President Barack Obama will make a return visit to the ASNE convention this year, giving the keynote address at the AP Luncheon on Tuesday, April 3. Obama spoke at the same lunch four years ago when he was a candidate for president. With his appearance at this year's convention, Obama joins every sitting president since Calvin Coolidge in addressing an ASNE audience.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has accepted an invitation to speak at the ASNE/NAA lunch on Wednesday, April 4, during the ASNE Convention at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel. Romney will speak from the same stage that President Obama will use to address ASNE and NAA attendees 24 hours earlier, at the annual Associated Press Annual Luncheon. 

ASNE convention will be brought to you, in part, through the generosity of Google, Inc., Bloomberg News, Reuters and the Newseum. These four organizations each stepped up in a major way to provide financial support that will help defray convention expenses and sustain ASNE's work throughout the year. 

The ASNE Board of Directors added three new members and elected a new executive committee at the organization's annual convention last week in Washington, D.C. Bloomberg News Executive Editor Susan Goldberg took the reins as ASNE president on the final day of the convention. During her acceptance speech, Goldberg talked about the pride she feels in her chosen profession and her optimism for ASNE and the future of professional journalism.

 

The ASNE nominating committee recently selected eight candidates to run for five three-year terms on the ASNE Board of Directors. The candidates’ bios and statements will be posted on the ASNE website next week, and the election will close on Tuesday, April 3, during the ASNE convention in Washington. Click the link below for the list of candidates.

Stars and Stripes, the daily newspaper for the U.S. Armed Forces, was recently ordered by the Department of Defense to move from its offices in downtown Washington, D.C., to a military base 30 miles away that serves as the hub of official Pentagon and military media operations. The relocation has raised concerns about a threat to Stars and Stripes’ special status as an independent news organization operating within DOD. In response to those concerns, ASNE issued a statement this morning urging Congress and the Pentagon to consider "alternatives that would ensure that Stars and Stripes can continue to independently provide uncensored news to American forces on the front lines and worldwide."

This spring, ASNE's Leadership Development Committee will offer a series of eight, one-hour webinar workshops to help top editors and their deputies improve their leadership and management skills. The webinars, which will be presented by ASNE member Linda Grist Cunningham, will include time for Q&A, sharing of best practices and pragmatic solutions to the challenges editors most often face.