Conferences

By Mike Cirelli At the beginning of Thursday morning’s “Ask the AP Stylebook Editors” session, Associated Press editor David Minthorn told the audience not to expect any bombshell changes this year. But that didn’t stop the audience from gasping at a few of the updates that were announced. The audience seemed especially surprised when Minthorn…

By Naif L. Bartlett University of Missouri A crowd so large it spilled into the Hilton’s hallway attended the proofreading session given Friday by John Braun, Sherri Hildebrandt and Sherrie Voss Matthews. Using examples of botched headlines and social media posts, some of which so funny that audience members couldn’t help but laugh, the trio…

By Kaitlyn Klein,University of Kansas Newspapers don’t have to die. They have to evolve. Stephen Komives, executive director of the Society for News Design, spoke at the American Copy Editor’s Society conference April 5. He discussed how newspapers can attract readers and maintain the personality of the news with alternative story forms (ASFs). Komives said alternative…

By Raymond Howze, University of Missouri Eric Althoff was about to get laid off for the third time in 18 months. Hurricane Sandy was making landfall at his New Jersey home, about to leave him without power for 16 days. And his roommate was about to ask him to move out. But that wasn’t the…

By Jonathan Sims Freelance Edito Sometimes editors need to lay down the large, bold marker and pick up the fine-point pen. Bill Walsh discussed this idea during his Friday morning ACES session, “Tiny Acts of Elegance: Editing Like a Writer,” which focused more on the acts of elegance than editing like a writer. Walsh, author…

By Naif L. Bartlett, University of Missouri If you wouldn’t say it to your grandma, don’t post it on social media. Robin Wood, an HR consulting manager for CBiz Human Capital Services, equated social media to a dirty joke — you must exercise caution when posting something publicly — during a breakout session Friday at…

By Rhiannon Root, ACES content intern Can a fifth-grader read and understand your writing? Is it a bad thing if one can? Samantha Enslen of Dragonfly Editorial said “no” during her Thursday morning presentation on readability, where ACES members packed the room and many stood just outside the room’s threshold. Readability is vital for getting…