Sessions
Many presenters at this year’s conference have been a part of our sessions for several years — some since the society’s inception. We evaluate each session to make sure we’re giving you the best training and discussions year after year, and we ask many of our past speakers to return because of the positive responses participants give in our annual survey. Here is a list of what we've got planned for you this year. Exact times will be announced soon.
Thursday's sessions
The Freelancing Option for Copy Editors — Ruth Thaler-Carter
As publishing outlets and in-house opportunities contract, ACES members may be more interested in freelancing. Find out what it takes to be a successful freelance copy editor, ways to find and handle projects, cope with isolation, get paid, and more from a longtime colleague.
All This and Ethics Too? — Rick Kenney
You’re the master of style, usage and grammar. You can coach writers in improving their copy, and your supervisors value your skills. Your co-workers love it when you bake brownies! And now you’re wondering how to be not only the legal expert but also the moral conscience of your organization. This session suggests approaches to confronting potential ethics challenges for copy editors.
The Future of Editing — Susan Keith
Student Roundtable — Daniel Hunt, Carla Correa
Getting Grammatical — Bill Connolly
An audience-participation session that deals with some common grammatical problems.
When News Happens to Sports Sections, and Vice Versa — Rick Kenney
Many sports stories read more like traditional news coverage. Some of those stories make it to the news pages; others challenge sports journalists who never thought they’d edit stories about rape or grand jury investigations. This session addresses the basics of precision editing of sports copy and sports news.
Are Editors Necessary? — Joshua Benton, John Russial, Charles Knittle
As journalism evolves, so does the role of the traditional copy editor. Is it evolving to the point of irrelevance? A point-counterpoint discussion.
Afraid of Math? Take a Number — Rich Holden
Numbers are the biggest source of mistakes in journalism. Whether it's confusing millions with billions, calculating percentage changes incorrectly or confusing percent and percentage point, numbers have always baffled reporters and editors. This seminar, which takes word-for-word examples from some of the nation's best publications, aims to correct that by providing samples of common mistakes and solutions to them.
What’s Being Taught in Editing Classes — and What Should Be — Andy Bechtel (moderator), Doug Fisher, Deborah Gump, Emily Ingram, Trudi Shaffer, Bill Hickman
How well are journalism schools preparing students for careers in editing? Hear from professors, a student and a recent college graduate about the state of editing education.
Surviving the Switch to Online Editing — Paula Devlin
You’re a copy editor suddenly thrust full-time into editing for the online world. Or, you're a copy editor who has to edit for both print and online. How do you cope with the shift in editing styles? How do you make yourself a better editor in the process? How do you learn to love online?
Skeptical Editing —Kathy Schenck
Forget about formatting as we reaffirm why it's essential for copy editors to take time to ask tough questions. We'll go over stories with problems of libel or privacy, taste, sensitivity and fairness, using different examples from last year's session. You'll also get tips to help set off the little warning bells in your head as you edit.
Striving for Professional Excellence — Michael Roehrman
Grammar and style are great, but it takes more than those to excel as a copy editor. Your attitude can mean the difference between toiling and thriving. Learn and share tips on issues including managing your professional relationships, dealing with stress and improving your outlook without it turning into lollipops, rainbows and dancing chocolate bunnies.
A Keen Eye for Graphics — Bill Cloud
Charts and graphs too often contain errors, many minor, some not so. This session offers a contest on spotting errors, followed by a discussion of how to avoid them.
Edit Your Options — Following the career paths of five communications graduates — Heidi Opdyke
Drake University’s 2001 news-editorial/internet class included five Dow Jones Newspaper Fund interns. All started at newspapers, but each has taken a different route. We’ll trace several career paths and discuss some of the transferrable skills and lessons learned. We’ll also look at non-traditional areas where copy editing skills are needed.
Plus we’ll have lunchtime forums for slot editors, rim editors, online editors, corporate editors and editors on small staffs. Join us with your questions and comments, and share your experiences.
