APME Conference In New Orleans Centers on Katrina and Web

By: Joe Strupp Hurricane Katrina will be front and center at the Associated Press Managing Editors annual convention in New Orleans this fall, with events that include a sit-down discussion with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, first-person accounts from Times-Picayune Editor Jim Amoss and Columnist Chris Rose, and a look at how online outlets fared in the hurricane coverage.

In addition, editors and others at the annual conference, set for Oct. 25 to Oct. 28, will get a first-hand look at the area's devastation with bus tours being offered by both APME and the Newseum. The APME caravans will take place on the last day of the convention, while Newseum is scheduling limited excursions during the week.

The APME schedule, released late Monday, also includes an address by Los Angeles Times Editor Dean Baquet, a New Orleans native, as well as a day's worth of Web-related events, ranging from grabbing younger readers via the web to the ups and downs of converged newsrooms. James Brady, executive editor of washingtonpost.com, also will speak.

APME had scheduled its yearly event for New Orleans well before the Aug. 29, 2005 natural disaster. But organizers decided earlier this year to keep the gathering in the Crescent City as a way to review coverage of the story, as well as help the city bounce back economically.

"There are good reasons for journalists to gather in a place that experienced our country's worst natural disaster. It will be a place to explore leadership during critical times, to talk about reinvention, rebuilding, " APME President Suki Dardarian, a deputy managing editor at The Seattle Times, wrote in a message to members on the organization's Web site. "It will be a place to deepen our conversations about the power of online journalism. (And, of course, it will be a place to talk about emergency planning.)"

In a letter to APME members in June, Amoss offered a personal plea for attendees to take advantage of the conference in his town as a way to see first-hand what happened there. "When New Orleans was on its knees last summer, many of you were kind enough to ask what you could do to help our city get back on its feet," Amoss wrote in the letter. "I write today to let you know there is something you can do: Make an effort to have your newspaper represented at the upcoming APME convention in October."

Other conference events will look at the role of frontline editors, impact of bloggers and other non-mainstream media, and the challenges faced by women editors and those at small dailies. Associated Press Photo Editors, Associated Press Sports Editors and the newly formed Society of Metro Editors also will hold events within the conference.

APME will pay homage to New Orleans's culture and cuisine with internationally known folklorist Nick Spitzer and evening events at the House of Blues and Aquarium of the Americas.

More information and registration forms are available at www.apme.com.