The Bulletin
VOLUME 17 | SALT LAKE CITY 2010
APSE Convention makes slow rebound
By AMELIA RAYNO
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
After steadily declining for four straight
years, this year’s convention attendance is
expected to exceed 2009’s by about 10 to 15
percent, according to APSE Executive Direc-
tor Jack Berninger.
And in a time when the industry has been
“hit hard” financially and staff-wise, those
numbers are encouraging to host editor Mi-
chael Anastasi of The Salt Lake Tribune.
New crop of talent
The SJI Class of 2010 was all business during its nine-day bootcamp at the Poynter Institute. Meet the class on pages 6-7.
New media take sports journalism to next level
By DIDIER MORAIS
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
When Jim Pastor first proposed a plan for
ESPNChicago.com, he envisioned a website
that would raise ESPN 1000’s radio profile in
the city.
His objective was to maximize ESPN’s dig-
ital and broadcast resources in Bristol, Conn.
to provide better comprehensive coverage of
Chicago sports.
A year and millions of page views later,
“The numbers are not (huge), but you’ve got
to start somewhere and build on it,” Anastasi
said. “Just like the industry is surviving this
rough patch, we’re confident there is a future
for journalism, that there’s going to be a strong
future for APSE organization and that it will
continue to play the role it’s always played.”
Still, last year’s attendance reached just 63,
nearly half of 2008’s total of 112 and paling
in comparison to 152 the previous year. Ber-
ninger said it is unlikely this year’s budget
Pastor’s strategy turned out better than ex-
pected.
Pastor’s local promotional strategy for ES-
PNChicago.com has spawned a countrywide,
digital phenomenon that’s led to the formation
of four additional websites – ESPNBoston.
com, ESPNDallas.com, ESPNLosAngeles.
com and ESPNNewYork.com – in markets
where ESPN boasts radio operations, with
Boston as the exception.
“We were pleasantly surprised when we
will finish in the black. The inability to ful-
fill the hotel room commitment — laid out in
a contract with the hotel during a run when
the convention was averaging 154 attendees
per year — is again a major concern, with
this year’s participation not projected to come
close to those numbers.
Berninger said the APSE has adjusted room
blocks every year to minimize room attrition,
APSE continues on page 4
Bill Serne
launched this thing to find out there was a real
appetite for this type of coverage digitally,”
said Pastor, the senior vice president and gen-
eral manager of ESPN local. “It’s allowed our
product to evolve to reflect what fans want in
these communities.”
ESPN.com editor-in-chief Rob King has
witnessed that evolution firsthand. In March,
King said an estimated 3.1 million unique
NEW MEDIA continues on page 8
FOR MORE APSE AND SJI NEWS AND PHOTOS,
GO TO WWW.SPORTSJOURNALISMINSTITUTE.ORG
AND 2010SJI.BLOGSPOT.COM
PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF THE SPORTS JOURNALISM INSTITUTE
Web editor
election
marks first
By AARON HILTON
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
Gerry Ahern has worked at seven newspa-
pers across the United States. From East to
West Coast, Ahern has been in newsrooms of
all different sizes. However, his recent move to
online sports editor at Yahoo! Sports will make
his election historic.
Ahern is the first online journalist to take
major office with the APSE.
As second vice president,
Ahern will hold office for
three years before taking over
in 2012.
“I had a huge smile on my
face when I heard that Gerry
Ahern had won the elec- Ahern
tion,” APSE president Garry
Howard said. “I really feel that we’re in very
good hands when he becomes president in two
years.”
A few years ago, Ahern probably would
have told you he had dreams of being a major
league baseball beat writer.
After graduating from Marquette University
in December 1987 he began as a minor league
baseball sports writer at the Stuart (Fla.) News
the following January. During Ahern’s career,
he has worked at the Virginian Pilot, Chicago
AHERN continues on page 4
Inside
APSE News:
n Ethical concerns at two newspapers
Page 2
n Red Smith winner Mitch Albom has
unique business model Page 3
n Moving in Kaplan; moving out
Howard Page 5
APSE Contest:
n Wilmington paper takes big prize
Page 10
n Harlan moves from the diamond to
Asia Page 11
PAGE 2 APSE NEWS SALT LAKE CITY 2010

Journalism ethics
Bulletin students
Kyle Goon
University of Maryland

come into question

Salt Lake Tribune

Aaron Hilton
Hampton University
Sacramento Bee

Tariq Lee By AARON MARTINEZ news,” Schotz said. “There is an impor-

APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
Temple University
The Oklahoman The journalism industry continues to
evolve, but perhaps one of the things get-
Aaron Martinez ting lost in the sea of change is the rules
Texas at El Paso of journalism ethics.
Houston Chronicle Two recent instances of how these
changes have affected the industry are the
tant reason to try and be neutral in all of
your coverage.”
Genung said he was aware of the pos-
sible journalistic ethical questions that
could arise from using this method.
“Honestly, I can say that I was a little
concerned with it bringing up ethical is-

