TAlaPressaHE N EWSLETTER OF T HE A LABAMA P RESS A SSOCIATION January 2014 Important Dates Hall of Honor Ceremony Auburn University Feb 15, 2014 APA announces Lifetime Achievement APA Journalism Summit APA Journalism Summit returns Embassy Suites to Montgomery Montgomery, AL Feb 20-21, 2014 APA Better Newspaper Contest goes digital 2014 Communication and Media Career Day Legislation introduced to strengthen Auburn University March 5, 2014 Alabama’s Open Meetings Act Digital Media Center Venable and Woodward to be inducted Grand Opening into the Hall of Honor Tuscaloosa, AL March 13, 2014 APA Summer Convention Hilton Sandestin Sandestin, FL June 26-28, 2014 JANUARY 2014 AlaPressa 2 APA announces Lifetime Achievement gomery Advertiser. Beasley can be described Alabama Press Association as a newspaper legacy. Her Alabama Newspaper Advertising Service Inc. great-grandfather was a press- man at the Montgomery Adver- 3324 Independence Drive Suite 200 tiser. Her maternal grandpar- Birmingham, AL 35209 ents were editor and publisher (205) 871-7737 of The Clayton Record, as was (205) 871-7740 (fax) her mother, Bertie Parish. Mrs. www.alabamapress.org Parish took over the newspaper when her mother died in 1960. She worked until her death Board of Directors in 1998, and the reins were passed to Beasley. Beasley’s family came to Mike Marshall, President Rebecca Beasley Alabama Media Group Clayton in 1915, and began Tommy McGraw, First Vice President APA President Mike Mar- work at the newspaper. Next Sumter County Record-Journal shall announced recently the year will mark 100 years The Alan Davis, Chairman of the Board recipients of the 2014 Lifetime Clayton Record has been in Dothan Eagle Achievement Award. Honorees Beasley’s family. Scott Brown, The Decatur Daily are Rebecca Beasley, editor Beasley graduated from col- Glenda Curl, Wilcox Progressive Era and publisher of The Clayton lege with a degree in second- Michele Gerlach, Andalusia Star-News Record, and Bill Brown, former ary education, and taught for a John Harvey, Advertiser-Gleam executive editor of the Mont- short time, while also Bob Martin, Montgomery Independent see Achievement pg 3 Horace Moore, The Northwest Alabamian Tim Prince, The Clanton Advertiser David Proctor, Clay Times-Journal APA Journalism Summit Russell Quattlebaum, The Southeast Sun Pam Siddall, Alabama Media Group Joe Thomas, The Tri-City Ledger returns to Montgomery APA will return to Montgom- day. Morning sessions include a ery for the 143rd Journalism demonstration on the new Better APA Staff Summit Feb. 20-21 at the Em- Newspaper Contest online entry Felicia Mason, Executive Director bassy Suites Hotel. system, a panel discussing how Brad English, Advertising Manager The convention will open with political and retail advertisers Leigh Leigh Tortorici, Senior the Lifetime Achievement Ban- are using various forms of me- Marketing Representative quet and Reception at the hotel. dia to reach target audiences, a Tay Bailey, Member Services The evening will also include practical session on how to tell Coordinator a silent auction and “wine pull” a story with pictures and video, Chris McDaniel, Network Sales benefiting the APA Journalism and an inside look at Gannett’s Emily Featherston, Tearsheet Clerk Foundation. Please consider new Butterfly Project, a new Dennis R. Bailey, General Counsel donating an item from your area twist for daily newspaper pub- Scott Goldsmith, APA Accountant for the auction. lishing. Friday will begin with a conti- J.D. Crowe, from the Ala- nental breakfast and publisher’s bama Media Group, will be the roundtable discussion. We have speaker for our luncheon. Crowe invited Gov. Bentley to attend is Alabama’s only newspaper this informal session. cartoonist. Crowe’s cartoons, as The morning sessions will well as the added editorial begin at 9 a.m. with concurrent sessions running throughout the see Convention pg 4 JANUARY 2014 AlaPressa 3 Bill Brown’s career took him Achievement from the St. Petersburg Times, 1962-73, to the Tallahassee Dem- from pg 2 ocrat, 1974-76, and the Colum- bus (Ga.) Enquirer and Ledger newspapers, 1976-85. He came working at the newspaper. Soon, to Montgomery in 1986 as man- after marriage and starting a fam- aging editor of the Montgomery ily, she left teaching and went to Advertiser. He became executive work at the newspaper with both editor of the morning Advertiser of her parents. “What a blessing it and the evening Alabama Journal was for me to work so closely with in 1987. He continued in that po- my parents, memories that today sition for the Advertiser after the I cherish so dearly,” Beasley said. Journal was closed in 1993. He Beasley’s community involve- currently has a self-syndicated ment went beyond the