Friday's sessions
Rules That Aren’t — Bill Walsh
An interactive tour of usage and style myths.
Resume Writing, 2010-Style
What’s changed since you wrote your resume 20 years ago, and what you need to stress now.
Maintaining Morale in Tough Times — John Abitabilo
An expert from the Dale Carnegie organization offers his advice.
Nuts and Bolts Punctuation — Lisa McLendon
A basic overview of proper use of punctuation, with special focus on commas, apostrophes and semicolons.
Financial Editing: The Words You Choose — Christine Steele, Neil Holdway
It's the economy, stupid. There's no shortage of financial reports and advice to edit. But sometimes it's all Dow Jones Industrials, consumer confidence index, GDP, and long-term Treasuries. Readers and financial experts need clarity and a vocabulary they both can understand. Join us as we edit some problem financial copy from the news and corporate world and explain what some of this stuff means, where we can improve, and terms one should avoid in print.
If I Knew Only —Merrill Perlman
Back despite popular demand! "Only" is a refresher in some of the most common grammar issues that trip us a lot, including danglers, who/whom and which/that, in what we hope is an entertaining and memorable format. One guarantee: There will be chocolate.
How to Survive a Job Interview — Rich Holden, Reggie Stuart, John Dillon, Trudi Shaffer
This session deals with the need to be prepared with an up-to-date resume, questions you should ask, how to dress, how to keep your composure and how to anticipate questions that you will be asked. The importance of networking, social and others, also will be addressed.
The Verb Is Your Friend — Chris Wienandt
Knowing your verbs can save your bacon. We’ll look at how verbs operate and why understanding them is the key to a successful sentence.
Managing Creative People — Teresa Schmedding
Managing creative people can be as easy as herding cats. Managers in media organizations are prone to managing tasks, which causes even more friction when dealing with creative employees. This session will show leaders how to manage by opening doors, rather than closing them, and getting the most out of their creative staff.
The Power of Proofreading — Sherrie Voss Matthews, Greg Matthews, John Braun, Sherri Hildebrandt
Learn how to take one final look at spelling, design, color and content before sending copy into the world. This panel of experts offers tips on how to prevent design and typography bloopers from reaching your audience.
Ask the AP Stylebook Editors — David Minthorn, Darrell Christian
Two AP Stylebook editors field your questions.
What’s an Internship Worth? — Rich Holden, Ed Trayes, Michael Deas, Brady Jones
Paid or unpaid? This is an important question as news organizations are trending away from traditional paid internships and emphasizing "for-credit" internships. What are the pros and cons? The session also will feature a recent editing intern who will talk about the value of internships — paid or unpaid.
Basics of Headline Writing — Miriam Tarver
Libel: What You Know Can Still Hurt You — Charles DelaFuente, Bill Hickman
What Are the Opportunities in Health Care Editing? — Bill Connolly, Margaret Cloud, Christy Seals, Brendan Middleton
This session will examine what opportunities exist for copy editors in the health care industry. What is it like to make the transition?
Freelance Editing — Getting the Most Out of Networking — August Tarrier, Rachel Carpenter
10 Essential Editing Skills for 2010 and Beyond — Doug Ward
Some of these may surprise you, some of them you know well and some of them only you know.
Editing Recipes for Changing Readers — Bill Cloud, Carol DeMasters, Beryl Adcock
Making sure recipes are accurate and understandable has always been a challenge for features copy editors. The problem may be growing as fewer readers learn cooking basics from stay-at-home parents. This panel addresses how to approach recipe editing for today’s readers and will give participants the opportunity to test their skills with a few not-so-good examples.
Strategies for Small Staff Success — Gerri Berendzen, Sara Hendricks
A world where being on the copy desk can mean editing, designing, webbing, even blogging presents special challenges for a small staff. We'll offer tips on setting priorities, cross-training, playing to individual strengths and handling deadlines in a 24-hour editing world.