New program reaches out

Didier Morais
ways the Asbury Park Press and Newsday sues,” Genung said. “We only did this
Syracuse University
changed the way they handle their sports system for about a month, we haven’t
MLB.com
coverage. come to a solid decision yet, but more
Alex Prewitt
Tufts University
ESPN.com
to high school students A recent issue concerning ethics in the
newsroom that came to light occurred at
the Press, a daily newspaper in Neptune,
than likely we will not do this again next
year.”
Over at Newsday, they faced allega-
Amelia Rayno
By AARON HILTON ner city high schools in his five years N.J.: Was their use of New Jersey Devils’ tions of impropriety due to a new policy
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer as supervising editor at the Baltimore employee Eric Marin to cover the team that forced writers to take a softer view on
Emerson College
Minneapolis Star-Tribune The National Sports Journal- Sun. He hopes the Sports Media Di- for the newspaper ethical? the teams they are covering.
ism Center at Indiana University, versity Institute will help convince The Devils’ employee was hired as a “I am not authorized to answer why
Isis Roberts in association with the McCormick some of the youths to stay in school, freelance writer, since the newspaper policies are made, because I don’t know,”
Cal State, Long Beach Foundation of Chicago, is starting a graduate and get their degree. didn’t have a beat writer. said Newsday sports columnist Neil Best.
Santa Cruz Sentinel program for high school students in- “You can really see, up close, the “The Devils were looking for more “My understanding simply is that when
Cheng Sio terested in pursuing sports journal- value of education,” Franklin said. coverage in the paper and we don’t have we are critical, we should have factual
Univeristy of Colorado ism careers. “If you can convince young people a pro writer for the Devils on staff, so information or expert analysis to back up
Colorado Springs Gazette The Sports Media Diversity Insti- to graduate and get a degree, it can we talked to them about what they could that opinion. I can’t speak for everyone,
tute at IU’s Indianapolis campus will make a huge difference in their provide,” said Jack Genung, Press sports but I haven’t really changed anything,
Malik Smith help 18 students — 11 from Indiana, lives.” editor. “Basically, it was a person who other than the fact I do make more of an
Hampton University seven from Chicago — get to know The McCormick Foundation is writes features for their web site that effort to quote experts to support or ex-
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette what it’s like to be a professional awarding each student a $500 sti- would provide us with some of their pand upon whatever point I’m trying to
Shemar Woods journalist for a week. From June 27 pend. The most outstanding student feature stories. We weren’t looking for make.”
Hampton University to July 2 these inner city students will receive a scholarship, equiva- game stories, and if something happened The policy came into effect within two
Denver Post will have the chance to meet with lent to the current in-state tuition, to within their organization we wouldn’t let years after the purchase of Newsday by
media professionals, like Stephen study at the National Sports Journal- them cover it.” Cablevision. The company owned both
A. Smith and Sage Steele of ESPN ism Center, which has programs at Genung said the reason for not using an the New York Knicks and New York
Bulletin staff and Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles IU’s Indianapolis and Bloomington AP story was to give their readers a fea- Rangers through the MSG television and
Editor Times. campuses. ture that focused on the team, rather than radio network, both of which are two of
Gregory Lee The program’s director and brain- Not only will the 18 students get to a normal AP piece. the main teams the newspaper covers.
The Boston Globe child, Tim Franklin, an alum and meet media professionals, they will Andy Schotz, chairman of the Society According to Best, as of February of
Class of 1994 professor at IU and former sports cover a professional baseball game of Professional Journalists’ Ethics Com- this year, MSG broke off from Cablevi-
SJI Co-Directors editor at the Chicago Tribune, is ex- to get a feel of what it is like to be a mittee, said this method was still crossing sion, so Newsday no longer falls under its
Leon Carter cited about the program’s inaugural journalist. the line of what is ethical. management.
ESPN season. He also has been editor of “This internship is about show- “I know the newspaper said they are “Yes, of course there could be (a con-
Sandy Rosenbush the Orlando Sentinel and Indianapo- ing kids the possible, and what’s out only using features story from the Dev- flict of interest), but it is an unavoidable
ESPN lis Star. there for them,” Franklin said. “That ils and not hard news, but in a way that reality in the world we live in,” Best said.
SJI Board Member Franklin, a native of Mooresville, is my goal, to show students the pos- is like saying the rest of the coverage “All we can do is report fairly and advise
David Squires Ind., has seen the negative side of in- sible.” doesn’t matter much because it isn’t hard readers of any potential conflicts.”
Newport News Daily Press
Assignment Editor
Classroom Instruction Thanks to:
Eduardo A. Encina
Kenny Irby Shannon Owens Program Host Bulletin Printing Courtesy Darrell Fry
St. Petersburg Times St. Petersburg Times
Al Tompkins Columnist/Reporter Poynter Institute Alicia Mitchell
Class of 1997
Roy Peter Clark Orlando Sentinel Special assistance ESPN Disney Wide World
Art Director Ellyn Angelotti Class of 2002 Sponsors Fanua Borodzicz of Sports
Ana M. Menendez Malcolm Moran APSE Poynter Institute Tampa Bay Rays
Nick Williams
Graduate student Knight Chair of sports and society Chicago Tribune Foundation
Reporter Special thanks
Class of 1993 Penn State University The St. Petersburg Times
Tampa Tribune Jack Sheppard
Photographers Jim Jenks Class of 2004 Boston Globe Jerry Gifford
Blll Serne Vice President/Executive Producer ESPN Christa Garcia
Gregory Lee MLB.com Scripps Howard St. Petersburg Times
SALT LAKE CITY 2010
Scripps, SJI join forces to train students
By MALIK SMITH
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
The SJI Class of 2010 is making
history — it’s the first time three stu-
dents from one university have been
part of one class.
The reason: a growing relation-
ship between APSE and the Scripps
Howard Foundation. The foundation
is funding two interns from Hamp-
ton University, which houses the
Scripps Howard School of Journal-
ism and Communications, for APSE
member newspapers. Those interns
are receiving their pre-internship
training as members of SJI.
Last year was the first year of the
Scripps Howard-APSE relationship
and the students went directly to
their internships. This spring, lead-
ers of SJI and APSE decided to have
the Scripps Howard interns ben-
efit from the nine-day training at the
Poynter Institute.
The two Scripps Howard interns
— Aaron Hilton and Malik Smith —
were added to SJI’s class, which al-
ready included fellow Hampton stu-
dent, Shemar Woods (who was part
of the 2009 Scripps Howard-APSE
program).
Last summer, Woods interned at
the Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enter-
prise. This year he is going to the
Denver Post. Hilton is interning at
Red Smith Award winner has followed his own unique business plan
By TARIQ LEE
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
He has sold 28 million books,
works that have been translated into
42 different languages ­— statistics
that lifelong novelists never obtain.
An award-winning radio show,
weekly appearances on ESPN Sports
Reporters, and a
column for the De-
troit Free Press; a
journalist’s dream.
These are the ac-
colades of one man.
With a master’s
Albom degree in journal-
ism and an MBA in
business, both from Columbia Uni-
versity, Mitch Albom knows a lot
about business and “the business”
of journalism. And his knowledge of
Malcolm Moran, Knight Chair of sports and society at Penn State lectures this year’s SJI class at Poynter.
the Sacramento Bee and Smith will
be at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Phil Kaplan, APSE’s first vice
president and incoming president,
coordinates the Scripps Howard in-
ternships and said that when he was
approached by SJI about adding the
training component, he quickly ac-
cepted.
the business has given him the abil-
ity to excel in sports reporting.
“I think what’s very interesting is
what a versatile writer he is,” said
Roy Peter Clark, vice president and
senior scholar at the Poynter Insti-
tute. “He can write for print, he can
write for television, he can write for
radio, he writes music, and he writes
books that are international best sell-
ers.”
In March, Albom was recognized
for all of his work by being named
the winner of the prestigious Associ-
ated Press Sports Editors Red Smith
Award. The award is given annually
to an individual who has made “ma-
jor contributions to sports journal-
ism.”
“I think it was certainly well de-
serving, I’d say overdue and I was
APSE NEWS
“It will be a great collaborative ef-
fort,” he said.
Kaplan, SJI co-director Sandy
Rosenbush and SJI instructor and
alum Greg Lee chose the students
from Hampton. Hampton is a His-
torically Black College and Univer-
sity, with goals linked to those of SJI.
Organizers seem to love the idea.
just stunned that he would win it at
such a young age,” said Gene Myers,
Albom’s sports editor at Detroit Free
Press for over 20 years.
At the age of 52, Albom is one of
the youngest Red Smith winners in
the history of the award.
“It’s taken a while to do a backlog
of all of the deserving Red Smith
honorees, but I think it was nice that
someone who is still, in a lot of ways,
in his prime and has a great body of
work to win the award,” Myers said.
Since joining the Free Press in
1985, he has 13 first-place APSE fin-
ishes in the over 250,000-circulation
column writing competition, more
than any other writer. APSE also
named him best feature writer seven
times, an honor no other writer has
received more than once.
Gregory Lee/Bulletin
“Students have had good success
because they’re extra prepared,”
Rosenbush said. “We were delighted
to add two interns to our group.”
SJI and APSE have been deeply
connected since the program began
in 1992, when Rosenbush was presi-
dent of APSE and Leon Carter (SJI
co-director) was the Sports Task
“Through his career, Mitch has
gone a long way changing how sports
columnists are defined,” said Drew
Sharp, a writer for the Free Press
since 1983. “He helped broaden the
reach of columnists becoming one of
the first to venture into sports talk ra-
dio and doing television work.”
In 1997, Albom’s internationally
recognized book “Tuesdays With
Morrie” was published. It was a
memoir of his time spent with his
former college professor Morrie
Schwartz who was dying of ALS,
commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s
disease.
It was on the New York Times
Bestseller’s List for four years,
prompting a film version of the book
that won four Emmys.
“Something about the relationship
PAGE 3
Force chair of NABJ. Most of SJI’s
interns have worked at APSE papers.
APSE also has developed a strong
relationship with the Scripps How-
ard Foundation, in the internship
program and the “Day of Diversity”
that APSE coordinated last Novem-
ber at the Scripps Howard School of
Journalism and Communications at
Hampton. APSE brought in journal-
ists including Jemele Hill of ESPN,
Emilio Garcia-Ruiz of The Wash-
ington Post and Kaplan.
Panelists spoke to students about
trends in the media, particularly
multimedia. They also gave students
a taste of what it was like to cover a
football press conference and write
about it on deadline.
The APSE/Scripps Howard col-
laboration isn’t the only new item on
SJI’s agenda. Next summer, the As-
sociation of Women in Sports Media
(AWSM) will send one of its interns
to SJI’s boot camp for training and
placement.
Rosenbush spoke to AWSM’s
board at its recent convention in Los
Angeles, where the plan was ap-
proved. She said it will help the in-
dustry, and SJI, which typically has
more male participants.
“It would be great if we could get
extra women in the program,” she
said.
between a young man and a wise old
counselor has a kind of archetypal
power that he was able to manage
and capture.
“It may be the first piece of writing
where he expressed some self-doubt
and he recognized the value and the
need for turning to somebody who
had been important to him in his
formation as a person and a writer,”
Clark said.
Throughout his success outside
of print, Albom has stayed with the
Free Press for 25 years, sticking to
his roots as a sports writer.
He still writes a column for the
paper.
“He works his butt off,” Sharp
said. “He’s talented but he’s also de-
termined, and that becomes a rather
dynamic combination.”
PAGE 4 APSE BUSINESS SALT LAKE CITY 2010

A wide world of sports

Brigandi isn’t thinking small
By KYLE GOON action in its sporting scene throughout in APSE as well as recruit new ones.
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer most of the year, every summer base- APSE leadership has concerns about
A few weeks after he graduated ball fans and the accompanying me- dwindling membership following the
from Penn State in 1996, Ben Brigan- dia frenzy descend on the area for the recession.
di found himself working as a sports Little League World Series. The Sun- And with smaller publications typi-
editor of the Loch Haven (Pa.) Ex- Gazette faces competition with vastly cally dealing with limited budgets to
press, a 10,000-circulation daily in a greater resources.  begin with, they are more likely to
6,000-person town. He had a staff of During his tenure, Brigandi has use membership fee money to address
two, including himself.  worked to get the LLWS material other issues. 
“I had to manage myself and two ESPN isn’t able to get – local flavor- The key, Brigandi says, is to let
pages every day,” Brigandi said. “I’ve type features, trends members know the $95 fee is worth it.
done a lot of learning since then.”  and stories that sim- He wants to establish better networks
Brigandi, now at the Williamsport ply translate better to between publications, offer more per-
(Pa.) Sun-Gazette, has more experi- print. The coverage sonalized critiques and show how
ence as a sports editor than some other has earned some rec- APSE can truly make their papers bet-
35-year-olds in the business. He hopes ognition. Its “Build ter. 
it will serve him well as he prepares a better ball player” “There is no one solution to all of our
Gregory Lee
to take office as 3rd Vice President of Brigandi feature in last year’s problems,” Brigandi said. “It’s good to
SJI students cover a match at a national soccer tournament
hosted by ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. The Memorial Day APSE for the next two years.  section won a Key- keep discussing what’s working and
Weekend event had 328 teams ranging from ages 8 to 14. The “I want to give back to the organiza- stone Award, a statewide honor, for why. The smaller papers need to un-
sports complex has hosted the event since 1998. tion,”  Brigandi said. “For every good excellence.  derstand this organization is what we
idea I thought I had, someone who’s Although he doesn’t always get the make of it.” 
done this longer than me told me some- big scoops during the Series, his peers Toby Carrig, editor of the Antelope
APSE continues from page 1 thing to make it better. And I like to have grown respect for how Brigandi Valley (Calif.) Press and outgoing
think I can help the younger guys.”  deals with his paper’s biggest event APSE 3rd Vice President, encouraged

