ASNE members: Sign up for a committee work at this link, or send an e-mail to ASNE with your name and the committee name.

American Editor
The committee produces The American Editor and tae.asne.org. The American Editor will focus on how newspaper editors can best address the challenges of our times and lead change in newspapers and Web sites. We plan four issues with cover stories focusing on this general topic and regular columns on journalism education, Freedom of Information and First Amendment issues, innovation in online journalism, diversity, journalism law, ethics and values, writing, newspaper management and design, small newspapers, and industry news. We would like the help of creative editors who want to make The American Editor useful, incisive and readable. Diana Smith, Reed Brennan Media Associates, Orlando, FL (Committee Co-Chair); Michael K. Connelly, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, FL (Committee Co-Chair).

Awards Board
Members are appointed to this committee, which selects winners of the awards that recognize excellence in writing and photography. The board will undergird ASNE's efforts to increase newspaper credibility by assuring that prize-winning entries meet the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and source attribution. Andrew N. Alexander, Cox Newspapers, Washington, DC (Committee Chair).

Convention Program
We look forward to welcoming our profession to Chicago, a city that both of us love and where one of us lives. There is much to see and do and learn here, and we expect an agenda that reflects both this historic city and this historic time in the newspaper industry. One schedule under consideration would shorten the convention proper by one day, but add a special workshop day for interested attendees. Such a schedule would make the convention more accessible for time-strapped editors, while also responding to the need for focused workshop work – most likely Web-centric and possibly featuring participants from other industries with fresh ideas about the problems we confront. Our task will be to narrow the possibilities that Chicago offers and which ASNE membership is requesting for the coming year. We welcome your suggestions or, better yet, your help. John Temple, Rocky Mountain News, Denver, CO (Committee Co-Chair); George A. Stanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI (Committee Co-Chair).

Diversity
Two goals are at the heart of this committee’s mission: One is to help newsrooms attract and retain journalists of color. The other is to help editors provide honest and meaningful coverage of their communities. One initiative we’re trying to develop is to connect professionals to college journalism schools with large minority populations who are looking for professional role models, advisors and mentors. We also want to create a network of editors who will help identify and share good ideas and practices for how our Web sites can strengthen sourcing and coverage of diverse communities. The committee will also continue to be active in annual seminars related to diversity issues sponsored by ASNE. Other ideas? We’d welcome them. So join our committee and help our news organizations widen the tent and make smart decisions in an environment of change. Pamela B. Fine, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (Committee Chair).

Education for Journalism
The Education for Journalism Committee works to grow and strengthen high school and college journalism, both in training and practice, so that a bright, diverse generation of young people may be drawn to the profession, and so the next generation of news consumers will have an appreciation of the First Amendment and the role of good journalism. We are at the forefront of efforts to encourage the teaching of news literacy at the college and high school levels, an ambitious undertaking that could help sustain demand for newspaper journalism in the future. We’re also supporting a fledgling project with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication to bring the best research in journalism to the attention of editors. We work to connect editors with one of ASNE’s most resonant efforts: the High School Journalism Initiative, now in its eighth year. This widely praised ASNE initiative provides free teacher training, administers a wire service via McClatchy/Tribune, awards partnerships between daily newspapers and schools, and created a national ad network that generates money for high school newspapers. This initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Rex Smith, Times Union, Albany, NY (Committee Chair).

Ethics and Values
Accountability, accuracy and credibility are the cornerstones of journalism across all media. In the modern news marketplace, editors, to varying degrees, now face greater responsibility for both the quality of the journalistic content and the growth of audience that receives it. Hence, the editorial judgments about coverage and presentation have a greater proximity to the strategies and presentation of the commerce that helps pay for it all. We live in a world where a particular headline word may be chosen not based on editorial judgment but on its ability to generate ad impressions on a particular Web page, for example. Meanwhile, newspaper blogs often feature posts that are inaccurate or lack credibility and yet generate traffic – and potential revenue needed for coverage that does meet traditional standards. In 2007-08, the Ethics and Values Committee, in concert with other media organizations, began shaping a code of ethics and legal guidelines to help editors navigate their increasingly complex world. The committee will continue this work in 2008-09 in hopes of refining a code and expanding the dialogue. Neil Brown, St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, FL (Committee Chair).

Freedom of Information
The committee will expand Sunshine Week to ensure it becomes an even more influential and enduring national and international event, and we will work to continue funding for this vital public service. At the same time, we will place major emphasis this election year on the related Sunshine Campaign, which seeks to put candidates on record regarding their views about open government. With the November election, we will enlist ASNE members in Washington and elsewhere to press the new president to commit to maximum transparency in his or her administration. A top committee priority will be to focus attention on the need for increased online access to federal, state and local government databases and other public information. In an effort to help ASNE members give their readers better access to their government, we will assemble a tool kit of best practices in the creation of digital databases of public information. We will continue the push for passage of a federal shield law and improvements in freedom of information laws at all levels of government. And we will redouble efforts to keep ASNE members apprised of important FOI developments in real time, so they are aware of, and can fight against, efforts to expand official secrecy. Timothy A. Franklin, The Sun, Baltimore, MD (Committee Co-Chair); Andrew N. Alexander, Cox Newspapers, Washington, DC (Committee Co-Chair).

Innovation
The Innovation Committee will focus on cutting-edge trends in media and leadership and create a series of venues in which ASNE members can regularly exchange ideas and information. A rotating group of experts will host sessions on innovative industry initiatives, ranging from transformational leadership to new applications for mobile phones, gaming concepts, data centers, social media and beyond. ASNE members will have a voice in shaping topics, and the committee will remain nimble and respond to real-time innovation as it bubbles up throughout 2008 and into 2009. All virtual sessions will include best practice highlights that will be posted on ASNE’s Web site and published in The American Editor. Milton Coleman, The Washington Post, Washington, DC (Committee Co-Chair); Jennifer Carroll, Gannett Co., Inc., McLean, VA (Committee Co-Chair).

Small Newspapers
The Small Newspapers Committee will tackle the newsroom and the number during this year. We’ll examine what smaller newspapers have done to stabilize and raise circulation numbers. Our hope is to provide practical advice for editors of smaller newspapers. This will be shared, compiled and archived through an ongoing “chain letter” that will set forth ideas and experiences and ask for questions and comments. We will also continue activities for small newspapers at the convention, including the reception and luncheon. We also hope to match editors of smaller newspapers with their peers in order to provide editor-to-editor critiques during the convention. Mike Jacobs, Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks, ND (Committee Chair).

Watchdog
When we talk to newspaper readers, we hear that they expect and want us to do regular watchdog reporting. They see that work as important and something that makes them likelier to read the newspaper more regularly. Unfortunately, they don’t think we do a good enough job. This committee will look at regular and consistent watchdog reporting – how to make it part of the newsroom culture so readers get a constant dose of investigative work. The committee will review and share reader research and look for success stories and tips. We will look for appropriate training opportunities and consider partnering with other organizations for that. Julia D. Wallace, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta, GA (Committee Chair).