Participants at the 2011 Associated Press Sports Editors summer conference in Boston generally came away pleased with the variety of sessions, organization and venue, according to an anonymous survey completed by attendees.
More than 95 percent of respondents gave favorable reviews of the June 22-25 event, which offered 13 workshops or general sessions ranging from column writing and investigatory pieces to tablet strategy and social media.
“The panels continue to get more focused and useful, and that's a good thing,” one respondent said. “There was good information for the most part, and overall it was planned out well.”
Boston, which hosted its first national conference since 1990, received high marks for atmosphere, restaurants and the job done by host Joe Sullivan, sports editor of the Boston Globe.
“Boston had a good feel,” one attendee said. “I was glad to see the sessions varied from Salt Lake. You could clearly see lots of hard work went into the process.”
The most commonly cited issues with the host city were the high cost of attending and poor weather.
Common themes for improvement included better preparation from some workshops, less overlap in scheduling and improved structure for panel discussions. Many were looking for ways to make a stronger link between what’s learned in the sessions and applying that knowledge in the newsroom. Suggestions included mandated workshop cheat sheets and a “best ideas” slide show.
The general session titled “Leadership: It’s your job,” hosted by Poynter Institute’s Butch Ward and Jill Geisler, came away as the star of the 2011 conference, earning 4.81 points out of a possible 5 from its attendants. The session stressed enhanced leadership skills by helping others succeed, listening to people's needs and being aware of managerial strengths and weaknesses.
“The leadership session was worth the entire price of admission, and that was before I got a half-hour one-on-one with Butch Ward as a bonus,” said one respondent.
Another stated: “Not enough bosses take this serious, in my opinion. This session was full of tips and valuable advice on how to get the most out of yourself and your staff. This is a MUST for every sports editor in the business if they truly want to be receptive to what will make their department run better.”
“Enforcement 101,” hosted by vice president of enforcement for the NCAA Julie Roe Lach, also got plenty of praise for its up-close look at the collegiate compliance process. Lach said the workshop was designed to give attendees a better understanding about the enforcement process, specifically who the enforcement staff is and how the process works.
In light of recent high-profile compliance cases, attendees came away informed and better prepared to handle investigations in their sections.
“Excellent information that provided useful insight into NCAA processes,” one respondent said. “Very good speaker as well. This type of session helps us understand how entities operate, which informs how we approach those issues.”
Also receiving high marks were a pair of workshop 101 topics: “The Craft of Writing,” hosted by the Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy and the Hartford (Conn.) Courant’s Jeff Jacobs, and “High School Extra,” hosted by Hank Domin of the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union and Chris Beaven of the Canton (Ohio) Repository.
“The Craft of Writing” focused on how the three columnists went about their work and communicate with their editors.
“Excellent to hear from some of the best, including Ryan, whose passion is off the charts,” one attendee said.
“High School Extra” provided tips and tricks for covering prep sports in print and online.
“Plenty of ideas to bring back to my shop and improve the way we report on high school sports,” one respondent said. “Fantastic stuff.”
“Small Newspaper Caucus,” “Chasing Rumors” and “Building A Winning Tablet Strategy” all received better than a 4 out of 5 rating.
All newcomers polled came away impressed by the conference, specifically the workshops and networking opportunities.
“It was a great experience for me, being my first time to attend a conference,” one attendee said. “It's a great way to get ideas and to improve the way we do things.”
The 2012 summer conference will be held in Chicago, with 2013 slated for Detroit.
