A First: ASNE, NAA, and NEXPO Combine Conventions For 2008

By: Joe Strupp Four years after the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Newspaper Association of America first held their annual conferences together, to some mixed reviews, the two groups are doing it again in 2008.

Only this time, NAA's popular NEXPO exhibit will be added in as well, making for what will be one of the largest newspaper industry events ever. To accommodate the thousands of newspaper types expected, all three happenings will be held under one roof at the expansive Washington, D.C., Convention Center.

"There is something to be said for having both the publishing side and editorial side together," said John Sturm, NAA president. "Things are changing so quickly in the information business, having NEXPO nearby is something that is going to serve the industry well."

Scott Bosley, executive director of ASNE, agreed. "The way NEXPO works, it is a good tie-in for us," he said. "NEXPO has become much more of a hardware instead of software convention."

Slated for April 12-15, 2008, the combined event is being dubbed "Capital Conference '08."

The last time NAA and ASNE combined forces, in 2004, the effort was deemed a positive for bringing the editorial and business sides together. But logistically, some complained because the ASNE hotel, the J.W. Marriott, was miles away from the NAA site, in northwest Washington, D.C., requiring daily bus travel for ASNE members.

"Logistics was the reason for most of the mixed reviews," Bosley admits. "We will not have that anymore."

With all three events slated for one convention site, and most guests planning to stay in the same hotel, organizers believe the one negative of the last combined convention will be eliminated.

"My recollection was that the feedback was not negative on doing it together, it was the logistics," adds Sturm. "That was caused because people had commitments made before the decision to put them together."

Separately, the three events draw well more than 2,500 people, Bosley and Sturm estimated, although many of the same people attend NAA and NEXPO. They said another draw for a combined event is the 2008 presidential election year.

"It presents various opportunities that would not be there," Sturm said of the election tie-in. Added Bosley: "It allows us to hear from those who will, by then, be candidates."

Both NAA and ASNE began efforts to plan specific events for the convention this week, with NAA putting out its "call for presentations" for NEXPO and ASNE scheduling its first program committee meeting for Friday.

Bosley said that, although the convention fee will be higher due to the combined events, ASNE will reimburse its members the difference over the basic ASNE convention rate by giving them a discount on the 2008 annual membership fee. "It will not cost anymore than it normally would," he said.