AASFE afternoon idea swap

The session on ideas for various yearly events were presented in a PowerPoint presentation. The section fronts will be on on the AFJ and the AASFE websites, which are linked to here. There was also a discussion of industry changes affecting features and food sections. Some editors are seeing their writers turning up in other areas in the paper, others see section front ads, others are wrapping comics around classified. Some are using more reader-generated content with some reluctance. But it's been successful as part of a zoning plan in Omaha. Someone asked about viability for pet obits. Silence. Many editors are seeing their writers writing for other sections, but others are looking and plug and play reporters, overlooking the fact that multimedia success is about an identifiable persona. Many editors are fighting the battle to keep local critics in our sections and to keep standalone sections. Weirdest idea: melding features and sports in one section.

Many ideas for cooperating were shared. All in all sobering but useful.