APSE’s annual summer conference is almost here, and the theme is “Sports journalism at a crossroads.”
Here is the conference guide, and below that is the complete schedule:
APSE-2024-Conference-GuideAPSE Charlotte schedule
Sports Journalism at a Crossroads
NOTABLE LOCATIONS
Hotel: Charlotte Marriott SouthPark
Office: Forum
General sessions: Morrison
Workshops: Symphony and Caucus
Meals: Morrison
Wednesday (June 19)
MLS game for early arrivals
Charlotte FC vs. Orlando City, 7:30 p.m.
Transportation will not be provided.
Note: This event is sold out.
Thursday (June 20)
11 a.m.-5 p.m.
REGISTRATION
1 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE/GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Location: Morrison
Presiding: Naila-Jean Meyers, APSE president
2:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
GENERAL SESSION
Town Hall: The chaos of college sports
Location: Morrison
With this conference in a prominent hub for college athletics, and so much of our work in sports journalism these days spent untangling the rapidly changing landscape of college sports, we will begin our gathering discussing the challenges of covering the chaos.
Moderator
Ben Portnoy covers college sports for Sports Business Journal and previously had stints on the South Carolina and Mississippi State beats.
Panelists
Andrew Carter spent a decade covering major college athletics, including the University of North Carolina and the ACC, for The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer.
Skip Foreman is the regional sports editor for Lee Enterprises covering Winston-Salem and Greensboro, N.C. He spent many years as a reporter for The Associated Press in North Carolina and was a correspondent for HBCU Gameday.
Perryn Keys is the executive sports editor at The Times-Picayune/The Advocate and incoming APSE second vice president.
Shelby Swanson is a rising senior at the University of North Carolina and former sports editor at The Daily Tar Heel. She is a member of the 2024 SJI class and a sports reporting intern at The News & Observer in Raleigh.
4 p.m.-5 p.m.
GENERAL SESSION
Q&A with ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips
Location: Morrison
Jim Phillips has been Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference since February 2021. He is a member of the NCAA Division I Transformation Committee and will become president of the Collegiate Commissioners Association for the 2024-25 academic year. Phillips previously served as athletic director at Northwestern and Northern Illinois.
Moderator
Ben Portnoy covers college sports for Sports Business Journal and previously had stints on the South Carolina and Mississippi State beats.
5:15 p.m.-6 p.m.
A Conversation with AP
Location: Morrison
Learn more about the news cooperative’s efforts to make it easier to “localize” major sporting events for your market as well as its expanding coverage of sports betting, women’s sports and the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris. Come chat with Ricardo Zuniga, AP’s global sports editor; Oscar Dixon, deputy global sports editor; and Barry Bedlan, sports products director.
6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
WELCOME RECEPTION
Location: Terrace A & B
Q and A with Professional Bull Riders
Sponsor: Professional Bull Riders
Friday (June 21)
ALL DAY
Silent Auction
Location: Morrison
The APSE Foundation presents its first silent auction to benefit our Diversity in Leadership Fellowship. Come bid on memorabilia and some very special merchandise. Special thanks to the Chicago Bulls, NHL, MLB, NWSL, NBA and some very generous APSE members who have donated items.
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
REGISTRATION
8 a.m.-10 a.m.
COFFEE AND PASTRY STATION
From 8 a.m.-8:45 a.m., join a coffee Q&A with Sherika A. Montgomery, the commissioner of the Big South Conference.
A former women’s basketball player at Gardner-Webb and Big South staff member from 2010-17, she has been commissioner since May 2023. Before that she served as deputy commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference and Assistant Director of Enforcement at the NCAA among other roles in athletics administration over a dozen years.
GENERAL SESSION
9 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Location: Morrison
Why diversity is important as ever
The APSE Foundation presents a discussion on DEI in this contentious environment and how media outlets can navigate it all when it comes to staffing and coverage.
Moderator
Roxanna Scott is Executive Editor and Vice President at USA TODAY Sports and a member of the board of the APSE Foundation.
Panelists
Rana Cash has been the executive editor of The Charlotte Observer since October 2021 after serving the same role at the Savannah Morning News. She previously worked in sports at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, The Sporting News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Dallas Morning News and the Miami Herald.
Callie Lawson-Freeman covers the Las Vegas Aces and UNLV for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A 2024 APSE Diversity Fellow, Callie was a breaking and trending news writer at Yahoo! Sports and a track and field athlete at San Francisco State University.
Natalie Pierre is the sports director at The Courier-Journal. She was previously the sports editor at The News & Observer in Raleigh and made stops at AL.com/The Birmingham News, the Tallahassee Democrat and The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill.
Sherika A. Montgomery is the commissioner of the Big South Conference. A former women’s basketball player at Gardner-Webb, she has also worked for the Missouri Valley Conference and the NCAA, including serving on the Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and Equity.
Sponsor: APSE Foundation
WORKSHOP 1
10:45 a.m.-Noon
Location: Caucus
It’s A Live (Event)!
You know it’s coming. You see it on the calendar. But how soon do you start planning to cover that big live event? What new and fresh angles can you take on an event that’s held annually? And what if an event pops up on short notice, and you have to pivot your staff and resources? We discuss some of the tricks and tips that you need to know to make the most out of your live event coverage.
Moderator
Ed Reed is Deputy Florida Sports Editor for the USA Today Sports Network and outgoing APSE third vice president.
Panelists
John Bednarowski is the sports editor of the Marietta Daily Journal and an APSE past president (2018-19). He won D Event Coverage in the 2023 APSE contest for his reporting from the Masters.
Tim Graham is a senior writer for The Athletic, covering Buffalo sports. He was part of the team that won A Event Coverage for its coverage of Damar Hamlin’s medical emergency during the Bills-Bengals NFL game.
Tony Maluso is the community sports editor at Baltimore Sun Media Group, overseeing two small daily papers and several weeklies, and incoming APSE third vice president
Scott Thurston is the deputy sports editor at the Boston Globe, where he coordinates event coverage and edits project and enterprise reporting.
WORKSHOP 2
10:45 a.m.-Noon
Location: Symphony
Get to know me: Winning over readers through newsletters
Newsletters are a reliable driver of new audiences and subscription conversions. They have many forms and many purposes. They are a venue for voice and expertise. What makes a great newsletter? What adjustments does a writer have to make to really make a newsletter sing? What is the best way to curate content for a newsletter?
Moderator
Damon Sayles is the Culture editor for The Athletic, responsible for bridging sports into a variety of topics, including pop culture, music, food and nostalgia. He was a member of the 2023 class of the APSE Diversity Fellowship.
Panelists
Tory Barron is a senior editor at ESPN.com. She spent two years authoring and editing the ESPN Daily newsletter.
James Jackson is an APSE Diversity Fellow and an NBA editor for The Athletic, where he produces The Bounce newsletter, which comes out daily during the season.
Austin Karp is the managing editor for Sports Business Journal’s newsletters, including verticals on media, colleges, marketing, esports, tech, football and sports betting. He is also the publication’s lead writer on TV audience metrics and hosts the weekly SBJ Sports Media Podcast.
Gary Potosky, an APSE Past President (2021-22), is the Assistant Managing Editor for Sports at The Philadelphia Inquirer, which has been all-in on newsletters for five years.
RED SMITH AWARD LUNCHEON
12:15 p.m.-1:45 p.m.
Location: Morrison
Presenting: John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times
Honoree: Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times
Sponsor: Los Angeles Times
WORKSHOP 3
2 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Location: Symphony
How to attract new audiences and subscribers
Sports editors hear the word “audience” so much these days that it might be starting to lose its meaning. So let’s share our audience development success stories. What are the best resources for learning about your audience? How have you changed your approach based on audience data?
Moderator
Naila-Jean Meyers is APSE president and the senior assistant sports editor at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, responsible for digital and audience strategy.
Panelists
Micah Adams is a Managing Editor and Head of Affiliate and Commercial Content at The Sporting News. Before joining SN in 2021, Adams spent over a decade producing and leading content teams at ESPN, DAZN and The Social Institute.
Steve Wiseman has covered Duke athletics since 2010 for the Durham Herald-Sun and Raleigh News & Observer and is the N&O’s assistant sports editor. In the APSE national contest, he’s placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019 and explanatory writing in 2018.
Jennifer Zahn is the senior director of content for FloSports. She oversees the editorial management team that produces web, app and social-media content to deliver live and on-demand coverage for underserved sports communities.
WORKSHOP 4
2 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Location: Caucus
Managing and Being Managed Remotely
Ongoing industry and technological changes have made it much more common to work separately from your staff – whether in remote situations, hybrid work environments or distant newsrooms. It’s never been easier to communicate virtually, but it’s a much different challenge than working together as a staff in the same office. How can we ensure that we’re managing and supporting our team when we rarely – if ever – work elbow-to-elbow? Which brainstorming methods actually work when there’s no option for an in-person whiteboard session? How can reporters feel connected to their editor and their colleagues? Whether it is project planning and execution, breaking news, event coverage or team building and support, we’ll discuss what we’ve found that works, what doesn’t and where we see this all going.