APSE bounces back

While he’s in office, he said he will while also managing their regular cov- Brigandi to consider running for of-
represent the members who work at erage and preparing for fall sports.  fice. He thinks Brigandi has the right
newspapers with a circulation less than “Ben definitely knows how to plan,” stuff to bring new energy and ideas to
but have been unable to avoid wearing losses. 40,000. said Phil Kaplan, editor of the Knox- the APSE executive committee. 
In order to hold costs, the APSE has cut corners on meals, offer- As a lifer at small publications, ville (Tenn.) News Sentinel and incom- “[Ben] is a guy who obviously
ing a cheaper continental breakfast to the more extensive spreads in Brigandi understands the problems ing APSE president. “He has to put a enjoys the journalism business and
the past, and it has streamlined its use of audio-visual equipment, many of these newspapers share, but lot of time and resources into planning works at his craft,” Carrig said. “The
according to Berninger. also appreciates the sometimes com- that section to pull it off, and that’s go- most important thing is that he knows
He added that the organization is stressing the use of local speak- plex and unique issues each one faces.  ing to be very useful.”  first-hand what small papers are going
ers and APSE members in workshops, rather than paying for out- While Williamsport and the rest of Brigandi’s major task will be to re- through, and he’ll be able to represent
side talent. Lycoming County doesn’t see a lot of tain the smaller-circulation papers them in the organization.”
“The budget has just gone down in general,” Anastasi said, and
we’re just watching every dollar, making sure it’s spent wisely.”
But despite the discouraging trends, Anastasi said the organiza- AHERN continues from page 1 “That was my first job as the sports editors as well as current APSE of-
tion’s leaders have found reason for inspiration. editor,” Ahern explained, “I was a ficers Phil Kaplan, Michael Anastasi,
Due partly to national assistance in scheduling and organizing,
all of the APSE regions have had workshops this year, compared
A digital pretty huge public figure in that town.
That’s a town defined by Marshall Uni-
and Toby Carrig — current First, Sec-
ond and Third Vice Presidents respec-
with about half that participated last year. Attendance for the re-
gional workshops was up by approximately 10 percent, Anastasi
said.
milestone versity.”
Ahern, 45, began working at Yahoo!
Sports in 2006 and has helped the site
tively.
Ahern is conscious of the burdens
that come along with holding such a
Berninger said that while the usual suspects – USA Today, Daily Southtown, Huntington (W.Va.) become one of the most popular sports high level in office; however, he is not
ESPN.com, Yahoo! Sports and New York Times — have stepped Herald-Dispatch, Lansing State Jour- news hubs on the web. backing down from any responsibili-
forward to contribute, there have also “been some surprises,” in- nal, Detroit News, Orange County “I couldn’t be more proud of the ties.
cluding Media One of Utah, which printed all of the convention’s Register and St. Paul Pioneer Press. guys I work with,” Ahern said. “We A devoted husband and proud father
literature on top of its donations, and the Associated Press, which “I’ve worked at small papers, me- have a team of men and women who — he has a little girl, Ally, 4, — and
also gave funds in addition to the receptions it typically sponsors. dium-sized papers, metro dailies and work very hard.” is ready to take on a bigger leadership
Anastasi, who has been working hard with the board to promote now the largest trafficked sports site in Ahern, a native of Andover, Mass. role in shaping the future of sports
and advertise the annual tradition, said the convention’s function is the nation,” Ahern said. — just outside of Boston — has taken journalism.
more important now than ever. Throughout his career, Ahern has everything in stride. “I think helping people is part of
Anastasi said the entire national board recognizes the dire state had a knack for finding the big story; “The greatest honor a journalist your job as an editor,” Ahern said,
of the industry and tried to be proactive. Among its responses: The however, one of his biggest breaks can have is the respect of your peers,” “I’ve always tried to look out for young
organization focused on calling members and also posted stories came in just his first year as a sports Ahern said. people trying to move up in this busi-
that promoted the convention on the APSE website. editor. He is fully aware of his responsibili- ness. I’m one of the older guys now.
“It’s a chance editors have to get together and learn from each While working at the Herald-Dis- ties as a leader and said he is ready to “It’s a huge responsibility being an
other, and it’s very instrumental in advancing the field,” he said. patch in Huntington, W.V., Ahern and accept the challenge. officer at APSE, and my predecessor
“No one person has the answers. And in order to find the solutions his team covered Randy Moss at Mar- Ahern credits most of his current did a great job doing that. I just want
for our industry…it’s going to be a collaborative effort.” shall. success and confidence to his former to do my best to continue that legacy.”
SALT LAKE CITY 2010
Incoming APSE
president seeing
future in words
By SHEMAR WOODS
APSE Bulletin staff writer
APSE president-elect Phil Kaplan won‘t allow his new
responsibilities to interfere with a job he’s been working
hard at for the past year--increasing APSE’s online vis-
ibility.
“We’re going to continue to get the information out
through social media,” said Kaplan, Knoxville-News
Sentinel sports editor. “… This is a big change in our busi-
ness and it’s a big platform. You can’t ignore it.”
Very few sports editors have looked
the other way.
Kaplan first created an APSE page
on Facebook at the beginning of 2009.
Witnessing the success, Kaplan set up
a Twitter account under the name of
APSE_sportsmedia, which has attracted
Kaplan more than 1,300 followers. The benefits
are many, but the available information is
what makes APSE’s ventures stand out.
“They do a really good job of pushing information to
us,” said former APSE president Lynn Hoppes, who stays
logged onto Facebook throughout the day while he works
as senior director of ESPN.com. “It keeps members in-
formed on what’s going on at the organization from the
idea of just having it pushed toward you and that’s valu-
able.”
It’s hard to believe Kaplan knew very little about Face-
book as a means of information sharing before attending a
conference in Nashville last year. The conference focused
on the importance of connecting to newspaper readers
through social media. However, the editors found them-
selves using the online tools to connect to each other. At
the end of the conference, Kaplan approached another at-
tendee for a card.
“He said ‘Find me on Facebook,’” Kaplan said. “I was
taken aback. He didn’t want to give me his card.”
The light switch turned on for Kaplan, who has applied
the concept to help APSE reap major benefits from Face-
book wall posts and 140-character tweets.
Writing contest judges have been found and editors
have been kept abreast on new trends in today’s changing
multimedia platform.
“I think in both areas, APSE has made great strides,”
Hoppes said. “(Twitter and Facebook) keeps information
in the front of your mind about your group. It’s not forgot-
ten.”
Kaplan admits not everyone has incorporated online
social networking in their approach to information gath-
ering. But that is one reason he believes membership will
grow as editors come around to the new trend.
“I want APSE to have a reason to exist,” Kaplan said.
“I want APSE to be a valuable group and if we are one
of those important organizations, we have to be visible.”
APSE PRESIDENT
Power Brokers: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editor Martin Kaiser, ASNE president, with APSE president Garry Howard.
Howard leaves APSE legacy
By ISIS ROBERTS
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
In a year full of up and downs, Garry
D. Howard, the assistant managing editor/
sports for the Milwaukee Journal Senti-
nel, proved why he was born to lead as a
journalist.
Howard, a Lehigh University graduate,
has been in the field of journalism since
the early ‘80s. After several reporting and
sports copy editing jobs at different news-
papers, Howard went on to accept the ex-
ecutive sports editor position at the Mil-
waukee Journal in 1994. Howard became
the only African-American sports editor
at a major metropolitan daily newspaper
at that time.
Ironically, with the departure of Leon
Carter from the New York Daily News
and Carlton Thompson from the Hous-
ton Chronicle, Howard is again the only
African-American running a major sports
section in the country.
“He had to overcome a lot of things to
get to the position where he is today,” said
Gregory Lee Jr., senior assistant sports
editor of the Boston Globe and National
Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)
Sports Task Force chairman. “It means
the world to me that I have someone that I
could look up to, in terms of a sports edi-
tor.”
In 2009, Howard, 50, continued to prove
himself as a leader by becoming the first
African-American president of the Asso-
ciated Press Sports Editors (APSE) in the
organization’s 36-year history.
Howard’s success came with struggles.
Last July and August, Howard faced a
number of difficult decisions at the Mil-
waukee Journal Sentinel.
One was letting go of 30 percent of his
staff members in a paper-wide cost-cut-
ting move.
“To see the people I worked with for a
number of years walk out the door-- that
was the most difficult part of it,” said
Howard, who has been at the paper for the
last sixteen years.
Affected by the layoffs, Howard con-
sidered not attending the NABJ Annual
Convention last summer in Tampa, Fla.
With some persuasion from Lee, Howard
decided to attend.
When he arrived, Howard learned the
NABJ Sports Task Force was awarding
him with the 2009 Sam Lacy Pioneer
Award for his journalistic accomplish-
ments, including making his mark as
APSE’s first African-American president.
“He was just so shocked and surprised
and tickled by it,” said Lee Jr. “He de-
served it for a lot of things.”
Howard called the event ‘an excellent
day of my life.’
“I felt very proud that my peers had
selected me,” Howard said. “It gave me a
great boost and confidence to continue to
PAGE 5
APSE file photo
do what I do best, which is, be a leader.”
Howard went on to lead with, what Lee
called, ‘a little more pep in his step.’ Dur-
ing his year as APSE president, Howard
established a website – www.apsportse-
ditors.org – that offers more content and
services for its members.
“I think it was a very good year,” said
Howard. “It’s been a tough year economi-
cally in this industry and I think we are
offering a lot of things that could actually
help our membership.”
Howard also formed an alliance with
Indiana University-Purdue University In-
dianapolis to host as a national headquar-
ters for APSE. The university helped cre-
ate the new website as well.
Howard’s proudest accomplishment of
the year was the creation of the APSE Red
Smith Hall of Fame at IUPUI.
“It celebrates the very best that APSE
has to offer, from our Red Smith award
winners and all of our past presidents as
well,” Howard said.
In the future, Howard plans to preserve
the legacy of last presidents by continu-
ing his work with the Journal Sentinel and
APSE.
“Those are the things that I enjoy very
much,” Howard said. “I have had an in-
credible career from the standpoint that
I’ve moved around, but I’ve actually been
able to achieve in every place that I’ve
been, so I’m very proud of that.”
 MEET THE STUDENTS

