Blog

ASNE Convention receives high marks

Ninety-one percent of those who attended the 2012 convention said it met or exceeded their expectations, according to the post-convention evaluation released today. The panel discussion on Watergate that brought Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein together on the 40th anniversary of the break-in received especially high marks.

Ninety-one percent of those who attended the 2012 ASNE convention said it met or exceeded their expectations, according to the post-convention evaluation that was released today. (Download the survey here.) The convention was held April 2-4 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The reunion of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein on the 40th anniversary of Watergate received especially high marks, with more than 82 percent of survey respondents giving the "Watergate 4.0" panel discussion their highest-possible rating. That exceeds the best-rated session from the two previous ASNE conventions -- Daniel Pink's presentation in San Diego in 2011 — by a full 15 percentage points. (Download the 2010 convention survey here , and of the 2011 convention survey here.)

"The Watergate session was worth the price of admission," said one respondent. "Huzzahs all around."

The war correspondents panel featuring The New York Times' C.J. Chivers and Tyler Hicks, and the Associated Press' Rodrigo Abd; and the presentation on smartphones as reporting tools by the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute's Val Hoeppner, also generated extremely positive reviews. "Lives on the Line: Dispatches from Our War Correspondents" was rated "very good" by over 70 percent of respondents, while "Mobile: What Editors Need to Know" received that highest-possible rating from 60 percent of those who completed the survey.

The Newseum program and reception was the highest-rated event at this year's convention, with over 71 percent of respondents rating it "very good," easily beating the lunch presentations featuring President Barack Obama and GOP presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

This year's convention was held concurrently with the Newspaper Association of America's annual mediaXchange. Although ASNE and NAA came together for the two lunches and the Newseum event, and for a reception held on the mediaXchange exhibit floor, separate registrations were required for each convention. Several survey comments clearly indicate that the arrangement caused some confusion.

"The ASNE portion of the convention was wonderful," said one of the survey respondents. "The joint 'programming' with NAA was a mystery. Had to argue my way onto the exhibition floor to meet with a vendor."

Most of the PowerPoint presentations from the convention are now available to be downloaded at this page on the ASNE website.

Archive

Contributors