Workshops
Afraid of Math? Take a Number
Rim Editors Forum
Alternative Press
Forest Through the Trees
Quality Control on a Small Desk
Between the Lines
Improv Editing
Editing Voices of Color
Code Blue
Welcometo Long Beach!
More than 400 copy editors and other journalists went to Long Beach for the 2001 ACES conference to tackle editing challenges, share experiences and meet journalists from as far away as Australia.
An updated photo galleryfrom the conference and the Saturday night social at the Blue Cafe is now available.
More than 60 workshops took place over the three days. They focused on a variety of issues and skills,including management; editing; headlines; online, rim and slot challenges; cutlines; training; language; bringing up the next generation of copy editors; pagination; math; and more.
Some new names were added to this year's lineup: Bob Baker of the Los Angeles Times, Charles Blow of The New York Times, John Carroll of the Los Angeles Times, Richard De Atley of The Press-Enterprise, Bruce DeSilva of The Associated Press, ChristieD'Zurilla of The Orange County Register, Roger Fidler of Kent State University,Bert Keely of Microsoft, Bruce Koon of KnightRidder.com, Bill Kovach of theCommittee of Concerned Journalists, Liz McGehee of The Sun of Baltimore,Bob Mong of The Dallas Morning News, Jack Mulkey of the Daily Breeze, MaryBeth Murrill of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Terry Nagel of Forbes ASAP,James Naughton of The Poynter Institute, Larry Pryor of USC's Annenberg Schoolof Communication, Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism,Teresa Schmedding of the Daily Herald, Dave Snelling of the San Diego Union-Tribune,Maurreen Skowran of The News & Observer, Michael Speier of Variety, BeverlyWeintraub of the New York Daily News and Elaine Pan Zinngrabe of latimes.com.
Two session leaders joined us from Australia: Kat Costigan of The Chronicle and Ken James Haley of the Asahi Evening News.
Malcolm Gibson of the University of Kansas, the keynote speaker at Friday night's banquet, encouraged copy editors to raise their voices. “We're not lazy – as a profession and, in many cases, as individuals – but we are ‘relaxed.’ Too relaxed. Copyeditors can and should change that by taking charge and expanding their influence.”Be prepared to get into the action.
Wednesday, the day before the conference began, a group from ACES attended a taping of “The TonightShow with Jay Leno.” The group wanted Leno to meet the people who write someof those headlines he often makes fun of, but alas, the copy editors wererelegated to the rafter seats.
ACES clothing and other items were sold during the conference. They also will be available for sale on the Web; see the main ACES sitefor details.
The conference wrapped up with some special presentations to outgoing board members and officers, including a framed proclamation for Bill Connolly; a gift certificate to a spa for vice president/conferences Lynn Louie; and a tiara and sash for president and ACES co-founder Pam Robinson.
More than 400 participants took part in ACES' fifth national conference.
A group from ACES took on Jay Leno on Wednesday, the day before the conference.
Highlights
Variety is the spice of life-- and this year's silent auction. Featured items included cosmetics and airline tickets, plus T-shirts, hats and more.
'Raising Hell'
Banquet speaker Malcolm Gibson took on 'comfortable' copy editors and 'raised hell'in his address at Friday night's banquet.
Heads Up!
The results of ACES' first headline contest are in. We have the winners and their honored entries, including judges' remarks.
Profile
Bill Kovach, director of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, says copy editors are the key to newspapers' credibility.
Workshop Coverage
Watch this site for coverageof a sampling of conference workshops. The session names in the menu at the left of this page will become active when stories are linked.