Tropical
PAGE 6 PAGE 7

Kyle Goon Aaron Hilton Tariq Lee Aaron Martinez

University of Maryland, 2010 graduate Hampton University, senior Temple University, junior University of Texas at El Paso, senior
Salt Lake City Tribune Sacramento Bee The Oklahoman Houston Chronicle
Kyle Goon can’t remember when the Aaron Victor Carrington Hilton, 21, was All it took was a little Magic to set Tariq Lee Aaron Martinez makes the connection
thought first crossed his mind that he wanted to known by his basketball coach, Rashad on his journey. between sports, biology and journalism.
be involved with newspapers. Randolph, as “ESPN.com on two legs.” Lee’s love of sports began at age three But some of his science teachers are
But from middle The question was: when he saw Magic perplexed that the
school, he was hooked. Would he make or write Johnson on a magazine rising senior is focused

delights
He worked his way
to editor-in-chief at
his high school paper
and graduating from
Maryland as the
managing editor of the
Diamondback — the
university’s independent
daily newspaper.
“I think a lot of it is
I just wanted to write,”
The 18th Sports Journalism Institute class the 22-year-old Ellicott City, Md. native said.
overcame many adversities during its nine-day “At the end of the day, you have this piece of
paper you’ve put together… and it’s kind of like
boot camp in Florida. The crew survived hot a celebration.”
weather and lightning covering a national soccer Goon continued the celebration throughout
tournament at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in college, as a web producer for baltimoresun.
com, and covering high school basketball for
Orlando. They covered a White Sox-Rays game. The Gazette of Prince George’s County.
They rose to the challenge of intense workshop It was while covering high schools that
Goon, who reported primarily on crime
sessions. They also embraced multimedia throughout college, developed an appeal for
technology and yes — they even embraced sports journalism.
challenging sports checks. But though Goon hasn’t determined which
area he ultimately wants to pursue, his range
gives him confidence.
Group photo by Gregory Lee; “People are always looking for someone
well rounded,” he said. “That’s me.”
portraits by Bill Serne — Amelia Rayno
the headlines? cover at a grocery on becoming a
Hilton, 6-foot-7 and store, sparking a sports reporter upon
250 pounds, played basketball career that graduating from the
power forward at St. lasted until his senior University of Texas at
George’s School in year at Wilson High El Paso.
Newport, R.I., where he School in Washington “My biology teachers
was raised. D.C. look at me weird when
“I never thought But it was not until they find out I am a
about what I was going age 10, when he print media major and
to study in college,” he interviewed Washington say, ‘What? Why?’,”
said. “I looked into it a Post columnist and Martinez said.
little bit more, saw that there was a future in it. I ESPN personality Michael Wilbon that the idea Martinez, 24, said he plans to dive right into
was like, ‘Hey, why not give it a shot?’” of becoming a journalist entered his mind. the sports journalism industry after graduation.
Hilton is a broadcast journalism major. “He treated me like a peer,” Lee, 20, said. There is no set timetable, but Martinez
He’s a staff writer for The Script, the student “And after that, I just said I wanted to do what eventually would like to pursue science
newspaper, and contributes to WHOV, the he does.” journalism to get the full value of his education.
school’s radio station, as a basketball and As a sprinter on the Owls’ varsity track “It’s an interesting field that is always
football color commentator. His idols are Stuart team, Lee’s experience as an athlete has evolving,” Martinez said.
Scott and Bill Simmons. helped him better relate to the professional As editor-in-chief of The Prospector at
This summer, Hilton will intern at the stars he writes about. “I don’t ask the same UTEP last year Martinez learned the ropes of
Sacramento Bee. questions everyone else asks,” he said. the newspaper industry. He worked his way
Hilton’s favorite teams are the Red Sox, This summer Lee, a journalism major, will up from sports correspondent his freshman
Raiders and the 76ers. The Red Sox’s historic intern at The Oklahoman, covering the Texas year to sports editor as a sophomore. Martinez
seven-game American League Championship Rangers’ AAA affiliate, the RedHawks. After attributes his dedication to the paper as the
Series win over the Yankees in 2004 is his starting at the Washington Informer in 2008, reason he has been able to move up in so little
favorite sports moment. Lee is rapidly on his way to achieving his time.
— Cheng Sio dream of earning a high-paying ESPN TV gig. “It has been a great experience to learn how
— Alex Prewitt to run a newspaper at a smaller level,” he said.
— Shemar Woods

