Deadline to apply is May 1.

ASBPE is now accepting applications for its Young Leaders Scholarship (YLS), which helps editors who are 30 years old and younger attend the ASBPE National Editorial Conference, Aug. 2–3 in New York City, including the ASBPE National Awards Banquet on Aug. 2. The scholarships pay the conference and hotel-room costs for up to five applicants each year. Winners also receive a free one-year membership to ASBPE if they're not members already.

Last year, local editor Sarah Lourie was one of the winners. Another 2006 scholarship winner, Shabnam Mogharabi, won the ASBPE Barr Award -- a “best in class” prize that goes to the individual writer and comes with a $500 cash award -- the first time a current YLS winner won that honor.

The scholarship is a great program, and I encourage young editors to apply. Editorial managers may want to encourage young editors on their staffs to apply as well. (The application requires a brief letter of support from the applicant's chief editor.) This year's conference is nearby, in New York City, so transportation costs to and from the conference --which are paid by the winners or their publishing companies -- will be minimal, so it's an especially good year for New England editors to apply.

Young Leaders Scholarship details.

Labels: ASBPE Conferences, ASBPE Educational Programs, Career Development, Young Leaders Scholarship

For ASBPE's second webinar, editor and teacher Steve Ross will explain how to interpret a balance sheet and other crucial company reports. He'll be showing attendees

• How to find out crucial corporate information when on deadline, and methods to use when you have more time to dedicate to story development.
• How to obtain and understand corporate statements, reports and balance sheets.
• How to convey the significance of the numbers to your audience as you report on financial issues.

If you register and pay by February 22, you get a discount. The discounted price is $25 for ASBPE members and journalism students with a photocopy of current ID; $30 for nonmembers. If you register after February 22, the cost is $30 for ASBPE members and journalism students and $35 for nonmembers.

“Investigating a Company” webinar details.

In ASBPE's first webinar, Ross taught attendees ways to use Excel to do financial analysis when reporting on a company. A recap of that session is here. A DVD of the session can be purchased by contacting ASBPE at info@asbpe.org or (630) 510-4588.

Labels: ASBPE Educational Programs, Career Development, Reporting, Webinars

Deadline is May 1.

Nominations are now open for this year's ASBPE Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes a single individual who has made significant contributions to both the editorial profession and the industries their publications serve. The criteria were broadened in 2006 so that nominees need not have direct editorial experience, but nevertheless must have solidly contributed to editorial excellence.

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to the winner in New York City at the national Azbee Awards banquet on Aug. 2, during our National Editorial Conference.

Get a Lifetime Achievement Award nomination form, learn the full criteria for the award, and see who the past winners were.

Labels: Azbee Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award

This year, ASBPE's National Editorial Conference is a hop, skip, and jump away (or an easy drive, train ride, or flight, if you prefer) in New York City. The dates are Thursday and Friday, Aug. 2-3, so you can easily make a long weekend out of it.

Day One of the conference will focus on the shift to online. Day Two will concentrate mainly on achieving editorial excellence and enhancing your career. There will also be some optional networking events.

Highlights of the conference:

• A special Day-One session on Web ethics will include topical scenarios — much like our successful ethics program at last year’s conference — and will include a “tips & tactics” discussion, with open Q&A time.
  
  
• On Day Two, one highlight will be an Azbee Excellence Clinic, an interactive, roundtable session that will examine publications. The discussion will be divided into categories, with an expert assigned to each.

And, as always, the national Azbee awards will be presented on the first night of the conference.

Read about all the conference sessions scheduled so far.

Labels: ASBPE Conferences, ASBPE Educational Programs, Azbee Awards, Career Development, Editing, Ethics, Technology, The Business of Publishing, Web

MediaBistro has some good classes coming up, including:

• a seminar in Cambridge, Mass., on Feb. 27 called "Writing and Editing for the Web Basics." At $65 ($50 for members of MediaBistro's AvantGuild), it's reasonably priced. The class focuses on getting people to read what you write and generating revenue from it. It also covers basic web site usability issues.
  
  
• If you can't make that class, you can try a similarly themed four-week online course that starts March 7, "Writing and Editing for the Web."
  


• There are also online classes coming up on copy editing and a class in Cambridge on starting a freelance career, as well as various online and local classes on arts and entertainment writing, humor writing, copy writing, and more.

Here's a full list of Media Bistro's upcoming online and local courses.

For some networking, you might also want to attend MediaBistro's All Media Party in Boston on Feb. 28.

Some of you who subscribe to this blog might have noticed a post dated August about getting your magazine written about ih The New York Times' "What's Online" and "What's Offline" columns which has since disappeared.

That was a draft of a post that was erroneously published. The information in it was incorrect, and it was taken down the next day when Dan Mitchell, writer of the "What's Online" column, called it to my attention.

Here's the real scoop on the Times columns:

Dan accepts pitches from all comers with business-oriented online material, although he very rarely uses material that comes via PR pitches. If you want to send a pitch, please send it to whatsonline@nytimes.com, the address that appears at the bottom of the column every week.

Specific contact information for Paul B. Brown, who writes the Times' "What's Offline" column is not available.

I apologize for the error.

Labels: Corrections, Marketing and Promotion

Following on ASBPE-DC chapter president Steve Roll's productivity tips for editors, Spring Suptic of the Kansas City chapter has posted her own tips on time-saving web tools. Take a look.

Labels: Blogs, Technology, Tips, Web