| Changingwith the times ACES continuesto draw new members,
add programs as it enters its 10th year | 
| Threeof the five scholarship winners joined scholarship committee coordinatorKathy Schenck (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), middle, at the opening session.To the left of Schenck is Caroline Hauser (University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill), and to the right of Schenck areKathyrn Schwing (North Carolina-Chapel Hill) and Aubespinscholar Diego Sorbara (University of Missouri).Unable to attend were Erika Nunez (University of Texas at Arlington) and Amy Zerba (Universityof Texas at Austin). | |
By MatthewCrowley
A ballroom of filled chairs and energeticspirits opened the American Copy Editor's Society’s 10th annualconference in Cleveland on Thursday, a healthy crowd for a healthyorganization.
In his State of the Society address during Thursday's openingplenary session, President Chris Wienandt welcomed back the familiar(returning conferencegoers) and welcomed in the new (first-timeattendees). He said the society is strong and striving.
Part of the society's strength comes from membership, he said.ACES now has 863 members; as of Thursday morning, 416 peoplehad signed up for the conference at the Cleveland Renaissance.
Vice President/Conferences Deirdre Edgar said it was gratifyingto see the conference go from theoretical planning to walking,talking reality.
"When the people start arriving we say, 'Oh my gosh, this isreally going to happen,'" she said.
As it happened, Wienandt was one of eight people at the plenarysession who’d been to all 10 society conferences; for this heand the others received special commemorative posters suitablefor framing.
Wienandt said the society could draw from tradition. Throughgatherings such as the annual conference and through the workof regional chapters, he said, ACES has continued to providetop-quality training.
Nevertheless, novelty is helping drive the society forward,Wienandt said. In a way Wienandt himself was new; it was hisfirst conference as president. Wienandt's cowboy boots were inwhere John McIntyre, and his ubiquitous bowtie had long stood. McIntyre retiredas ACES president shortly after last year's annual conference in Los Angeles.
It seemed many attendees were new, too. Half of the audiencemembers raised their hands when Wienandt called for a show ofnewcomers.
New programs and innovations will propel the society, Wienandtsaid. The ACES Education Fund now has become reality, he said.The society now has a tax-exempt arm dedicated to educating studentsand journalists. And, the society is working to build an endowment tomake the fund self-sustaining.
ACES is also considering hiring an executive director. Wienandtsaid the move would make the society more effective.
Also, he said, ACES will help sponsor an upcoming at the AmericanPress Institute workshop for news editors and copy desk chiefs.
ACES is changing on the ground and online, Wienandt said. Thesociety's Web site, www.copydesk.org, is upgrading, adding anew discussion board that Wienandt hopes will continue to a bea place to debate workaday copy editing topics.
Also, for the first time, the conference is featuring a dailyconference Web log, featuring society news and observations fromsome of the 58 sessions.
ACES is changing as journalism is changing, Wienandt said.
"Belts are tightening at newspapers, magazines, book publisherseven some Web sites," he said. "Staffs are shrinking at largepapers and small. Were being asked to do more with less."
On Wall Street, where analysts follow the fates of newspapercompanies, the concern is about profits, Wienandt said. In newsrooms,however, copy desks are concerned with quality.
"In this battle of dollars versus quality, it’s easy to despair,to say that of course, money will win; it always does," Wienandtsaid. "But stop. I have hope that, even if quality doesn't vanquishgreed, it will hold its own against it. Maybe this is an irrationalhope, but I hold on to it anyway."
ACES, and copy editing will stay strong, Wienandt said. Peoplestill thirst for information, he said, and stories with thatinformation will always need editing.
As more information moves to the World Wide Web, people managinginformation sites are realizing they need copy editors, and arehiring them.
"You are the backbones of your newspaper, your magazine, yourWeb site," Wienandt said. "You are the future of copy editing.Take what you learn here and make your publication better. Takethe enthusiasm you feel here and spread it around your workplace."
Wienandt invited conference-goers to leave themselves open tosurprises; they might meet someone, or learn something, new.
And Peter Zicari of Cleveland Plain Dealer, who helped leadthe Cleveland organizing committee, said he hopes society memberswill leave the conference pleasantly surprised by their experienceand his city.
"People always say they're surprised about Cleveland, that theyfound it was cleaner or more entertaining than they thought itwould be," he said. "I hope you’re surprised too, and that allof your surprises are good ones."
