Overview of the 2003 AASFE Convention
By Marc Ramirez
Seattle Times

St. Petersburg, Fla. Sept. 17 -- Only three-quarters of the way through 2003, and journalism has spawned enough intrigue to keep J-school ethics classes yakking for years:

Photo manipulations. Embedded war correspondents. Sports writers covering games from home. Fake or “borrowed” stories about arsons, movies and, most notably, a visit with the family of a U.S. soldier missing in Iraq.

It was this last example that would prove to be the monster of them all, Poynter Institute President Karen Dunlap noted Thursday, kicking off the 57th annual convention of the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors (AASFE) in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Jayson Blair debacle prompted the resignations of top New York Times newsroom management and reporters – including Blair – as well as questions about leadership, supervision and corruption.

“The thing that bothered journalists most,” Dunlap said, “was that so many (readers) knew the stories were wrong but didn’t say anything. They just assumed that journalists fabricate.”

With that, the two-time Pulitzer Prize jurist told the hundred or so people assembled in the grapefruit-tinted grand ballroom of the palatial Don Ce Sar Beach Resort and Spa that it’s time to focus on one simple thing.

“People seem to have lost the mooring of our values,” she said. “… I want you to be ready to be a voice for values in your newsroom.”

Dunlap, who took over journalism’s most prominent think tank last month, hoped her keynote address would rally features editors who currently find themselves with more than values on their minds.

Reporting staffs have shrunk. So have budgets for travel and freelancers. Meanwhile, more human-interest and entertainment stories are being called up for A-1 or local-news duty, forcing features editors to adapt and even redefine their missions.

“Our biggest challenge is figuring out what role the section has as the whole newspaper becomes more features-oriented,” said incoming AASFE president Chris Beringer, deputy managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “It’s making it more of a challenge to determine, what should the features section itself be?”

While the old reliables such as home, garden and food still exist, the features department has evolved to encompass pop culture, technology, and the all-important appeal to younger and more diverse readers.

“It’s a place where you can really cover your community,” said Ann Maloney, editorial manager for the New York Times’ special advertising sections and current AASFE president. “I think most of the people here (at the convention) have really strong sections that do that.”

Dunlap agreed, citing in her address examples of the types of stories that have graced those sections throughout the year: beauty’s subjective definition; a marriage spanning eight decades; a man who dresses as a woman, but continues to seek his mother’s love.

“In a complex world, those things stay with us,” she said.

Dunlap urged attendees to take personal responsibility for newsroom values. “If it doesn’t come from the top of the organization, it should at least come from you,” she said.

But her speech was just a hint of the bonus awaiting this year’s 165 convention attendees, who’ve come to Florida’s fourth-largest city: the involvement of many of Poynter’s esteemed instructors in AASFE workshops.

The convention location is beneficial in two ways: The grand resort hotel is 10 steps from a world-class beach and a 20-minute drive to Poynter’s headquarters. Over the conference’s three days, Poynter instructors will lead sessions on narrative and feature writing, visual story planning and dealing with problem employees.

“We went to Poynter asking for the sun, moon and stars, and they gave us that -- with a few other celestial bodies thrown in,” Beringer said. “They’ve been incredibly generous.”

This year’s workshops concentrate on storytelling (including writing, editing and visual presentation) and leadership. The topics cover “real, down-to-earth things you can use when you go back to the newsroom,” Maloney said.

But the motivation of AASFE members remains the same as it has for years – using the event to share concepts and learn from their colleagues. “It’s great to be able to bounce your ideas off other people who have experience,” said John Katsilometes, features editor at the Las Vegas Sun.

“Compelling stories are what bring people to our pages,” Maloney said. “It’s good to be able to come here and focus on that.”

Marc Ramirez, a 2003 AASFE convention fellow, is a writer for the Seattle Times. Marc can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .