Some might consider the product a daily miracle – the publication that blankets AASA’s national conference in coverage each day. It’s generated by a small staff of professionals mixed in with student talent.
Since Wednesday, when 100 Governing Board members took up morning business at the Music City Center in Nashville, Conference Daily Online has posted dozens of informative news stories, features, photos, video clips and blog postings that shine light on just about any significant corner of the national conference proceedings.
“I’m pretty confident that the extensive multi-media coverage we provide on deadline to our conference goers – and those following us from afar — is distinctive among professional associations,” said the publication’s editor, Jay P. Goldman. “By the time each day ends at the conference, we have posted recaps on the conference website of just about anything notable – and some of it trivial — that took place that day.”
Each morning since Thursday, all AASA members have received an e-newsletter in their inbox with the same editorial content.
This marks the 10th year that AASA has provided digital-only coverage of conference proceedings. Previously, the association published a 20- to 24-page daily newspaper over four days at its annual conference.
Goldman is joined on the staff in Nashville by two colleagues from School Administrator magazine – Liz Griffin and Juli Doshan, who serve as Conference Daily Online’s senior editor and managing editor, respectively. AASA’s director of communications and marketing, Jimmy Minichello, has coordinated video production and added photography.
The reporting crew consists of AASA staff member Rebecca Shaw, Nashville-based freelance writer Chris Echegaray and four student interns: Steve Barnum and Victoria Leuang, senior journalism majors at Middle Tennessee State University; Riley McCormick, a freshman at Vanderbilt University; and Margaret Gaw, a high school senior at Harpeth Hall School in Nashville.
Website assistance was provided by consultant Stephanie Compton.
Lifetouch, an AASA sponsor, provided photographers and videographers, coordinated by Heather Dehn. Her colleagues were Sada Miernicki, Cheryl Dobbs, Michael Gardner and Elizabeth Guest.
Goldman said he would welcome feedback from anyone who spent time on the Conference Daily Online site. We especially want to know what we could do to make the publication more useful to our members. Contact him at jgoldman@aasa.org.