AP revises crediting policy to include member links

Last year, the AP introduced a new policy for the crediting of member newspapers in our reporting, including member attribution in stories picked up from a single newspaper — no matter how small the story.

Starting next week, that practice moves one step further. In addition to offering a link to the contributing member’s home page at the end of a text story in the “Information From” tag, we will also provide a direct link to the actual story from which the pick-up originated in the text of the AP version.

This new policy applies when the entirety of the story is derived from a single member’s contribution. These stories move most often on state wires but occasionally are transmitted on national or global wires.

AP managing editor Mike Oreskes points out that nothing about this change alters our existing policy on attributing to other organizations information that we haven’t independently reported. Nor does it change our policy to give credit to members that broke a story first, even when we match it or advance it through our own reporting.

For members with pay walls, the link will generally direct a reader to a page in- forming them the story they seek is behind a pay wall and explaining how they can purchase access to that content.

Providing direct links to member stories has been under consideration by the AP and its members for some time, but technical issues prevented its implementation. Those technical matters have now been overcome.

June Photo of the Month

Deborah Cannon of the Austin American-Statesman is winner of the June Photo of the Month contest among Texas newspapers for this image that visually demonstrates the fatigue among lawmakers in the waning days of the Legislature’s special session.

Plushnick-Masti visits Cotulla to tell the story of a new oil boomtown

Houston’s Ramit Plushnick-Masti traveled to Cotulla in June to tell the story of its transformation from a South Texas backwater to the hub of a major oil boom.

For generations, Cotulla has been a town where even the paved roads had the aura of the dusty, saloon-lined paths from old Western movies. Cowboys, ranchers and shop owners tied their livelihood to the hunting season. Young people left to escape double-digit unemployment and poverty rates.

Now, Plushnick-Masti writes, the challenge is all the people pouring in.

Cotulla, about 90 miles south of San Antonio, and nearby towns are rushing to house hundreds of workers and approve plans for apartment complexes and industri- al parks to keep up with the development of the Eagle Ford shale formation, one of the most plentiful new oil fields in the country.

After years of preliminary work, the project is fully under way and sales tax revenues have soared.

AP expands Hometown Leads to include college football, NFL coverage

Hometown Leads, which offered a more local approach to the AP’s coverage of Major League Baseball, has been expanded to include major college football and the NFL.

On college games, Hometown Leads will move on Top 25 teams and those from the six major BCS conferences, including the Big 12. All NFL games will carry the Hometown Leads.

As in baseball, these leads will be filed in addition to the regular optional top that focuses on the winning team. They will move after the breaking and optional leads have appeared on the wire.

The new Hometown Leads will also pick up into the material in the breaking lead; stories will be approximately 12-15 inches in length. The football leads will carry a featurized top.

National APME Conference to recognize innovation

Denver plays host to this year’s national APME conference, Sept. 14- 16.

An action-packed program provides the support, training and ideas news- room leaders need. The conference will be held at the new Embassy Suites Denver-Downtown Convention Center,

Visit www.apme.com to learn more and to register.

A search for bodies that became a wild media goose chase

The story certainly sounded compelling: Authorities in Liberty County were investigating a tip that multiple bodies had been buried at a rural Texas farmhouse.

It was enough to send some news organizations over the edge — several of them reporting as fact the discovery of 20 to 30 bodies.
Trouble was, it turned out not to be true.

Yes, there was a tip to law enforcement officials that multiple bodies — up to 30 in a Reuters report — would be found at the house. The caller, who claimed to be a psychic, knew details about the inside of the house that made her seem credible. Traces of blood and a foul smell coming from inside were enough to trigger a search warrant.

But there were no bodies. Just some rotting meat in a broken freezer and a few embarrassed reporters.

Members relying on the AP’s coverage had no reason to worry. While the AP advised members that it was aware of the reports and had sent reporters and a photographer to the scene, we also made clear the source of the reports was unknown. The AP never reported that any bodies had been found.

The Houston Chronicle was just as cautious.

George Haj, senior editor for news at the Chronicle, said the Chronicle was immediately skeptical of the initial television report about the discovery of bodies.

“We pushed hard to answer a couple of questions – what exactly did police know vs. what they were told by a source/tipster, and where did the original tip come from,” Haj wrote.

The Chronicle was first to reach the owner of the house, a long-haul trucker who explained the blood and insisted he’d not been involved in any killings.

May Photo of the Month

Joe Gamma of the Amarillo Globe-News is winner of the May Texas Photo of the Month contest for this image from a Randall County wildfire. The Globe-News also won the state Photo of the Month contest in April.

2011 Stylebooks available with discount for members

The 2011 Associated Press Stylebook launched in May with about 500 new and updated listings since the 2010 edition. We update our spiral-bound Stylebook every year, adding new listings and updating existing ones. Of special interest this year is the addition of a food chapter, as well as an expanded social media section. Other style updates include email, cellphone, smartphone, earthquakes, CPR and bedbug.