Didier Morais Alex Prewitt Amelia Rayno Isis Roberts Cheng Sio Malik Smith Shemar Woods
Syracuse University, 2010 graduate Tufts University, junior Emerson College, 2010 graduate Cal State, Long Beach, senior University of Colorado, 2010 graduate Hampton University, senior Hampton University, senior
MLB.com ESPN.com Minneapolis Star-Tribune Santa Cruz Sentinel Colorado Springs Gazette Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Denver Post
Injuries derailed the soccer playing future for Former George Mason High School Amelia Rayno, 24, has never walked across During her senior season at Desert Pines Miami native Cheng Sio can take the heat – As a kid growing up in Queens, N.Y., Malik Shemar Woods, 21, wants to succeed in all
Didier Morais, a Piscataway, N.J., native. baseball player Alex Prewitt has had a passion the stage at graduation despite earning a High School in Las Vegas, Isis Roberts injured weather-wise anyway. Smith loved to watch animated sports reporter forms of media, including print, radio, online
While attending Timothy Christian School, for being a writer since he was a kid. In diploma from Cary (N.C.) High School, an her ankle playing basketball, ending her But can Sio, 24, deal with a different type Warner Wolf of CBS Ch. 2. and television.
Morais sprained his elementary school, associate’s degree from chances of playing at of intensity and high At the time, Smith “I just want to be
right ankle three when asked what he we Bay State College and the next level. So she temperatures? didn’t know he would be successful in the field
times in a span of wanted to be when he a bachelor’s degree decided to switch from Cheng, who interested in journalism, of journalism,” Woods
two months, ending grew up, he answered from Emerson College the role of headline graduated in May but he did know that said. “My goal is to
a promising athletic “a writer.” in Boston. maker to storyteller. from the University of he had a passion for work in all forms of
career. An English and Why not? Roberts, now a Colorado, will soon sports. media and leave my
Morais, 21, looked religion major at Tufts “I was just ready to 21-year-old senior be experiencing the “I didn’t really know mark, whether it is in
to sports journalism University in Medford, get on with the next broadcast major at sizzling pressure of when I was a kid that I print, TV, radio or online
as a back-up plan, Mass., Prewitt will be thing,” she said. California State, Long a sports journalism wanted to do it, but as I reporting.”
which allowed him interning with ESPN. Rayno’s life story Beach jumped at the newsroom. got older, I realized that The rising senior
to contribute to com this summer as can seem like a chance to join the SJI He hopes to ignite I loved all sports and I has worked as the
professional sports. a copy editor. Before dizzying laundry list class of 2010. his career this summer loved debating sports,” sports editor at his
“Even though I that, he worked for four of schools, jobs and “At my university, I with an internship at the Smith said. university’s newspaper,
wasn’t playing professionally, I wanted to years for his hometown newspaper, the Falls bylines. For a few years after high school, she don’t feel like I’ve ever been challenged,” she Colorado Springs Gazette. Smith, 20, now majors in broadcast the Hampton Script, and as the sports director
somehow be a part of [them],” Morais said. Church (Va.) News-Press. admits to being “a little lost.” said. “This program has been great because it Influenced by ESPN journalists Bill journalism. At Hampton, Smith is actively at the school’s radio station, WHOV 88.1 FM.
Morais chose to attend Syracuse University “Once I started writing for the Press, I knew While working through school at N.C. State, challenges me every day to be better and learn Simmons and Jayson Stark, Sio hopes to involved with the university’s radio station and One of Woods’ biggest assignments was the
over Penn State University, a decision Morais that’s what I wanted to do. So basically this the Raleigh native was bored and without a more.” pattern his writing and reporting style in similar newspaper. He also started blogging this year accidental fatal shooting of Hampton basketball
would not grow to regret. was the optimal way to combine the love of sense of career direction. This summer Roberts will be working at the fashion. His goal is to become a columnist at a on a variety of professional sports. player Theo Smalling, which occurred on
“I wouldn’t be here without the foundation sports I always had with my new found love of The solution for Rayno, who grew up Santa Cruz Sentinel. She, however, realizes prominent publication. “I really think multimedia is the new wave of Smalling’s birthday.
that [S.I. Newhouse School of Public writing,” Prewitt said. idolizing the Red Sox and Bob Ryan, was to this is just the first step. Her career aspirations Fortunately, Sio already has a solid journalism,” Smith said. Woods has had stories published in
Communications] made for me.” At 19, he’s the youngest in the SJI class, but move to Boston. Although she didn’t initially are much greater than being just another sports foundation. In recent years, he has interned at Smith has ambitions to be well-rounded in The Boston Globe, Riverside (Calif.) Press-
Morais’ fondest memory of his alma mater he’s also the only student in a comedic group. have a plan, she found her feet working at writer or analyst. MLB.com, the Denver Business Journal and multimedia journalism. Enterprise, Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel
is the six-overtime Big East Tournament game His group, Major: Undecided, performs two Fantasy Sports Matrix, and then, the Boston “Recently I’ve found more passion in the Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera. After he graduates, Smith would like to work and the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press,
between Syracuse and UConn in 2009. shows a semester at the school. Globe sports department. producing and writing. I really want to get “The internships helped me tighten my for ESPN.com, in television or for a newspaper where he is a freelance correspondent.
“When we came back [from spring break], “It’s basically like SNL but more funny,” Her dreams materialized last year when she involved in multimedia,” Roberts said. writing,” Sio said. “It helped my feature writing website. He is a print journalism major with a minor in
everyone had these ‘Marathon Men’ T-shirts Prewitt joked. covered major league baseball for The Detroit Whatever path she chooses, she will surely and helped me deal with pro athletes.” — Isis Roberts psychology.
on,” Morais said. — Tariq Lee News. have success, thanks in large part to the SJI Now, he’s excited and prepared to produce — Aaron Martinez
— Aaron Hilton She hopes her internship will prepare her for program. under pressure like his favorite athlete –
a career as a baseball beat writer. “I needed this,” she said. “I really needed Michael Jordan.
— Kyle Goon this challenge.” — Didier Morais
— Malik Smith
PAGE 8
‘Big Apple’ takes byte out of new site Writers become
By DIDIER MORAIS
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
Leon Carter has lived in New
digital converters
York City long enough to know
that New Yorkers are never short on
opinions. So when he was named
vice president/executive editor of
ESPNnewyork.com in February,
Carter made sure to provoke that
passion using ESPN’s resources.
One of his initial suggestions was
to implement “The Back Page,” an
interactive feature that allows read-
ers to submit story headlines resem-
bling a typical, New York newspa-
per back page.
“I think it’s very important that
the New York site also connects
with the reader,” said Carter, who
was sports editor at the New York
Daily News for 10 years. “The tab-
loids connect in so many ways. We
want [viewers] to come to our space
and have a real New York experi-
ence.”
So far, viewers appear to have
embraced the experience. Despite
launching on April 2, ESPNnewy-
ork.com has already surpassed
the feats of its local website pre-
New media continues from page 1
ESPN embraces
local approach
visitors flocked to the local sites and
generated 117.8 million minutes of
their attention, numbers which he
called “profound.”
Those figures come as little sur-
prise to Peter Lawrence-Riddell. In
his role as managing editor of ES-
PNBoston.com, he said he strives to
rouse local, Boston fans’ passion by
providing all-inclusive information
about their hometown teams.
Without the additional reporting
from ESPNBoston.com, Lawrence-
Riddell said Red Sox fans may not
have been as well-informed about
outfield prospect Ryan Westmore-
land’s recovery from brain surgery.
“It’s a way to take something
that’s sort of ESPN and SportsCen-
ter – brands that are maybe viewed
as national – and localize it more,”
Lawrence-Riddell said. “It’s a way
to personalize the experience and
decessors, shattering the record
for monthly page views – a record
previously broken by ESPNBos-
ton.com last December – in both
months of its existence.
But ESPNnewyork.com staff
writer Adam Rubin said the website
has only scratched the surface of its
potential. He pointed out that ES-
PNnewyork.com’s recent achieve-
ments were primarily obtained
through baseball coverage.
“I’m sure when there’s overlap
among the seasons and the Yankees
are in the postseason, while football
season is going on, and the Knicks
give [fans] hyper-local coverage of
their favorite teams.”
The emergence of the local ESPN
coverage, however, has prompted
competitors, such as Comcast and
Fox Sports Net, to launch their own
regional sports websites. This sud-
den growth of digital media has
heightened the rivalry between
competing sports publications.
“The competition has increased
exponentially,” said Sherrod Blake-
ly, the Celtics beat reporter for
Comcast SportsNet New England.
“That’s what the Web has done. You
have to be versatile. The competi-
tion in digital media is so fierce that
whatever you got in your toolbox,
you better be able to use it.”
That begs the question: Will the
development of digital media leave
the newspaper industry with an
empty toolbox?
Adam Rubin doesn’t seem to
think so. Rubin, who left The New
York Daily News sports section for
ESPNNewYork.com in March, said
he’s confident the increased com-
petition in New York City will pro-
voke better writing and reporting
INDUSTRY INSIDER
are gearing up maybe with [Cleve-
land Cavaliers forward] LeBron
James in uniform, the traffic is go-
ing to continue to explode,” he said.
The thought alone gives Carter
an adrenaline rush. In the coming
weeks, he plans to unveil more sur-
prises he believes will appeal to the
outspoken New Yorkers.
“I’m very excited because we’re
doing these things – coming up
with ideas, executing these ideas,
and seeing these ideas come to frui-
tion,” Carter said. “It’s been eight
full weeks so far and it’s only going
to get better.”
from his former cohorts.
But Jeff Patterson, a web design-
er at the Newport News (Va.) Daily
Press, isn’t as optimistic. Name val-
ue and prestige may preserve larger
publications like the Daily News,
Patterson said, but smaller newspa-
pers won’t be as fortunate.
“If you’re a second-grade start
up, you don’t really have that name
value in the marketplace,” said
Patterson, who will soon become
a sports editor at WYDaily.com.
“It’s kind of like Survivor. At some
point, you’re wondering when your
flame is going to give out.”
For now, though, the fires of ES-
PN’s five local websites will remain
ablaze. As for the possibility of fu-
ture expansion into new markets,
that remains uncertain.
“We’re taking some time before
we really start thinking what the
next market might be,” King said.
“A year ago, we only had one site
and I didn’t envision it being like
this. Right now, we’re currently
very interested in making sure the
five sites we have up are as great as
possible.”
By CHENG SIO
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
Sports writers traditionally were
synonymous with print publications.
Jay Mariotti – Chicago Sun-Times.
Kevin Blackistone – The Dallas
Morning News. Susan Slusser – San
Francisco Chronicle.
But the internet has changed that.
Mariotti and Blackistone now work
for AOL Fanhouse. Slusser splits
time covering the Oakland Athletics
for the Chronicle and the NHL for
Fanhouse.
Writers switching from print
publications to websites may be the
expansion of the sports journalism
business model.
“Websites seemed a lot more sta-
ble in the near future than any other
media operation,” said David Steele,
senior writer at Fanhouse.
Fanhouse was rebranded from
AOL Sports in January 2009, and one
of its first initiatives was hiring ex-
perienced print journalists. Fanhouse
currently employs seven columnists,
32 writers and 27 bloggers, in addi-
tion to its 20-person producers and
copy editing staff.
Scott Ridge, Fanhouse’s editor-in-
chief, said some writers are full-time
employees; others are full-time con-
tractors, and some are part-timers
who work on other websites.
Ridge wouldn’t discuss his writ-
ers’ salaries, but Yahoo! Sports, one
of Fanhouse’s competitors, provided
some insight into salaries.
Mark Pesavento, a managing edi-
tor at Yahoo! Sports, said his site’s
best bloggers are in the “upper five
figures.” His columnists and writers
make $100,000 to $150,000 annually.
“I would imagine [our writers’]
salaries are on par with the New York
Times, Sports Illustrated, the best
publications out there,” he said.
Ridge said Fanhouse would con-
tinue to tweak with its current model
to achieve optimum success.
“We always want to be in growth
mode in what we cover and build an
audience,” Ridge said. “I want Fan-
house to be considered the best sports
site on web.”
Steele joined Fanhouse as a con-
tractor five months after he was laid
off as a columnist at the Baltimore
SALT LAKE CITY 2010
Sun on April 29, 2009. Before his re-
lease, Steele canvassed websites and
broadcast outlets instead of newspa-
pers, fearing a greater likelihood of
another layoff with the print media.
“After the layoff, I actually turned
down a job offer at another paper,
mainly because I didn’t want to
move,” Steele said.
Ridge said he would like Fanhouse
to cultivate a reputation of having su-
perior talent.
Ridge said he realized the transi-
tion to digital was inevitable when
he was a slot man at the Tampa Tri-
bune in the 1990s. A no-hitter was in
progress and the pitcher was from the
area. When the half-innings ended,
the no-hitter was still intact but Ridge
had no clue to what was happening in
between innings. But he found a way
to gather the information he needed.
“I was on the phone with an editor
in the composing room and he was
able to log into that information be-
cause he was on ESPN’s Gamecast at
the time,” Ridge said. “Based on that
information, I was able to structure
the newspaper as needed. I wouldn’t
have been able to do that without
Gamecast.”
Fanhouse’s strategy might mirror
a traditional newspaper. Steele said
Fanhouse’s editors showed him their
emphasis on solid journalism.
But with the digital age, tweaks are
needed. Steele said Fanhouse editors
told him story lengths and deadlines
would be different. Steele said Fan-
house wants accuracy before speed.
While Fanhouse began as a blog-
turned-sports site, Yahoo! Sports is
hiring more bloggers.
In September 2007, Yahoo! Sports
hired Jamie Mottram away from
Fanhouse to be its “Senior Editor
of Blogs & Community” to go with
writers they hired in 2006.
The Mottram switch shouldn’t
be viewed as a flaw at Fanhouse,
but where today’s business model is
headed.
“I don’t think we need to be all
columnists or all writers,” Pesavento
said. “We need to be both.
“Now that they have decided to add
columnists, I think they are rounding
into shape. I think they are sort of
where we were four years ago.”
SALT LAKE CITY 2010
Globe basketball writers Gary Washburn (left) and 2006 SJI alum Julian
Benbow (right) huddle at the Eastern Conference Finals in Orlando.
A Global trend
By TARIQ LEE
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
In an industry in which roughly 90
percent of all sports journalists are
white and male, the Boston Globe is
bucking the trend.
Among a staff of 41, the Globe
sports department has eight women
(five writers, three on the copy desk),
eight African-Americans (three edi-
tors and five writers), an Asian (who
covers hockey) and one Hispanic (who
covers auto racing). Included in that
number is senior assistant sports editor
Gregory Lee, a 1994 SJI alum.
Joe Sullivan, assistant managing
editor for sports at the Globe, sees a
connection between the numbers and
Lee’s presence.
“It starts with the company [New
York Times Company], the New York
Times and the Boston Globe, that is
committed to diversity,” said Sullivan.
“And I think within our own depart-
ment that Greg Lee is committed to
diversity and gives us a great source
to find candidates and also make sure
that we are diverse whenever we are
hiring.”
A 2008 report on diversity in APSE
publications, done by Richard Lap-
chick at The Institute for Diversity and
Ethics in Sport (TIDES), showed 94
percent of sports editors, 89 percent of
assistant sports editors and 87 percent
of sports writers were white. In these
respective positions, 94 percent, 90
percent and 91 percent also were men.
From 2006-2008 the report showed
the number of African-American
writers and sports editors increased
but the number of assistant sports edi-
tors decreased. During the same time
period, the number of women sports
editors increased while the number
of assistant sports editors and report-
ers decreased. Also, the number of
Latino reporters increased but the
INDUSTRY INSIDER/OUTREACH
Jim Davis/Boston Globe
number of sports editors and assistant
sports editors decreased. Today there
is only one African-American sports
editor. TIDES representative Jessica
Bartter said a report will be released
this year.
One of the Globe’s recent hires was
Shalise Manza Young, who joined the
staff in March and is the only minor-
ity woman who is a full-time NFL beat
writer. Before com-
ing to the Globe, she
was a beat writer for
the Providence Jour-
nal for 15 years. She
says she sometimes
meets resistance.
Manza Young “Interestingly, I
find that it is readers
and fans who seem to have the biggest
issue with my being a minority fe-
male,” she said. “In my time covering
the Patriots I’ve gotten several emails
and internet comments questioning
my knowledge of football as a woman,
calling me an affirmative-action hire.
But since I’ve begun covering profes-
sional athletes, more often than not, I
feel that being a minority woman helps
me. It is hard to find a man who doesn’t
have a mom, aunt, grandmother, or sis-
ter who played a significant role in his
life, and that is especially true in NBA
and NFL locker rooms.”
Gary Washburn, the Globe’s NBA
reporter, said he appreciates the
Globe’s dedication to diversity.
“We’ve hired African-American
reporters and women reporters since
I’ve been here. I’ve seen more of an ef-
fort at the Globe than any other place
I’ve worked,” said Washburn, who has
also worked at the Los Angeles Daily
News, Contra Costa Times, and the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “The Globe
has been tremendous, I think, in its at-
tempt and quest for diversity. Not ev-
ery paper or news station is like that.”
Tough economy brings consolidation
By ALEX PREWITT
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
Last year it was furloughs. Before
that it was layoffs and buyouts. And
now, it’s desk consolidation.
In the persistently tough economic
climate, the latest trend in a long line
of cost-cutting mechanisms is the
consolidation of copy editing and lay-
out functions within chains to central
locations. There, on any given night,
editors could produces pages for mul-
tiple newspapers.
The Newport News (Va.) Daily
Press, as part of the Tribune Compa-
ny, recently moved copy editing and
designing to Chicago. As a result, the
paper has saved $600,000 annually,
according to Daily Press publisher
and CEO Digby Solomon.
Aside from purely local stories,
70 to 80 percent of the content in a
typical daily newspaper like the Daily
Press is what Solomon calls “com-
modity content” – AP stories, comic
strips, etc. – that are likely being laid
out and copy edited simultaneously at
multiple papers across the nation.
Wall Street Journal moves into New York sports
By KYLE GOON
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
Sam Walker remembers a saying
he used to hear about the Wall Street
Journal. There were two jobs no one
wanted there: photo editor — there
were hardly any photos in print at the
time — and sports editor.
When Walker joined the Journal
in 1998, he represented one-half of
the sports staff. His column was an
occasional splash of color in the gray
pages of financial and business news.
But in the last two years, the Journal
is attempting to shift from casual ob-
server to a player in the market.
The latest move for the Journal has
been to add New York sports cover-
age and another page to their print
sports section earlier this year. With
beat reporters and columnists now
covering national issues, as well as
the Yankees and the Knicks, Walker
and his staff are trying to show that
sports writing can be taken seriously
at a publication known for business
coverage.
“It’s been revolutionary in the time
I’ve been here — we’ve gone from
“There are many more ways to
serve the reader that will have more
bang for the buck than paying more
people to layout the same AP con-
tent,” he said.
In April, Media General Inc. an-
nounced it would consolidate its three
metro newspapers – the Tampa Tri-
bune, Richmond Times -Dispatch and
Winston-Salem Journal – to hubs in
Tampa, Fla. and Richmond, Va.
Currently 12 of Media General,
Inc.’s 23 papers are either part of tran-
sitioning or have transitioned to con-
solidation. The company estimates an
annual savings of more than $1 mil-
lion by 2011.
But some are not content with out-
sourcing to central locations.
“Obviously they’re not happy,” said
Doug Fisher, a senior instructor of
journalism at the University of South
Carolina and former AP news editor.
“I don’t think you can go to an entire
hub system and have it work well; you
need to go a hybrid system [of both
hubs and local copy editing].”
From a purely financial perspec-
being a question mark to being in the
middle of everything.” said Walker,
now the sports editor. “When we
would send reporters to games or
for interviews, people used to ask,
‘The Wall Street Journal writes about
sports?’ Now our reporters don’t
have anyone asking those questions.”
The process truly was kick-started
in 2008 when Rupert Murdoch, the
billionaire owner of News Corp,
bought the Journal. Walker said Mur-
doch and the people who work for
him understand the value of sports
— both as a way to draw new read-
ers and entertain readers they already
have. And using the Journal’s re-
sources, Walker believes the paper’s
New York audience will get sports
coverage that is both authoritative
and fun to read.
“There’s a large volume of cover-
age out there, but we don’t believe
anyone is consolidating the informa-
tion like we are,” Walker said. “We’re
trying to appeal to smarter fans by
giving them the analysis they want
and the information they need. We
want to break a lot of news, but we
PAGE 9
tive, consolidation makes sense, and
it allowed the Daily Press to avoid
furloughs and pay cuts for the re-
tained employees.
“It’s improved our profitability
and allowed us to continue investing
in digital and mobile channels where
people prefer to go these days,” Solo-
mon said.
Consolidation comes one year af-
ter companies found success in fur-
loughs.
Beginning in 2009, USA TODAY
instituted pay freezes and quarterly
week-long furloughs for its employ-
ees, which came shortly after layoffs
the previous December. This year,
employees have to take furloughs be-
fore July 1, meaning that, for one un-
paid week, they cannot engage in any
work-related activities.
“Nobody likes getting furloughed
every year,” said Arin Karimian, 26,
an online sports editor in his fourth
year at USA TODAY. “They say
they’re saving costs, but we keep lay-
ing people off, so we don’t see how
it’s helping.”
also want to spark conversations and
elevate the level of those conversa-
tions.”
To beef up coverage, the Journal
has added some young reporter tal-
ent: Scott Cacciola, formerly of The
Commercial Appeal, covers the Yan-
kees, while ex-Sports Illustrated con-
tributor Aditi Kinkhabwala is on the
Giants beat.
Murdoch isn’t shy about saying
his goal for expanding local cover-
age is to compete with the New York
Times, and the rivalry is something
that has at least perked the ears of the
Times’ sport department. But Times
sports editor Tom Jolly said he wasn’t
overly concerned about a new com-
petitor moving in.
“Obviously, any time someone
talks about trying to compete with
us, it heightens our senses a little bit
and gets our attention,” Jolly said.
“We wanted to make sure we could
do everything to let our readers know
the Times coverage would be far su-
perior to anything in the Journal, and
I think we’ve been able to success-
fully do that.”
PAGE 10 CONTEST WINNERS SALT LAKE CITY 2010