Sexual Disorientation: Getting LGBT Terminology Right — Jeff McMillan and panel
Same-sex marriage. Gays in the military. Closeted politicians. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues are in the news like never before. In this session we explore how reporters and editors can use the proper terminology for sexual minorities without resorting to euphemism or alphabet soup.
Moderator: Jeff McMillan, National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association
Panelists: Sarah Blazucki, editor, Philadelphia Gay News; Gail Shister, Penn journalism lecturer and former TV columnist
Saturday's sessions
Survey Says: What Editors Need to Know About Polls — Kathy Schenck
With the midterm elections coming, journalists will be bombarded with more and different kinds of polls. Find out what you need to know to separate the valid surveys from the schlock.
I Didn’t Mean That — Doug Ward
The words we use and the images we publish often carry unintended meanings to our audiences. In this workshop, we will look at many examples of unintended meanings and talk about how and why they happen.
Getting a Grasp on Layout — Gary Potosky
What do you do when you’re called on to design a page with little or no experience in the art? We’ll talk about the basics of news page design, along with the importance of interacting with all departments, news judgment, and thinking like a reader.
Editing: Beyond Newspapers — Liz Smith, Karen Martwick, Julie Johnson, David Brindley
Seasoned editors with specialized expertise in magazines, trade publications and electronic communications offer a glimpse into the nuances of editing beyond the slot. Learn how to adjust to non-AP styles and create your own in-house style guide. Understand the many layers of precision editing on an extended lead time, the magazine production process as it affects the copy desk and how to edit for niche audiences.
“Jimmy’s World”: How a Copy Editor Could Have Averted Disaster — Bill Connolly
A hands-on session examining how a copy editor could have averted disaster. Registration required. Attendance limited.
Inside Readers’ Heads — Alex Cruden, Vicki Krueger
In this all-new version of a long-popular ACES session, online headlines will be tested live by a representative panel of the people news organizations want to reach. Their spontaneous reactions to specific headlines that embody the difficulties headline writers face — and their answers to questions from the session audience — should be extraordinarily helpful to anyone working on online news.
Social Media Strategies — Deirdre Edgar, Carla Correa
Writing and Editing for the Web — Trystan L. Bass
Your readers are online — are you? Find out how the Web is different from print, rewrite your headlines for websites and mobile devices, get SEO tips so searchers don’t miss your best work, and learn editing techniques based on Yahoo’s 15 years on the Web.
Women in Management — Teresa Schmedding, Merrill Perlman, Maggie Walter
Do you fear filling a cookie-baking mom stereotype? Or the b**** stereotype? This session of panelists will discuss the unique challenges female managers encounter and how to embrace them.
Is That Clear? Untangling Cluttered Prose — Andy Bechtel, Sara Hendricks, Karen Martwick
Are you faced with long sentences — sentences being thoughts with a subject and a verb and sometimes a prepositional phrase — that are interrupted by clauses that take your breath away and make you forget what the point of the sentence is? If you found this a poorly constructed sentence, you may want to join us. We'll cover redundancy, misplaced modifiers, noun-verb agreement and more. Then we'll offer you the tools for recognizing the culprits and fixing them.
Missing in Plain Sight — Doug Fisher
Spotting one of the missing 5Ws and H is pretty simple, right? Except in these hectic days, it’s easy to skip by the critical question of whether there is enough of each one. We’ll look at some copy and figure out what's “missing in plain sight.” We’ll also discuss whether some of those things we used to include as a matter of routine are needed anymore. Perfect for the harried copy editor, but even more for all journalists who increasingly are being told they may have to edit their own copy.
Political Editing — Erika Compart
Your Grammar Questions Answered —
What grammar issues puzzle you most? Our panel of experts will untangle the knotty issues you’re facing. We’ll take questions from the audience as well as advance submissions.
Plus … the world premiere of Roxanne, a play by Alex Cruden