Matthew Crowley is a business copy editor for the Las VegasReview-Journal. He can be reached at matthew_crowley@copydesk.org. | | 
| DeirdreEdgar, ACES vice president/conferences, gives a brief orientation. | | | 
| PeterZicari of The Plain Dealer welcomes conference-goers to Cleveland. | | | | 
ACES President Chris Wienandtdelivers his State of ACES speech. | STATEOF ACES
The text of ACES President Chris Wienandt's address to the openingplenary session of the 10th ACES conference, Thursday, April20, 2006, in Cleveland:
This is the spot where it’s traditionalfor the president to deliver an address — one that we alwayshope will be short — about the state of ACES. Here’s what I cantell you:
ACES is healthy. We have 863 members; we have 416 people attendingthis conference. We have dozens of speakers who have donatedtheir time and their talent to lead sessions for this conference.
In the past year, here’s what ACES has done:
Through its chapters, it has continued to provide training ata regional level that is every bit as good as any journalismworkshop in the country.
The ACES Education Fund has become reality. We now have a tax-exemptarm that is fully dedicated to educating students and journalists,and we are working to build an endowment to make the EducationFund self-sustaining.
We are exploring the hiring of an executive director, a movethat will make ACES a more effective organization.
We are in the process of upgrading our Web site, both in termsof structure and content. The first step of that process willbe operating in the next few days — an improved discussion boardthat we hope will stimulate an even livelier exchange of ideas on thepractices and peculiarities of copy editing.
We have agreed to be a sponsor of an upcoming workshop at theAmerican Press Institute, for news editors and copy desk chiefs,about which you can find information in the Conference Centralarea. And API has donated one free tuition to the workshop to oursilent auction, worth a cool $1,875 — excluding hotel and airfare, tax, title and license, void where prohibited, your mileage may vary. Andwe’re discussing cooperative arrangements with other organizations,to widen the reach of ACES’ training.
That’s the state of ACES. But what about the future?
After all, the newsroom is changing.
Belts are tightening at newspapers, magazines, book publishers— even some Web sites. Staffs are shrinking at large papers andsmall. We’re being asked to do more with less.
The concern on Wall Street is about profits. The concern innewsrooms is about quality.
Some of you my age or older may see all this as part of a declinethat’s can be traced to when drinking and smoking were bannedfrom the newsroom.
But I digress.
In this battle of dollars vs. quality, it’s easy to despair,to say that of course, money will win; it always does. But stop.I have hope that, even if quality doesn’t vanquish greed, itwill hold its own against it. Maybe this is an irrational hope, butI hold on to it anyway.
Why do people read newspapers and magazines and go to Web sites,anyway? I hear the cynics out there saying “for the ads.” Andyes, they do, but not just for the ads. If that were the case,news stories would have disappeared long ago. (And I can’t imagineanyone who’s gone to a Web site just to look at the ads.)
No, people want information. Wherever they get it from, theywant information. And they want to be sure they can count onthe information they’re getting. Otherwise, what good is it?
The newsroom is changing, yes. Newspapers and magazines aregrappling with how to come to terms with the Internet. Some aredoing a good job; some are still floundering.
I’ll leave the business models to the business people, but innewspapers, at magazines, and at Web sites, it’s still excitingto be in the news business. Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that,and you’ll be hearing more about that tomorrow night.
So where do we fit in as copy editors? Let’s focus on one word:Credibility.
Credibility is the lifeblood of any source of information. Andone of our main functions as copy editors is to guarantee ourorganization’s credibility. Of course, credibility is everyone’sbusiness in a newsroom, but we are the proverbial last line of defense.
One thing that gives me faith is seeing you all here. I seethe dedication and enthusiasm of everyone who’s here. I see ahunger for knowledge, a thirst to do your job better. After hours,I see a different kind of thirst, but again, I digress.
I see the dedication of the organizations that send people hereto learn. I see the dedication of all the organizations thathelp underwrite this conference. I see the enthusiasm of thepeople who enter our contests.
Newspapers and magazines can’t do without copy editors, andmost of them are smart enough to know it. Those that try willdo so at their peril. And Web sites? Well, a lot of them don’thave copy editors yet, but I’ve talked with a few that are starting torealize they need them.
You are the backbones of your newspaper, your magazine, yourWeb site. You are the future of copy editing. Take what you learnhere and make your publication better. Take the enthusiasm youfeel here and spread it around your workplace.
Newsrooms are changing, yes. The importance of copy editingis not. | |