Wilmington’s George takes down the big boys

By AMELIA RAYNO
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
Rachel George, led in secret by a
school official she never identified,
walked into the sectioned-off second
floor of the aging Jap Davis Field
House, unsure of what to expect.
What the reporter discovered, she
would later say, was “shocking.”
The 64-year-old athletic facility in
New Hanover County, N.C. had been
recently reoccupied after a three-
month closure for district-mandated
fixes. But inside, among the sus-
pended ceiling’s white panels, a steel
beam that supported the roof sagged
ominously, threatening to give way.
For George, who covers high
school sports for the Wilmington
(N.C.) Star-News, there were impor-
tant questions that needed immedi-
ate answers.
Why hadn’t the field house’s press-
ing issues been addressed? Why had
the city allowed students back in a
clearly dangerous building? What
would happen if that beam, in fact,
collapsed?
“[It] really hit home,” George said.
“I don’t know whether the building
would have fallen, but I would rather
write this [story]
than one about dead
football players in
the building.”
What became a
month-long, nine-
story project wasn’t
always easy. Many George
sources were flat-
out “combative,” George said, omit-
ting documents from her Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) request,
hanging up on her or refusing to talk
completely.
But the result led her to another
“shocking” experience: she beat out
The Boston Globe, Yahoo! Sports,
USA Today and The New York
Times for the APSE’s top investiga-
tive story of the year.
Star-News sports editor Dan
Spears compared the victory to
“Butler winning the whole thing,”
referring to the college basketball
underdog’s ascent to the national title
game against Duke.
“Originally, I was excited; I told
my editor, ‘This has to be one of the
best in our circulation size,’ ” George
said.
Then Spears told her: The award
wasn’t categorized by circulation;
the top 10 were chosen from all
APSE newspapers and websites.
“I went home mad,” she said. “I
thought it was a good story, but I
read The New York Times and other
big organization papers.”
Working for the Star-News, which
has a circulation of about 50,000, she
said, “I didn’t think I had a chance.”
But one night, as she was working
late at the office, Spears came up and
tapped her on the shoulder.
George, 25, who was busy trying
to post high school sports statistics
to the newspaper’s website, was
peeved at first by his interruption.
Then Spears highlighted two words
on a short list of finalists for the
APSE award. They spelled “Rachel
George.”
A few weeks later, she got a call
saying she had won the whole thing.
As unlikely as the national dis-
tinction might seem, Spears said he
believed in his reporter.
“She’s very persistent,” he said.
“She doesn’t like ‘no’ for an answer.
She just kept digging. Sometimes
Chinese water torture is effective.”
George, one of four full-time re-
porters at a publication that covers
high schools, UNC-Wilmington and
golf, worked on the story simultane-
ously with her normal load of footb-
features, game stories and blogs.
Despite her heavy workload, it
wasn’t the first time she has taken on
such a time-consuming project in the
midst of daily grind.
“She always has something in the
bag,” Spears said of George, who
began tackling a project on the an-
niversary of Title IX in her first six
months at the Star-News, and is
currently working on a story about
New Hanover County’s handling of
its physical property, an enterprise
piece that was spawned from the Jap
Davis story.
Spears said that sort of passion is
a testament to the kind of journalism
the Star-News, despite its small size.
“We may be the little po-dunky
newspaper from North Carolina,”
Spears said. “But we’re going to
make sure you’re held accountable
for every little thing you do.”

