Press advisory for the 2007 ASNE convention in Washington

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 03/22/2007 15:27:00
• In: Convention

WASHINGTON -- The nation's top editors will focus on First Amendment issues and the evolving transformation of the business of journalism when they gather March 27-30 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, Washington, for the annual convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Among the key speakers at the convention are Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, film director and actor Spike Lee, Bob Woodruff of ABC News, and the top executives of major professional sports.

ASNE president David A. Zeeck, executive editor of The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash., will address ASNE members as the convention opens Tuesday, March 27, with a series of programs on First Amendment and freedom of information issues.

Wednesday, a panel of new media leaders will assess the newspaper industry's Web challenges and opportunities, The Poynter Institute for Media Studies will reveal the headlines of its latest EyeTrack research, and a group of editors will share experiences and advice on overcoming hurdles to achieve transformational change.

Thursday, in the session “Electric Sports: Games in the Internet Age and the People Who Run Them,” Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, NBA Commissioner David Stern, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will be interviewed by Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post and ESPN.

Also Thursday, InteractiveCorp Chairman and CEO Barry Diller, Washington Post Co. Chairman Donald E. Graham and Huffington Post co-founders Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer will explore lessons from the digital revolution with Wall Street Journal's technology columnists Walter Mossberg and Kara Swisher.

Justice Breyer will appear in a luncheon interview with Jess Bravin, who covers the Supreme Court for The Wall Street Journal. Later that afternoon, Brian P. Tierney, publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, and Chris Harte, chairman of the Star Tribune, Minneapolis, will discuss their vision as recent investors in the newspaper business.

On Friday, discussions are planned with a panel of experts on Iraq and the Middle East, the tensions between the government and press in coverage of national security issues, and the medical care issues in the military and for veterans.

David Ignatius of The Washington Post will lead the Middle East discussion with Al-Arabiya Washington Bureau Chief Hisham Melhem, Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Nancy Youssef, former Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers.

Former acting CIA Director John McLauglin, Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr., New York Times Managing Editor Jill Abramson and Geoffrey R. Stone, author and University of Chicago law professor, will address “Making Tough Calls on National Security” with moderator Robert M. Steele, a leading journalism ethics scholar at The Poynter Institute.

Military columnist and author Joe Galloway will lead a discussion of “Military Medicine: Questions from the Battlefield to the Homefront” that will include Woodruff. Other panelists in the discussion have written or edited groundbreaking stories on the topic: Anne Hull of The Washington Post, Lisa Chedeckel of the Hartford (Conn.) Courant and Jim Asher of McClatchy Newspapers.

Director and producer Lee will be joined for a discussion at the convention's closing luncheon on Friday by three residents of New Orleans whom he encountered during production of his film, “When the Levees Broke.”

During convention week, ASNE members will elect six members to the board of directors, and the board will elect new officers.

ASNE, with about 750 members, is the largest organization of directing editors of daily newspapers in the Americas. More information is available at http://www.asne.org.

ABOUT PRESS COVERAGE OF THE ASNE CONVENTION

Press coverage of the convention is welcome, and procedures for registering as press are available online. Registration will also be available on-site beginning at noon on Tuesday in the Commerce Room, Mezzanine Level.

QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS DURING CONFERENCE SESSIONS AND LUNCHEONS ARE FOR ASNE MEMBERS ONLY. Questions from the media will not be permitted.

MEMBERS OF THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA SHOULD NOTE that lighting will be available for events at the Marriott. Mult boxes will be provided for the luncheons and general sessions and must be used.

PRESS RELEASE SCHEDULE

TUESDAY
Newsroom diversity survey results
President Dave Zeeck's speech

WEDNESDAY
Winners of ASNE's New Diversity Pacesetters Awards

FRIDAY
ASNE Board, Leadership election results

OTHERS
As events unfold

FOR THE CURRENT CONVENTION SCHEDULE (updated as events warrant), consult the ASNE Web site. Also on the Web site will be stories from The ASNE Reporter, the daily convention newspaper produced by a multicultural staff of college students.

ONSITE CONTACTS
Convention Press Office
Commerce Room, Mezzanine Level
Phone: 202-624-1705
Open beginning noon, March 27, while the convention is in session

ASNE press coordinator: Debra Gersh Hernandez.

Communications Director: Suzanne Martin