagement.

Day 2

• Washington, D.C., Outing
• John Seigenthaler, founder of the The First Amendment Center, will lead an educational and entertaining session on free expression in America.

Day 3

• Sally Squires, columnist for The Washington Post, will talk about how her Lean Plate Club has become an international community and multimedia phenomenon with one of the highest interactivity rates on the Internet.
• Anantha Babbili, dean, College of Mass Communication, Middle Tennessee State University, will show editors how to cover lifestyles across cultural barriers and provide perspectives on changing communities that are rich in feature story ideas.
• Susan LoTempio, assistant managing editor for readership at The Buffalo News, will demonstrate how to go beyond stereotypes to actually feel comfortable finding, sourcing and writing stories that matter about disability.

Day 4

• Matthew McGuire, senior producer for metromix.com, will give behind-the-scenes details on what it takes to create a comprehensive entertainment guide that includes a searchable database of more than 9,000 restaurants and 4,000 bars and clubs in the Chicago area.
• Jody Calendar, consultant, writing coach and president of Calendar Communications, will rekindle editors’ creativity with an inspiring exercise in storytelling.
• Small Group Workshop, a highlight of every API seminar, applies the Newspaper Next concepts of “disruptive innovation” and “jobs to be done” in a simulation exercise.

Day 5

• Cate Barron, associate editor of the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, PA, provides dozens of ideas on how to spot trends and stay ahead of changes that affect readers’ lives.
• Mary Glick, API seminar moderator, helps editors create an action plan that they can begin to apply immediately in their newsrooms.

"Tremendous impact on my job and how to do it better."
Tammy Paolino, Features Editor
Courier-Post, Cherry Hill, N.J.

The Hints from Heloise Fellowship covers tuition, hotel and meal costs and a travel allowance for a female editor over age 35 to attend this seminar.

Applications must be received by Sept. 1, 2006. For more information, visit www.americanpressinstitute.org/fellowships.

The Particulars

Please read:
:: API's Registration, Tuition and Hotel Policies
:: Special requirements for international members

Tuition: $ 1,875

Hotel/Meal Package: $995.
This charge is in addition to the tuition fee, and is paid directly to the hotel by the seminar member upon checkout.

Location: Reston, Virginia

(This seminar has already occured)