AP members receive a discount on the Stylebook, paying $12.75 per book instead of our regular price of $19.95. We also offer a member discount on the Web-based Stylebook Online, which is updated throughout the year and which offers the ability to add your own entries and add notes to AP’s listings. Online-only features include an Ask the Editor function with archives of past answers, a pronunciation guide with phonetic spellings and audio pronouncer files and Capital IQ profiles of publicly traded companies.

Rates are based on the number of users, with pricing available either for individual named users or for concurrent users. Contact Dale Leach or Barry Bedlan for information on pricing or place your order at apstylebook.com.

Relief fund established for Joplin Globe staff members affected by tornado

The Missouri Press Association has established a disaster fund within the Missouri Press Foundation to assist Joplin Globe employees affected by last month’s tornado. All of the proceeds will go directly to affected employees.

The homes of at least 26 employees of The Globe were heavily damaged or destroyed by the tornado. A page designer at the newspaper, Bruce Baillie, 57, was killed.

Tax deductible donations to the relief fund may be made online at tinyurl.com/44szw5r. Checks can be sent to the Missouri Press Foundation, 802 Locust Street, Columbia, MO 65201.

AP Exchange/Summer School: Training focuses on business

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, June 15, from 4:30-5:30 p.m., when The Associated Press will offer specialized training on business content through “AP Exchange: Summer School.”

AP’s global business report is available to Member Choice Complete subscribers. This training class will demonstrate how to create a custom feed of content for your newspaper. We’ll also show you how to take advantage of premium financial content available to you only through AP Exchange.

Please join us for the 60-minute WebEx training session by using the call-in and Web information provided here. Join us for as much time as your schedule allows.

• Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2011
• Time: 3:30 pm, CDT
• Meeting Number: 767 828 471
• Meeting Password: biz
• To join the online meeting: click here
• Call-in number: 1-866-699-3239
• Access code:767 828 471

Texas leads the way in contributions

Texas AP members lead the country in contributions over the past 12 months, with more than 3,000 contributions to the AP report during that time.

The number of contributions also represents a year-over-year increase in member photos of 10 percent.

If you have a dramatic image or coverage from a spot news event in your area, please do your part to ensure that other Texas newspapers get to see it. Do your part to keep Texas ahead of the pack!

April Photo of the Month

Roberto Rodriguez of the Amarillo Globe-News is winner of the April Texas Photo of the Month contest for this image from the funeral of a firefighter killed while battling a wildfire.

Don’t be left out of Member Marketplace

Is your newspaper part of the Member Marketplace in Texas?

Marketplace is the link in AP Exchange that opens up a treasure trove of regional content for your newspaper — both text and photos. And being a part of it costs you nothing.

Member Marketplace in Texas is now more than three dozen newspapers strong. Those newspapers share dozens of stories daily as part of their Marketplace participation. It’s a great way to share content on high school sports and re- gional issues that may not rise to statewide significance.

At last count, there were nearly 12,000 text items and more than 220 photos in the Texas Marketplace database . But you get to see them only if you’re a Marketplace participant.

Joining the Marketplace is easy. You sign a simple agreement in which you commit to quickly correct any content errors and to credit fellow AP members when you use their Marketplace material. Then, like the other Marketplace participants in the state, you simply authorize your content to move into Marketplace automatically; no one has to remember to “send” stories on a regular basis.

Marketplace material is searchable in the same way AP content is in AP Exchange. Contact Dale Leach or Barry Bedlan in the Dallas bureau to learn more.

Lifestyles May coverage: Outdoor/Summer

AP Lifestyles coverage this month focuses on out- door recreation and sum- mertime activities. Here’s a sampling:

• Recreation: An early exclusive on Dr. Beach’s Top 10 US beaches; how to throw a great summer dinner party; firepits.
• Food: Summer salads; the popularity of popup restaurants; the state of the magazine food world; a package dedicated to ice cream.
• Parenting: How to get along with a college kid home for the summer; what not to say to a new college grad (such as, “What do you mean you don’t have a job?)
• Travel: What’s new in theme parks, including a story about a unique theme park in Texas designed for guests with disabilities; and a look at lightweight camping.

AP Money & Markets expands online offerings

AP’s Money & Markets online service has en- hanced its market index graph that charts each market index. The chart can be dynamically changed to display variable time frames or to compare indexes.

The enhanced charting functionality provides users with a better tool to review and analyze mar- ket data. To activate the charting capabilities, the user clicks on any one of the indexes in the market index module.

This enhanced module is available to all Money & Markets members. The enhanced index graphic is just one of many new Money & Markets modules. To see all of the available modules, visit markets.ap.org.