CONVENTION REPORT
Registration fee among lowest in industry
By HERB STUTZ
Convention Coordinator
You have talked with them and the reaction is
always the same. Veteran convention goers, including many in our business, just
shake their heads and ask, "How do you do it?"
They are referring, of course, to our $200
registration fee. In a survey of 11 newspaper organizations, APSE had the fifth
lowest registration fee for conventions held this year. Only the Society of
Professional Journalists (SPJ) at $150, the American Copy Editors Society
(ACES) at $155, the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) at $175 and
the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) at $190, were lower.
When you factor in the value received, no one
comes close to APSE. At our 32nd convention June 22-25 at the Ritz-Carlton
Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, each registrant received excellent professional training in the form of four general sessions and 10 workshops, and was on the receiving end of the
opening night reception at Disney's Epcot Resort, two brunches, a lunch and the
Saturday night carnival. The social events alone cost APSE over $300 per
registrant. In addition, many spouses and children took in the opening night
reception and the carnival without charge.
So, it gets back to the oft-asked question,
how do we do it? Simply, by getting outstanding sponsorship
assistance from our member papers and organizations like the Associated Press
and the Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. Not only this year, but in every year since our founding back in
1974.
In June, the support from 10 Florida newspapers, the AP and KRTN was outstanding,
but not unusual. But, without it, the convention, as we experienced it, would
not have happened.
The accompanying table, examining the past 10
conventions, graphically shows the part our member newspapers, as well as
affiliated organizations, have played in making the annual gatherings the
success they have been, while at the same time, keeping APSE financially sound.
| APSE Conventions: The last 10 years
|
| Year
| Convention
| Registration
revenue
| Sponsorship
revenue*
|
| 2005 | Orlando | $32,250
| $51,000* |
| 2004 | Philadelphia | $32,300 | $47,000*
|
| 2003 | Dallas | $27,325 | $40,350*
|
| 2002 | Seattle | $22,550 | $20,800*
|
| 2001 | Baltimore | $22,370 | $25,500*
|
| 2000 | Chicago
| $38,200 | $20,000*
|
| 1999
| Phoenix
| $31,775 | $32,800*
|
| 1998 | Richmond
| $36,150
| $55,600*
|
| 1997 | St. Petersburg
| $30,050
| $17,000*
|
| 1996
| Cleveland
| $26,650
| $16,400*
|
| * Does not include amounts paid by sponsors directly to vendors, such as the Orlando Sentinel paying Disney this year for the Opening-Night Reception at the Epcot Resort, or services provided by sponsors, such as the printing of convention literature and the APSE Bulletin, etc.
|
|
| How APSE Conventions Compare With Others
|
| Org.
| Dates
| Site
| Regist.
| Hotel
| Room rate
|
| AAJA
| Aug. 17-20 | Minneapolis | $190 | Hyatt Regency | $159
|
| ACES | April 21-23 | Hollywood, Calif.
| $155 | Renaissance | $159
|
| APME | Oct. 26-29 | San Jose | $470 | Fairmont | $150
|
| APSE
| June 23-25 | Orlando | $200 | Ritz-Carlton | $159
|
| ASNE | April 12-15 | Washington, D.C. | $500 | JW Marriott | $223
|
| AWSM | May 27-30 | San Diego | $175 | Omni Downtown | $125
|
| CAJ | May 13-15 | Winnipeg
| $205 | Fort Garry
| $112
|
| NAA
| April 17-19 | San Francisco | $850 | Fairmont
| $269
|
| NABJ | Aug. 3-7 | Atlanta | $230 | Hyatt Regency
| $139
|
| NAHJ | June 15-18
| Fort Worth | $225 | Radisson Plaza | $111
|
| SPJ | Oct. 16-18 | Las Vegas | $150
| Aladdin Resort | $99
|
|
Source: Organizations' website
|
|
Back to index