Online excellence recognized Yahoo’s Wetzel earns high five

By MALIK SMITH
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
For nearly 20 years the Associated
Press Sports Editors recognized excel-
lence in daily newspaper journalism
through awarding its traditional Top
10 sections and writing awards.
A fast-growing media landscape,
which includes a 24-hour news cycle
and the spawning of websites, has
forced newspapers to adapt and meet
the growing demand of their audiences
on the internet.
APSE decided to move into the digi-
tal age in its annual recognition of the
nation’s top work, which includes best
newspaper websites.
“We recognized the change in the
industry,” said incoming APSE presi-
dent Phil Kaplan. “Websites are a big
component in what we do daily.”
The Top 10 included: The New York
Times, Los Angeles Times, USA To-
day and The Washington Post. Oth-
ers were leaders in big cities: Miami
Herald, Boston Globe, St. Petersburg
Times, New York Daily News and
Philly.com, which hosts the Philadel-
phia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily
News on its site.
The Oklahoman was the only Top
10 paper that had fewer than two pro-
fessional sports teams.
The selection criteria include hav-
ing more than 1 million unique view-
ers, good site design, easy navigation
and interactive components.
Oklahoman editor Mike Sherman
attributed a large portion of the web-
site’s success to being able to custom-
ize content for its market.
“Our company has invested in train-
ing and done a lot research on what the
fans want,” he said.
Sherman also believes having the
New Orleans Hornets in Oklahoma
City after Hurricane Katrina helped
the staff tremendously. It gave the
writers a chance to cover a profession-
al team, which prepared them to cover
the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The site is overflowing with video
and blog posts from all different ar-
eas, but especially from the NBA and
Thunder beat writer Darnell Mayber-
ry, a 2003 SJI alum.
Boston.com sports editor Matthew
Pepin said the Boston Globe notes
increasing competition in the market-
place has pushed his team to develop
more fresh content for the site.
“We have a team of unbelievably
talented editors and writers,” he said.
“We know what our readers are in-
terested in and carefully monitor site
traffic.”
By AARON MARTINEZ
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
After winning numerous
sports writing awards throughout
his career, Dan Wetzel, 38, knows
that he could not have achieved
any of those honors without hard
work and commitment.
“It never loses any signifi-
cance when you continue to win
any awards,” Wetzel said. “It just
proves that you are continuing to
improve your writing skill and
that you have not gotten com-
placent and are still hungry and
searching for great stories.”
Wetzel, a columnist for Ya-
hoo! Sports, claimed five awards
from the Associated Press Sports
Editors’ best writing of 2009. He
placed top five in five different
categories — breaking news, fea-
ture stories, game stories, proj-
ects and investigative reporting.
“I have been able to do a lot
here at Yahoo!,” said Wetzel, who
has been there since 2003. “They
have given me the opportunity to
not only write columns, but also
to focus on game stories, features
and especially to continue to work
on investigative journalism.”
Wetzel has proven over the
years to his colleagues and, espe-
cially, his readers that he can pro-
vide in-depth and fair coverage of
any event he covers.
“As a writer, he gets right to the
point and doesn’t try to fake ex-
pertise that he doesn’t have,” said
Dave Morgan, executive editor of
Yahoo! Sports. “He doesn’t have
to be an expert on a particular
topic to have insights and obser-
vations that serve the audience.”
Morgan said three words de-
scribe Wetzel’s work ethic and
commitment to his craft.
“Credibility. Expertise. Re-
solve. Dan is a true pro, and it
is of incredible value when your
best people are also the hard-
est working,” Morgan said. “We
have an incredibly ambitious and
hard-working staff and Dan sets
that tone.”
Wetzel began his career in
journalism as a college student
at University of Massachusetts at
Amherst for the school’s newspa-
per, The Massachusetts Daily Col-
legian.
“I got into journalism just be-
cause I wanted something to do
and because it seemed interest-
ing, so I decided to write sports
for my school newspaper,” Wet-
zel said. “At first, it was all just
for fun, but after a while I started
finding a passion for not only
writing but also reporting.”
Wetzel stressed the importance
of getting any experience pos-
sible early on and to continue to
grow.
“Journalism is one of things
you learn from experience. You
will always have to continue to
improve on your writing,” he
said. “Ever since I worked at my
school newspaper to my first in-
ternship to now, I strived to con-
tinue to improve on my writing
and reporting skills.”
Wetzel believes the future of
journalism lies online. Wet
“We (Yahoo!) were one of the
first media outlets to produce sto-
ries online, and now while most
newspapers were gutting them-
selves by not taking the leap in
to the online world, they are now
hurting to catch up and are even
dying,” Wetzel said. “Newspa-
per needs to step into the new
world of journalism, because if
they don’t move to a more online
content direction, they will go
down.”
SALT LAKE CITY 2010
Shelton’s best comes from From losing pains to bullet trains: Harlan
the heart, touches home moves from Nats writer to East Asian beat
By CHENG SIO
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
Gary Shelton can relate to losing a
parent at a young age. It hit him hard
when a 3-year-old girl lost her father
in a tragic accident.
“I lost my mother, Evelyn, [to liv-
er cancer] when I just turned five,”
Shelton said. “I also have young
children who I fear leaving myself.
Between the two, the story was very
personal.”
The 58-year-old Shelton, a St.
Petersburg Times columnist for the
last 18 years, wrote
an open letter to
Delaney Cooper,
daughter of former
Tampa Bay Buc-
caneers linebacker
Marquis Cooper.
Shelton The moving let-
ter was one of five
entries submitted to APSE, which
helped earn him a first-place column
writing award in the over-250,000
circulation size.
On Feb. 28, 2009, Cooper and
three friends went on a fishing trip.
Their 21-foot boat capsized in the
Gulf of Mexico.
A thorough three-day search en-
sued, costing $1.6 million, 230 U.S.
Coast Guard man hours and in-
volved aircrafts and boats covering
more than 20,000 square miles.
Former University of South Flor-
ida football player Nick Schuyler
was the only one rescued. The other
three, including Cooper, were never
found.
During the search, Shelton called
everyone who knew Cooper to gain
insight about the NFL player. Writ-
ing the letter, however, wasn’t easy.
“This was an intensely personal
piece,” Shelton said. “When you
write on that level, it’s harder and
you struggle more with it. But you
feel you said something.”
When the letter was published
March 3, 2009, three days before
Cooper was presumed dead, some in
the community were outraged. Some
felt Shelton jumped the gun on Coo-
per’s death. Others thought it might
have been foolish to write to a little
girl who couldn’t read yet.
Run-ins are common in Shel-
ton’s field. He’s received unflatter-
ing comments from athletes such as
Vinny Castilla (“Would like to see
me under some dirt”), coaches such
as Jon Gruden (“Doesn’t think I’m a
peachy guy”) and executives such as
former Tampa Bay Lightning owner
Oren Koules (“He would be glad
when newspapers go out of business
so I would be unemployed”).
“Nobody should like you too
much because if you write honestly,
there’s going to be criticism,” Shel-
ton said.
Despite the clashes, Tampa Tri-
bune columnist Joey Johnston said
Shelton makes himself available.
“He’s one of those guys that when
he writes something controversial,
he’ll be in the locker room front and
center talking to somebody,” John-
ston said. “If there’s a problem, he’ll
face it head-on. Athletes certainly
respect that.”
Shelton also displayed his sense
of humor in a column wondering
what England did to earn the right to
watch the 0-6 Bucs.
“It was just an awful product we
were sending overseas,” Shelton
said. “This country sent us Shake-
speare, Newton, King Arthur and
Sherlock Holmes, and they were get-
ting a very bad football team.”
The most important attribute
Shelton might have is piquing read-
ers’ interest.
“I think he has the No. 1 quality
of any great columnist and that’s you
never let a day pass without reading
him,” Johnston said. “Even if you
disagree with him, you’re going to
get wrapped in.”
After a hard day’s work, Shelton
can enjoy the company of his four
children, Tori, 7, K.C., 14, Kevin
Rogers, 26, and Eric Rogers, 28.
“I have young children and I live
the lifestyle of a guy 10 to 20 years
younger; they will either keep you
young or kill you,” Shelton said.
“You go one column at a time. I have
no idea what I’m writing for Sunday
or next week yet. When you go one
column at a time long enough, by the
time you look up, there’s gray hair in
the mirror.”
APSE CONTEST
By ALEX PREWITT
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
Chico Harlan is gone from sports
­— and he’s not coming back.
Months before winning first
place in the APSE over-250,000 cir-
culation category for the best game
story, Harlan, 27,
left his stint as the
Washington Na-
tionals beat writer.
He is now pre-
paring for a three-
year gig in Japan
Harlan to cover East Asian
politics and fi-
nance. He does not envision a return
to sports.
“The first time I got out of sports
writing, it was a choice and this time
it was also a choice,” said Harlan,
referring to the time he left sports
after graduating from Syracuse in
2004 to take a job in Australia. “I
think I’m better cut out covering
other stuff.”
Last November, Harlan an-
nounced his decision to leave the
Nationals beat after two seasons.
Seeing double: Gamble pays off for SJI alum Friedman
By SHEMAR WOODS
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
When APSE released its 2009
contest results and Jackie Fried-
man’s name appeared under two
different awards and beside two
different newspapers, some might
assume it was a mistake. But to
Friedman, it validated her decision
to leave a full-time
gig at the Glens
Falls (N.Y.) Post-
Star for an intern-
ship at the Newark
(N.J.) Star Ledger.
“I was taking a
Friedman leap of faith,” said
Friedman, 2008
graduate of the Sports Journalism
Institute. “It was never scary, be-
cause I knew I was doing the right
thing.”
Friedman accepted a risk most
journalists wouldn’t in the cur-
rent climate. Should a 22-year-old
In his blog, he wrote that he began
to miss the journalism aspect of the
job, which became hidden behind
the daily grind of watching base-
ball’s worst team.
The announcement came after
Harlan caught fire for an interview
he did with Washingtonian maga-
zine in March, 2009. In the piece,
Harlan was quoted as saying he
only covered sports to keep him
afloat. “I don’t like sports — I am
embarrassed that I cover them,”
he said. “I can’t wait to stop. It is a
means to an end and a paycheck.”
Harlan calls the controversy the
most disgraceful moment of his
career. Readers blasted him on the
comments section, referring to Har-
lan as a “twerp” and “disgrace.”
Harlan was not reprimanded for
his comments but took it upon him-
self to make amends, individually
apologizing to many Nationals and
releasing a personal blog statement.
“The quote is accurate,” he wrote.
“The sentiment is not.”
Harlan continued with his beat,
winning the APSE award for his
leave a full-time job in pursuit of a
dream job that might not exist in 12
months? For Friedman, the answer
was easy.
She moved from Glens Falls
­— two hours from her hometown
of Kirkville, N.Y. — to Newark.
Friedman spent seven months at
the Post-Star covering high school
sports and writing features. She
teamed with Tim McManus on an
eight-part project on the economy’s
effect on local sports, which won in
project reporting.
“The project was a full winter’s
work,” said Friedman, 23. “It was
really my introduction to project
reporting.”
Telling her sports editor, Greg
Brownell, that she was departing so
soon wasn’t amazing.
“I had a great editor and it was so
hard finally telling him I was leav-
ing,” Friedman said. “But there was
no looking back.”
PAGE 11
story on Washington’s final slate of
the 2009 season – a 15-inning, 2-1
victory over the Atlanta Braves on
October 9.
To Harlan, the honor was more a
statement of his commitment to the
job than anything.
“The fact that that story turned
out fine shows that to the very end
my endurance was there and I want-
ed to write well,” Harlan says. “I
hope that I was able to demonstrate
the lessons that I learned, eventu-
ally disproving that quote by caring
about my job.”
Harlan, who moved to Japan on
June 1, is confident that he’ll reha-
bilitate his enthusiasm for baseball,
which was lost while on the Nats
beat. His coworkers at the Post
point to the award as an indication
of Harlan’s future beyond sports.
“I think it’s all the more evidence
of where he’s headed,” said colum-
nist Thomas Boswell, who worked
closely with Harlan. “I thought
Chico did a wonderful job and was
enormously energetic and got better
and better.”
Uncertainty about her journal-
ism career began to arise after three
months at the Star Ledger. Would it
lead to a full-time job offer? When
is the right time to apply for other
jobs? Some questions reached her
editor, Drew van Esselstyn. Others
reached her parents.
“We told her to be patient,” said
Jeff Friedman, Jackie’s father.
“Whatever happens, happens for
the right reason.”
Friedman focused on Nikki Popy-
er, a 16-year-old female athlete who
had 11 concussions in four years.
The story placed fourth among fea-
ture stories. The year kept getting
better. In January, Friedman learned
she would be hired as a full-time lo-
cal sports enterprise reporter.
“This is a job I would have liked
to have when I was 30,” she said.
“To be here, 23, writing for a ma-
jor newspaper, has always been my
goal.”
PAGE 12 APSE CONVENTION/SJI SALT LAKE CITY 2010