newspa- newspaper column, and is edi- Bill Brown per, however. She was the first fe- tor and publisher of Lake Martin lieve the people in the newsroom male on the Clayton City Council, Journal, an online magazine de- realized, however, that it wasn’t and later became Clayton’s first voted to the Lake Martin area. the staff Bill was most concerned female mayor. She is currently During Brown’s tenure at The about, but rather the readers of serving her fourth term as mayor. Alabama Journal, the newspaper the newspaper. His goal was to Beasley’s husband, Billy, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for make sure we had the tools nec- is a pharmacist and co-owner of a series on the high rate of infant essary to serve our readers.” Clayton and Clio Drug Stores, is mortality among the poor in the Since his retirement from the also an elected official. He was a Montgomery area. Co-workers daily newspaper, Brown has pub- member of the Alabama House and industry peers credit Brown’s lished a book, “Yellow Cat, Hen- of Representatives from 1998 to leadership for this accomplish- dry & Me: Dispatches From Life’s 2010, and was elected to the Ala- ment. Front Lines,” a collection of col- bama Senate in 2010. David Rountree, who worked umns with topics that range from Beasley says that ink will al- with Brown at the Montgomery cowboy heroes Gene Autry and ways be in her blood. “The Clay- paper, said he was a great advo- Roy Rogers, to regional phrases ton Record is 143 years old, and cate for the editorial operations such as a “mess” of turnip greens, I look forward to continuing the of the company. “Despite his to the mishaps of a stray feline. legacy of keeping the hometown easy-going personality, he was The honorees will be recog- news circulating for as long as I no shrinking violet,” Rountree nized at the APA Journalism Sum- am able,” Beasley said. “Com- said. “Ensuring that editors and mit on Feb. 20 at the Embassy munity journalism will always be reporters were given the support Suites Hotel in Montgomery. a part of my heart and soul.” necessary to do their jobs was among his key strengths. I be- Venable and Woodward to be Are you following APA on Facebook inducted into the Hall of Honor and Twitter? The Alabama Newspaper program will begin with registra- Hall of Honor ceremony will be tion at 10 a.m., and the ceremony held Feb. 15, 2014, in Auburn. at 10:30 a.m. followed by a light APA followers will get current Jack Venable, former publisher meal. feeds on items of interest to of The Tallassee Tribune, and APA delegates will be invited the newspaper industry, as Don Woodward, former business to attend the Auburn/Mississippi well as, up-to-date coverage manager and advertising director State basketball game at 12:30 at The Advertiser-Gleam in Gun- p.m. in the Auburn Arena. Invita- of conventions and programs. tersville are the inductees. tions have been mailed to all APA The ceremony will be held in members. the newspaper reading room on the ground floor of AU’s Ralph Brown Draughon Library. The JANUARY 2014 AlaPressa 4 Legislation introduced to strengthen Alabama’s Open Meetings Act Recent rulings by the Alabama (1) It expressly states that can to ensure that we have the Supreme Court severely damaged meetings in small groups without highest level of open access in the the law that ensures open meetings proper notice to discuss issues that operation of government.” in Alabama. With the support of will come before the full body is not “Meeting one on one to avoid Gov. Bentley, a bill was introduced permitted. There are times when discussing public business in pub- on the second day of this regular government business requires lic was never intended to be an ac- session to address three areas that closed-door meetings, and the cur- ceptable practice under the Open were affected by the court rulings. rent law provides for those situa- Meetings Law, except where ex- They include the use of serial meet- tions. pressly permitted,” Rep. Hill said. ings, the ability for a newspaper or (2) Clarifies that any Alabama “I was a co-sponsor of the rewrite any Alabama citizen to bring action citizen has a right to bring an action of our Open Meetings Law in 2005, if they believe the law has been vio- against a governmental body if it and as is the case with most com- lated, and to reaffirm the Alabama believes it has violated the law, and prehensive laws, some areas need Constitution’s statement that the any penalties assessed are pay- to be better defined and clarified. “doors of the Legislature shall be able to the plaintiff. That is my goal with this new legis- open.” (3) The legislation reflects that lation.” “Transparency promotes govern- the Alabama Constitution requires APA has worked with Gov.