Moderator
Jim Pignatiello is MassLive.com’s Deputy Editor in charge of Sports and Audience Development. He has worked as the sports lead at the Advance Local media group since 2013. Jim is currently the APSE’s Northeast Region vice chair. He has served as an APSE mentor for the past two years.
Panelists
Josh Barnett is the Managing Director for Editorial at Sports Business Journal in Charlotte and is in charge of editorial operations and content across platforms. He joined SBJ in February after nearly seven years as Executive Sports Editor at The Buffalo News, which had 33 APSE Top 10 placements in his tenure, including first-place honors for projects in 2021 and event coverage in 2023.
Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, where he has been since August. He also spent several months covering South Carolina women’s basketball for the Greenville News. Evan won the 2023 APSE student sports journalism contest.
Lauren Jennings is a Sports Content Coach for the Center for Community Journalism, a local division within Gannett established to support small to mid-sized newsrooms. She oversees reporters located in California, New Mexico, Colorado and Montana. She has experience reporting on sports, education, news, crime, business, water and more.
GENERAL SESSION
3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.
Location: Morrison
Working with the robots: Understanding AI in Sports Journalism
Learn more about how newsrooms are using both GenAI and NLP technology to help with their work and generate more content, including game previews and recaps, and what the pros and cons have been around those efforts so far.
Moderator
Barry Bedlan is the Associated Press’ global director of text, data and new markets products.
Panelists
Erik Hall is the managing editor of The Alton Telegraph in Illinois. He previously worked as the digital sports editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the lead digital/social-media producer for sports at the USA Today Network.
Vicki Michaelis is the director of the John Huland Carmical Sports Media Institute at the University of Georgia. A past president of the Association for Women in Sports Media, Michaelis spent more than 20 years as a sports journalist, the last 12 as the lead Olympics reporter for USA Today.
Sara Trohanis is the vice president of Americas revenue and strategic partnerships for The Associated Press.
Brad Weitz is the CEO of Data Skrive, which assembles and distributes sports and gambling content using AI and machine learning.
NASCAR RECEPTION
6 p.m.-9 p.m.
Location: NASCAR Hall of Fame
Sponsor: NASCAR
Transportation will be provided
Saturday (June 22)
ALL DAY
Silent Auction
Location: Morrison
The APSE Foundation presents its first silent auction to benefit our Diversity in Leadership Fellowship. Come bid on memorabilia and some very special merchandise. Special thanks to the Chicago Bulls, NHL, MLB, NWSL, NBA and some very generous APSE members who have donated items.
8 a.m.-1 p.m.
REGISTRATION
8 a.m.-10 a.m.
COFFEE AND PASTRY STATION
From 8 a.m.-8:45 a.m., join an “Editor Therapy” coffee talk on soccer coverage. Stumped at how to draw readers to your pro soccer content? Let’s share some ideas.
GENERAL SESSION
9 a.m.-11 a.m.
Location: Morrison
Career Development: Navigating rough seas
Sponsor: The Athletic
Things are moving quickly in the sports media business. Are you prepared to pivot to your next job? Have you been asked to switch to a new role in your newsroom? Or just reassigned? We’ll spend the morning discussing topics such as work environments, networking, internships, interviews, managing up and investing in yourself.
Moderator:
Lisa Wilson is the editorial director for Culture, Opinion and Talent Development at The Athletic. A past president of APSE (2020-2021), Wilson is the chair of the career advancement committee and the executive director of the APSE Foundation.
GENERAL SESSION
1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Location: Morrison
How we did it: Examining our best work of 2023
We’ll honor our contest winners Saturday night at our annual banquet, but on Saturday afternoon we’ll gather as many winners as we can to discuss their impactful stories, columns and projects and what made them stand out. Expected to participate are John Canzano of JohnCanzano.com; Tyler Dunne of Go Long TD; Chapel Fowler, Clemson University beat reporter for The State (Columbia, S.C.); Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Eagles beat reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer; Natalie Pierre, Sports Editor, The Courier Journal (Louisville); and Iliana Limón Romero, Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times
Moderator
Dan Spears, the Deputy Sports Strategist for Gannett’s Center for Community Journalism, was the APSE contest chair this year. The incoming APSE president has been in sports journalism for 29 years, including stops in Wilmington, N.C., Augusta, Ga.; Hagerstown, Md.; and Anderson, S.C.
CLOSING EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
3 p.m.
Location: Symphony
Presiding: Dan Spears, incoming APSE president
AWARDS RECEPTION
6 p.m.
Location: Morrison Foyer
Sponsor: The Associated Press
AWARDS BANQUET
7 p.m.
DINNER
Location: Morrison
Sponsor: The Sporting News
CLOSING RECEPTION
9:30 p.m.-11 p.m.
Location: Morrison Foyer
Sponsor: The Associated Press