Beantown awaits APSE

SJI helped
prep Davis
for career BY ALEX PREWITT
APSE Bulletin Staff
By ISIS ROBERTS It’s a city bustling with Irish pride, brimming
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer with rich American history and blooming with
Urged by friends during her soph- sports enthusiasm.
omore year in college, Kristen Davis And now, Boston will have the chance to
decided to apply to the Sports Jour- showcase its illustrious culture when the 2011
nalism Institute in 1997.  After being APSE Convention comes to town.
accepted into SJI, Davis interned Few cities contain as much centralized inten-
with the Los Angeles Daily News. sity and fandom toward professional teams as
She also went on to Boston. That, according to Joe Sullivan, assistant
work full-time for managing editor/sports for the Boston Globe, is a
the Arizona Daily prime reason why Beantown will make the per-
Star, while still at- fect arena for the nation’s biggest sports writing
tending college. convention.
“[SJI] is one of “We’d like to think that this is the best sports
the best things that city in America,” he said. “I think there’s a pas-
Davis happened to me for sion that’s quite evident here. When the sports
my career,” she said. editors are here they’ll see Red Sox nation in
“I was working with professionals full operation and that’ll be something that’s on
hands-on.” people’s minds.”
The experience helped Davis de- According to Sullivan, the great “x” factor is Boston Globe file photo

velop as a journalist. After five years
at the Daily Star, Davis was hired as
the Metropolitan Sports Editor for
the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“She’s in charge of all our high
school coverage, which is a very big
component of our section,” said Roy
Hewitt, Sports Editor of the Plain
Dealer. “She does a great job in di-
recting that and directing our cover-
age.”
For the last six years, Davis has
been in charge of overseeing ap-
proximately 20 sports in 180 high
schools.
Although the professional teams
located in Cleveland have not expe-
rienced much success, sports fans
in the city still demonstrate enthusi-
whether or not the Red Sox will be in town for a
home game. Sullivan has spoken to the Red Sox
and informed them that the convention will be in
town, but the schedule will not be released until
next year.
If the Red Sox are not at home, the opening
night banquet will be held at Fenway Park, com-
plete with stadium tours and locker room visits.
But if the convention has the good fortune of at-
tending a Sox game at one of the nation’s oldest
parks, the opening-night dinner will take place at
the JFK Library next to the Boston Globe.
The Sheraton Hotel in Boston’s Back Bay will
host the convention. Located near the historic
North End Italian district, the hotel’s proximity
to Boston’s most attractive sites will create a fam-
ily-friendly environment, according to Sullivan.
Catching a game at historic Fenway Park is an activity vistors to Boston must experience.
“It can be educational and fun by following the
Freedom Trail or seeing Paul Revere’s house,” he
said. “It’s such a lively area and I think Boston
will be a good place to bring the family. If they
haven’t seen Boston they can get right into the
thick of the American Revolution or go to Quincy
Market which has a great array of stores and a
tremendous amount of food on the street.”
In the poor economic climate, Sullivan has
done his best to provide a good rate for attendees.
The $212-per-night rate is the highest in the his-
tory of the convention but, according to Sullivan,
is a “really good” rate for downtown Boston. Re-
garding sponsorships, Sullivan hopes to get help
from New England-area newspapers and ESPN,
though the Globe will be the primary sponsor.
The last time Boston hosted the APSE conven-
tion was in 1990. According to Larry Meehan,
Vice President of Media Relations & Tourism
Sales for the Greater Boston Convention & Visi-
tors Bureau (GBCVB), the city has drastically
changed in terms of attractions for tourists while
simultaneously maintaining the historic compo-
nent of one of America’s oldest towns.
“As a city destination for APSE 21 years lat-
er we’ve gone from ‘curse reverse’ in 2004 six
years ago and ‘Big Dig Boston’ to an interna-
tional sports venue city that includes around-the-
world ocean races and a 2012 Fenway Centennial
vision,” he said.

Salt Lake City has much to offer 2010 attendees

asm. Much of that enthusiasm trick-
les down to high school sports.
“There are not a lot of sports
towns that are more passionate than
here,” Davis said. “On a Friday
night, most games you go to have at
least 4,000 people.”
Davis’ high school sports depart-
ment has received many awards,
including a 2005 Associated Press
Sports Editor Top Ten Special Sec-
tion award that previewed the high
school and college football season.
Hewitt, who hired Davis, has no-
ticed her growth in the position.
“She’s grown tremendously since
the six years she has been here,”
Hewitt said. “We’ve given her a lot
of responsibility, she’s accepted it
and she’s done a great job.”
By KYLE GOON
APSE Bulletin Staff Writer
With a population that is nearly half Mormon,
Salt Lake City has something of a reputation as a
quaint, quiet, 100 percent no-fun town.
But Michael Anastasi, Salt Lake Tribune
sports editor, believes convention attendees
could be pleasantly surprised this year.
“The main point for the convention is for edi-
tors to improve,” Anastasi said. “But we want
them to really experience what their host city is
all about.”
Anastasi, along with wife, Julie, have prepared
a social schedule that will offer a taste of some
of the city’s cultural traditions as well as a few
escapes. Arguably the most anticipated event
on the schedule is a performance rehearsal of
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, one of the best-
known vocal ensembles in the world. Anastasi,
APSE’s second vice president, said he thinks the
participants will get an experience that “speaks
to the character” of Utah.
Another item many convention-goers have
signed up for is the Saturday trip to Snowbird Re-
sort. Although Snowbird is popular for its skiing,
editors will be able to hike, mountain bike, scale
climbing walls, ride down zip lines and visit the
top of Hidden Peak via tram.
It’s almost a given that some APSE events will
feature sports, so there will be group trips to a
Real Salt Lake soccer game, the NBA draft with
Jazz executives and a go-kart track that could
feature head-to-head races between teams of
editors. Attendees might also take a gambling
excursion outside Utah borders Friday night in
Wendover, Nev.
Family activities will be available for those
with a spouse or children in tow. Julie Anastasi
will be directing day trips for shopping in Park
City on Thursday and the Museum of Ancient
Life on Friday. Other attractions — such as local
museums and the Hogle Zoo — are available.
Those who seek dining options should consult
The Salt Lake Tribune online dining guide. Some
of the top-rated joints within a mile from the con-
vention: Red Iguana (Mexican), Settebello Pizza
(Italian), and The New Yorker (steakhouse).
For those wondering: Yes, you can buy alcohol
in Salt Lake City. The 2009 liquor law reforms
means adult beverages are now served at bars
across town.